Battle of Richmond presents nearly 3,000 pairs of socks to Salvation Army

Dec. 23—The Battle of Richmond donated almost 3,000 pairs of socks for Project Warm Feet, which was presented at the Richmond Salvation Army on December 22.

Last year, the Battle of Richmond collected roughly 2,700 pairs of socks and the year prior, in 2021, they collected 4,207 pairs of socks. The 4,207 pairs was a record.

"If you read Civil War letters, it doesn't necessarily matter where it is whether it's in Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Georgia, or Kentucky, (the soldiers) asked for socks," Phillip Seyfrit, the Battle of Richmond Curator said. He spoke about how many Civil War soldiers asked for socks for Christmas.

Seyfrit said that everybody can relate to something like this.

"If your feet are cold and wet, you are pretty miserable," he said.

Seyfrit reflected on Civil War America and some of the issues that Americans and Kentuckians face today.

"A lot of problems that people face today, they faced 160 years ago too," Seyfrit said.

The proceeds will go around Madison County as well as out into the rural areas of the state.

Seyfrit says the simplicity of socks is what connects the Battle of Richmond to today.

As mentioned, the nearly 3,000 pairs of socks were presented to the Salvation Army. They will then ship those off to those in need across the Central and Eastern Kentucky area.

For Captain Kevin Justice and the Salvation Army Corps of Richmond, this is more than just an event. All year round, the socks gathered are sent to those in need.

"It's a big deal to have socks," Justice said. He also stated that the Richmond Corps serve nine different counties including Owsley and Clay County.

Justice also said that there's many opportunities to get these out into the community by keeping socks in police cruisers along with other ways.

Justice thanked The Battle of Richmond for their assistance on this every year since Project Warm Feet was brought about.