Possibly at Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy; Misses Patten’s School, Hartford, Connecticut; or the Moravian School for Girls at Lititz, Pennsylvania. In the late 18th century, English girls worked silk-embroidered memorials honoring historical figures such as Shakespeare and British naval hero Lord Nelson. With the death of George Washington in 1799, American girls followed suit, stitching tributes to their nation’s first hero. Soon, however, they widened their scope to honor family members and friends, including those whose death was far removed in time. Thus, mourning embroideries served not only as true expressions of grief, but also as fashionable family records or household decorations. This example depicts a woman standing before a monument dedicated simply, To the memory of departed friends.