Red Strings - Origin

Origin

Their name comes from their insignia of red strings worn on their lapels or hung outside of their windows to distinguish themselves from the rebels, a symbol derived from the Biblical story of Rahab. The use of the red string in the coat lapel comes from the Biblical story of the harlot Rahab, who had helped two spies of Israel escape from Jericho with a red cord, and was advised by them to hang a red thread on her window as a recognition symbol and to show her faith. Joshua, Chapter 2, Verses 18, 21, and Chapter 6, verse 23: “..thou shalt bind this line of scarlet in the window which thou didst let us down by... ...and she bound the scarlet line in the window... ...And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her father’s household, and all that she had. And she dwellest in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messengers that Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.”

The organization was completely decentralized, and most knew only one other member for certain; most of their anti-Confederate activities were carried out in secret. Some estimate that by the war's end, as many as 10,000 people belonged to the Red Strings. They were comparably as disruptive to the Southern war effort as the Copperheads were to the Union.