I have a couple of quilts my grandmother made in the late 1800's. She was born in 1868 so these are later than the Civil War. Are you wanting the be historically accurate? She used the printed muslim material that was the flour sacks that flour came in. These were pieced together to form the back. The batting is an old, worn out quilt and the top is made from out grown dresses and blouses from her daughters. These were everyday quilts used to keep warm, several on a bed; these weren't the top quilts used as bedspreads.