Sara Edmonds: American Civil War

The civil war in America lasted between 1861 and 1865. This war happened because the country was divided in many ways. In many of the people's minds, the south and north were so different that they were almost more like two neighboring countries then as one nation. America was also divided by the laws. Slavery was the biggest factor in this because as many people know the south revolved around slavery and the north legalized it. When war broke out both sides had brave people fighting for their cause and many of them are now famous today. Everybody knows most of the brave generals, leaders and even some soldiers by name. Not many understand or know about those who fought not with words or weapons but with simple actions influenced the war. One of these people is Amy Morris Bradley. A teacher and civil war nurse who was strongly against slavery (American National Biography, Bradley).

In any war, there are people who are a part of the efforts that make it successful, but go unrecognized as a major “player” in it. The Civil War was no different and Susie (Baker) King Taylor is one of the many African-Americans that served in the “colored” regiments that helped the Union win the civil war. The fact that she was a woman makes her even more unique.

She later got caught and was later put into prison in 1864 by confederate troops and taken into prison. Along with Mary Edward walker, Clara Barton, was an Army nurse. Clara was to serve help in curing injured men. She had a bad experience when she went to go cure a man, a bullet that killed the man she was helping was peireced threw her sleeve. She had been assisting him and tried to save him, but it was too late and he had died. Also these women made a legacy in life, Underground Railroad, being the first US army women surgeon, and the foundation of the American Red Cross. Mary Todd Lincoln, who was married to Abraham Lincoln. Although she was a lot different then the other important women in the civil war, she was just as important. She was the wife of the president during the war. Although she did not exactly fight or become a nurse of the war, she still had to take care of her family and all of Abraham’s stressful days. She had to mend to her children’s needs while Abraham was out making sure the troops in the war were in the right standings. When 1865 came around it was a terrible year for her, her family and her heart were crushed. Her loved one was assassinated, and her family and herself had no idea how to handle it. Being that she was the presidents wife, she was still important to make a legacy. Showed that women are strong enough to handle stress, children, and deaths in their family to be strong for

Mary Boykin Chesnut was born on her grandparents' estate at Mount Pleasant, South Carolina on March 31, 1823. She learned early about the workings of a plantation by observing her grandmother. Grandmother Miller rose early to assign the cleaning and cooking duties for her servants. Besides keeping the mansion clean and prepared for the frequent guests, Mary's grandmother also took charge of making and mending clothing for the slaves on the plantation. She spent whole days cutting out clothing for the children and assigning sewing to her nine seamstresses. Her grandmother worked with the servants and sewing crew so easily and effectively that Mary was nearly nine years old before she became aware that her

Maria Rosetta Greenhow was an essential asset to the Confederate cause during the American Civil War. Her intel led to Confederate success at the Battle of Bull Run and the Battle of Manassas. She was the most acclaimed female spy at the onset of the Civil War. Born 1817, in Montgomery County, Maryland, Rose was orphaned by her mother and father, John and Eliza Henrietta O’Neale, at a very young age. As a teenager, her aunt, Maria Ann Hill, welcomed Rose to live with her in Washington D.C. Aunt Maria ran a prestigious boarding school in the Old Capitol building, which Rose attended for her education. Popular throughout town, “Wild Rose” or “Rebel Rose” as she was known, was regarded as a compassionate, educated, benevolent, dignified and beautiful young woman. She was a popular socialite throughout upper-level cliques and gained many influential friends. It was these connections that led to her being a successful spy during the war. In 1835 she married Dr. Robert Greenhow; and went on to have eight children; only four of which made it past infancy. Dr. Greenhow gave Rose access to historic and state documents through his work, which helped her during the war. In 1854, Robert Greenhow passed away, soon after Rose’s eldest

Rose O’Neal Greenhow was one of the most influential women in the Civil war. She was an undercover Spy from The Confederates because she believed that the South had a right to Secede from The United States and she was influenced by other people. She used to assemble information that the Union used to have and send it to the South. She then was suspicious after sending messages about The Battle of Bull Run. Therefore she was imprisoned, but that didn't stop her from sending information to South about the Union. Her intelligence and cleverness helped the South improve a lot. She not only became popular in the South, she also became popular Europe because of her charm.

“I thank God that I can say on my death bed that I am a virtuous woman” (Belle Boyd). Isabelle Boyd was a very brave woman during the Civil War which was from 1861 to 1865 and was the bloodiest battle fought on American soil. She was born on May 4, 1844 in Martinsburg, Virginia and died on June 11, 1900 in Kilbourn, Wisconsin. Belle Boyd was very influential to the Civil War because she was a spy for the confederacy, a messenger to Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson, and fought when she needed to, even if her life was threatened. Life as a spy

A slave, or so his masters thought named John Scobell was actually another important spy for the Union army. Everybody around Scobell believed him to be just a slave and thought nothing more of him. He cleaned and did all the duties a slave would do, there was nothing more to think of him. Confederate officers would leave important papers with him, converse about the Confederate troop plans in front of him or give up useful Confederate information without knowing they had given it up. Many Northern black men and women who had escaped their masters volunteered to pose as slaves for the Union. Another “slave” spy named Mary Bowser who had been born into slavery yet was freed at a young age and went to school was said to have run one of the war's most complicated spy rings. She was given a job as a Confederate White House house housekeeper and stole information from President

It was 1861, and after a divisive presidential election, the nation was tearing itself apart. Eight states had been toran from the Union. And now, Isaac Murphy faced a choice. On May 1861, the Arkansas Secession Convention had reconvened after the battle at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. After the fall of the Union base, President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from the still-loyal states to defend the Union. For the states of the Upper South, this was too much. Shortly after Lincoln’s announcement, Virginia, which had initially voted against secession, voted to pull out. Now it was Arkansas’s turn to decide, and the delegates were pushing heavily for secession.This was not the first time that Murphy had to take a stand. He was born in 1799

On April 12, 1861 Civil War begins. The year of 1861-1865 was America’s bloodiest clash. The war was fought in many different places covering over almost the whole Untied States destroying all the land. With the Civil War ending in 1865, south America losing and North America winning and ending slavery. There were many generals, spies, soldiers, and leaders. Sarah Emma Edmonds, Because of her experiences, disguises, and compassion, Sarah Emma Edmonds was one of the greatest spies in the Civil War.

The day is July 21, 1861. Two armies are clashing in a battle that marks the beginning of a long war that split their country. Throughout the battle, a Union soldier is brought into the the army hospital tent on a stretcher with four bullet holes in his chest. He is escorted to the nearest bed for treatment and is shocked to find a woman performing the operation. On the same day, in the battle, another man is astonished to find a soldier that looks like and may be a woman fighting the enemy beside him. Like these women, many others took part in the war. Contrary to what many believe, women had played a role in the civil war as spies, nurses, soldiers and on the home front.

In 1863, Susie traveled with her husband’s regiment. She became the first black nurse during the Civil War, and helped to care for wounded soldiers. During her off hours she taught the soldiers how to read and write, and also cooked and laundered for them. She wrote in her diary about the nursing shortages during the war, and was happy to provide nursing care to the sick soldiers. She continued to serve as a nurse until the war ended in 1865. (MacLean, 2007).

There are many Primary documents on women who fought in the war as a soldier one of those women were Loreta Velazquez . Loreta joined the Civil War after her husband died as a soldier fighting for the confederacy.Loreta then joined the ranks to avenge her husband's death, even though she married three more times being widowed every time.Loreta while in the ranks of confederacy was not found out about her gender, until one day in New Orleans when she was discharged because of her gender. Even though before she was found out she fought in the battles of Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, and Fort Donelson. This was only her first attempt though She tried again and fought at the Battle of Shiloh, Still she was discovered afterwards. Then again she tried

Many people believe that women did not play any essential roles in our country’s history until the 1960s. However, this is not the case. Women have played many vital roles in suffrage movements as attempts to shed light upon or cure many of the ills of American society throughout American history.

The Civil War was a defining point for the United States. The people of America were forced to step back and reevaluate what defined the American Citizen: a person with the rights and privilege to cast a vote for what or who he believes in. The key word here is “he”. The Civil War brought freedom and rights to African Americans, yet it had no directly positive effect on women’s rights. While African Americans were seeing their lives and futures change, to many observers the women’s rights movement seemed barely impacted by the astounding transformations of the Civil War. This idea is not completely accurate. Women did not accomplish much on the legal front, but fundamentally they were able to make great achievements. By stepping out of