The Contributions Of Women In The American Civil War .

Determination and great effort are some of the words that come to mind when reviewing some of the heroic acts by the great nursing pioneers. World War I brought out to light amazing people. There was great necessity for medical assistance in the battlefield and outside the battlegrounds (Nies and McEwen 2011). Mary Breckenridge is an example of the women whom influenced in medical care of the wounded during the war. Aside from establishing the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS), Mary Breckenridge moved to the rural areas following her passion to care for disadvantaged women and children (Stanhope and Lancaster,

Women in the Civil War were important because they played important roles. They played as nurses, spies, and some even disguised themselves as soldiers. The women could only play one of these roles. For example they can only be either a spy or nurse or a soldier. They can’t be two like a spy and a nurse.

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

The Civil War is a very important part of American history – simply put, it determined what kind of nation the United States would be. The Civil War resolved whether the United States is what determined the survival of the Union or whether the Confederacy would gain independence. It is the battle that determined whether the largest slaveholding country in the world would continue to exist as such since it thrived on the fundamental idea that “all men are created with an equal right to liberty.” Many men were drafted and put their lives on the line during the war to fight for the freedom or the right to own slaves. The men were not the only individuals affected by the war; it significantly affected the lives of many

An outlet that Alcott and many other women utilized to truly be a part of the war was medicine which enabled them to work on the battlefields and see the bloodshed first-hand. Since large numbers of men on both the Confederate and Union side were wounded and killed, and hospitals were overflowing with recovering soldiers and more staff was needed. Although many societal constraints made it difficult for women to enter the medical field, fierce leaders such as Dorothea Dix and Clara Barton paved the way for future women to work alongside men as medical professionals. Overall, the general perspectives regarding female nurses are evident in personal narratives as well as historical literature. These sources provide us with a deeper insight into the challenges women faced and how their actions paved the way for future

The number of women serving as men in the war was hard to determine, because they were disguised as males. The predicted number ranges from 250-500 women (civilwar.org). Women were not allowed to fight in the war because they were needed to take care of the family home while the husband fighting. Women who were really passionate about the war would use pseudonyms, so no one would be able to figure out their true identities when they enlisted as soldiers. To disguise themselves, women had to also cut their hair very short and wear very baggy uniforms. The reason these women could slip into the military so easily is because in the 1800s, the soldiers were not given any physical body exams. “The Union and Confederate army were willing to take any person that could fight... Some women even teamed up with their husbands to fight in the war with them” (library.mtsu.edu). Most women served because they had strong motivations for wanted to help out America. “75% of soldiers that were women fought in major battles including the Battle of Gettysburg and Antietam” (Historical Society of Pennsylvania). Factors that motivated women were, “the thirst they had for adventure since they couldn’t do much, to accompany their sons or husbands, their dedication to their country, and to gain some money for their families” (library.mtsu.edu). Women went out of their way to serve for their country even if they were not allowed

They did multiple things in the war; including providing supplies, sewing uniforms, and providing medical assistance. They put in their time and used their talents to supply the basic necessities to the men fighting in the war (“Healing the Wounds: Medicine and Sanitation”). Some women would even fight alongside men, by disguising themselves. One of these brave women was Mary Steve Jenkins. She had enlisted in Pennsylvania, while still in school, and joined the army for two whole years. As written in, “Living Through the Civil War,” she says she, “...received several wounds, and was then discharged-without anyone ever realizing she was female,” (Rees, p. 56,57). Although women had to go to extreme measures to assist in the war in ways like fighting, they still chose to do so. Another very influential woman in the Civil War was Clara Barton (1821-1912), who was also known as “the angel of the battlefield.” She helped a great deal with nursing and aided with collecting supplies to bring to battlefields and hospitals. After the war had ended, Clara was still helping in many ways; “Barton is also known for her postwar campaign to have the United States join the International Red Cross,” (“Healing the Wounds: Medicine and Sanitation”). Working alongside Clara was another important woman: Dorothea Dix (1802-1887), who was a nurse for the Union. She was well known, even before the war, because of the

The roles of women in society have always been a topic for debate. Some think women should be in the kitchen cooking meal and having lots children. Others feel that women can contribute to society in ways that are not a part of the family home, but outside the in board rooms and operating rooms. This paper is going to argue how chauvinistic thoughts of women helped propel the female gender into great spies during the civil war. During the era of the civil war attitudes of women spying during a war was unheard of; women are often over looked as valuable associates in war efforts. Chauvinistic thoughts of women helped propel some into outstanding spies during the Civil War.

During the many years that people were encouraging young women to be homemakers and stay inside the walls of their own homes, Clara Barton took on many roles which she used to help other people greatly. Previously, Clara was a teacher for the illiterate and a Civil War nurse from 1861 to 1865, where she became one of the best nurses and eventually became known as "Angel of the battlefield" (Slote, 67). She not only was amazing at what she did, but she was the first woman nurse in America to go to the battlefield (Stevenson, 177). Her plan for the aid stations had been adopted as well as many other ideas and had become very well known by the end of the war (Stevenson, 177). Eventually, her act, which was used simply to help wounded soldiers, grew into the formation of the red cross in America. (American Red Cross).

Women during the Civil War Women during the Civil War had a lot of different responsibilities. They also played a huge role in the Civil War. Men had to go serve in the war while the women had to take care of the children. While the women were at home they were thinking, “Why can’t we serve in the war.” They thought of themselves as useless people who had to stay home and do nothing.

During the early years of the Civil War, medical care for the troops was rudimentary, and thousands of soldiers died from infections and disease in army hospitals. In response, the world’s first professional nursing service was created by American hero Clara Barton. Born in Massachusetts in 1821, Barton was a humble clerk who transferred to the Army Quartermaster’s Department in 1862, grew dedicated to hospital work, and became a beloved and skilled nurse. Nicknamed “The Angel of the Battlefield”, Barton was the most famous women in the

The desirable characteristics of women during the time made it easier for them to lure men into their homes and extract crucial information about the war. Sarah E. Thompson was able to win the Union’s victory in Greenville since she “got a horse and went to our forces that was at Bull’s Gap and sent word” and this in turn allowed her to “ show him [John Hunt Morgan] to the man” which eventually led him to be shot in the head by Union soldiers. The effect of her action in the war allowed for information to be reached to militia leaders faster since men did not have to split their time between fighting in the war and collecting intelligence. Both fighting sides were using the status and beauty of women to their advantage in order to extract information. Thompson was able to locate an enemy quicker in comparison to the many weeks or months it would have taken the troops to infiltrate the confederate side. Moreover, since women could easily slip intelligence to their respective sides without being caught, patriotism among women increased which caused for a higher volunteer of

The American civil war had a great impact on lives of women. Women prior to this generation had improved in terms of legal rights, getting access to educating and also gained entry to acquiring manufactured goods by the mid of 1800’s. They were notable for being active partakers of the second Great Awakening that swept across the country, reformation that took place which includes the abolition movement, temperance, colonization of former slaves and improvement of prisons. Regardless of these significant movement, majority of the women lived in rural areas, performed hard work and still led a domestic life which was centered on their families, households, gardens and crops. The diversity that exist now in Women made them contribute to the

Up until the U.S. Civil war women were focused on making their homes a private and comfortable place for their families (History.com Staff). However the coming war would push women into the public eye with lots of women joining volunteer brigades and working as nurses. This was the first time in American history Women played such an important part in the war effort (History.com Staff).

The role of women in the United States changed significantly during the Civl War. Before the Civil War, women stayed at home and cared for their children and worked on just about every other chore there was to do around the house. But the Civil War changed much of that. Many brave women decided to take it upon themselves to break out and re-define themselves by choosing to become spies, disguising themselves as male soldiers, becoming nurses, or for newly freed slave women to begin a new life in the North or South. The Civil War opened many new gates for women to provide assistance to their side even if they were not fighting on the battlefield.