The Roles of Women in the Civil War
Lakiya Saunders
Central High School
November 9, 2015
3rd Period Abstract
Women’s role in the civil war is very important. One point of time in life women did not have any other role but mother and wife. Being able to help out with war, no matter what it was you were doing was a big turning point for women back then. It brought women a little independence, it gave women a name. The Roles of Women in the Civil War
During my research I found several roles women played in the civil war. There were nurses, spies, and even women posing as male soldiers. When the men took off for war most women had to step up to the plate and take their place back home. There were a few very important women who made a name for themselves during the war. While some women just made secret groups to provide war supplies during the war. When the men first left for war in 1861, many women took up their place back home. Some women begin working in factories, and some become clerks or school teacher to feed and clothe their families. These new jobs characterized their traditional roles as mothers and house wives. This made them an important part of the war effort. Many women dealt with the war in their own ways. Several women who had a family member in the war had a more particular war effort in the war. Single women openly announced that they would date or espouse only those who offered to serve. Various younger women, often the age of 30 and widowed
worked in factories expanding industrial output, and helped raise money in the community. The women are what helped keep the country running. When women filled jobs that were traditionally men’s, this aided the country as a whole because while men fought in the war, women were able to keep the country moving. Women not only worked in factories and offices, but working in the community played an immense role in helping the soldiers fighting. Women raised money for the war, collected blood, rolled bandages, aided in civil defense, tended Victory Gardens, and hosted troops. Some women still worked at home centering their work around what the soldiers needed. They recycled aluminum foil and other materials that were scarce, they raised children as usual, and mourned for the soldier that had died. Women were assisting the troops with all that they could in order to make life easier for them.
The Civil War were extremely affected the lives of American women. Many handful are disguised as men and jointed the fight, over served aspies and nurses. Many women took the role at home after their husband , brother, and father, were at the war. Thousands of women were enslaved began transition to freedom, beginning new lives surrounded by the war.
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.
Women wanted to be able to do more in the war. They tried to find ways to work
Women managed to organize committees to gather and make food, socks, and other sources of comforts as well as write letters to the men fighting overseas. Women even got involved with volunteer organizations including the Red Cross, helping to raise money for the war effort in the process.
Most African American women supplied aid to black troops only, but there were few that were able to work in military hospitals wherever permitted. They fulfilled the regular duties of a nurse; they took care of the wounded and sick, went out to the battlefields to rescue the wounded, and even carried some dead off of the field. Another job that African American women held was working as spies and scouts, giving directions and information, and feeding and sheltering soldiers. The women of the South usually assisted white and black soldiers in the Union (Harper 4).
The women during the war felt an obligation to assist in one form or another. Many
What roles did the Northern women play in the war effort on the Union side during the Civil War? What roles did the Southern women play in the war effort on the Confederate side during the Civil War? How did the war affect each group?
The Civil War has often been referred to as the war between brothers, but when the war started women were still expected to stay at home and take care of the house and children, with little to no income. Many stories that originated from the Civil War talk about the battlefront and not the home front. This leaves us wondering what the spouses of the soldiers did to survive, especially if they had multiple children in the home. We do not know what women did during the war and if they had any impact whatsoever. Comparing Charleston and Philadelphia, which were the second largest cities in their respective areas at the time, it seems that Philadelphia women would have more of an impact on the war than the women in Charleston.
Once the war started, each person had their place in society. Women were responsible for running farms and businesses, raising children, and keeping the households together. To help soldiers women usually sewed clothing, made blankets, and gathered material that could be used for those that
Today's history books tend to skip over the important roles women had during that time. Their lives changed in many ways then one on and off the field of battle. Women took on many different aspects that helped them during the civil war. Rather than watching the men fight women took it to a whole new level and decide to pick a gun a fight for their country. It was never known how many women indeedly engaged battle.
Firstly, women helped in many different types of ways in the Civil War. Men weren’t the only one’s out risking their lives everyday during the war; women
The American Civil War started in 1861 after the newly elected president, Abraham Lincoln, pledged to put an end to slavery (Tignor). To the American South, the absence of slaves would create a drastic change in their way of life. Plantations would be unable to produce the necessary amount of cotton and tobacco needed to keep the economy from falling apart (Trueman). In fear and protest of their livelihoods being so radically changed, the people of the South decided that it would be better to secede from the union and become the Confederate States of America. Thus, the war began and although many stories are told about the men who fought in the war and the Union leaders that made the country unite again, not much is said about the women of the Civil War. The women of the South had varying experiences based on whether they were elite white women, poor unionist women, or slaves.
From the outset, women were as actively involved in the war as the men were. Women worked in specific areas that considered traditional roles, including: cooking and administering. This meant that men could go fight without having to complete other jobs on the way. The government disapproved all attempts made by women to fight in the army force.
During the Civil War, many women took a stand during wars, taking the jobs of men as they were being drafted into the war. They nursed the men and even going undercover as spies and even soldiers. They handled almost everything during this time and were still seen as weak and useless. Once the war ended they were put right back to house work. A change is not seen until World War 1, again many women took the mens jobs as they went off to war.