Women During The Civil War

Before the existence of the Great War, America had fought in previous wars. In the years before the Great War nursing was not even a word for the women who had helped with the aid of fallen soldiers. Florence Nightingale, who helped in establishing nursing as a career used her efforts in organizing an emergency nursing service (Dahlman 2). Nightingale started off at first with forty women, some of whom were Sisters of Religious Nursing Orders and others hospital-taught women of the old school, not trained in the modern way, but experienced (Dahlman 3). Florence Nightingale founded the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas’ Hospital which was the parent of the modern system of nursing. From her, therefore, we may well date the story of nursing service of the American Red Cross (Dahlman 4).

Nearly 20,000 women worked directly towards the American Civil War effort. Clara Barton, and many other brave women risked their lives aiding the sick and wounded alongside Dorthea Dix. Elizabeth Blackwell and Clara Barton were both inspired to create aid and relief organizations. The few female surgeons during the civil war took part in destroying the stereotype that women can’t be surgeons. Hannah Ropes and Mary Ann Bickerdyke stood up to their male superiors and achieved respect in the hospitals across America. As the American Civil War progressed, women started to stray from their traditional feminine roll by supporting the medical field in many ways, such as nursing on the battlefront and creating aid organizations, becoming surgeons, and earning respect in the hospital system.

Harriet Tubman is well known for a successful role in freeing many slaves through the Underground Railroad. Not many know the major effect she had on the Union Army as a Scout and a spy during the Civil War. Her bravery while helping slaves escape through the Underground Railroad and her assistance in gathering Confederate troops intelligence as a spy changed the history and made a great impact on the on the United States National Defense. Even though Harriet Tubman was a very skillful spy, she had many indicators that were missed while she was spied for intelligence and reported the material which were compromised to her handler.

Over 5000 volunteer nurses’ north and south served in military hospitals during the Civil War. Nurses were of all sorts and came from all over. Women wanted to be involved in this national struggle in any way they could. They did not want to stay home and play their traditional domestic roles that social convention and minimal career opportunities had confined the majority of their sex to. Many women thought of nursing as an extension of their home duties, almost like taking care of “their boys.” They recall the Civil War as a time when their work as nurses made a difference. It gave them an opportunity to prove they had the ability and courage to help.

During the Revolutionary War, women played major roles in combat. From supportive positions like maids, cooks and nurses to auxiliary roles such as spies or secret soldiers. The Daughters of Liberty did more than their share to help win America’s independence. Deborah Samson Gannett, from Plymouth, Massachusetts, concealed herself as a soldier named Robert Shurtlieff Samson. Robert was the name of her now deceased brother. (Wienkop) Deborah came from a very poor family

I’ve spent weeks upon weeks learning about the Revolutionary War, but I was not expecting to learn as many interesting facts as I did. For example, I knew about the legend of Betsy Ross sewing the first American flag I just didn’t realize how many women historical figures there were. The young lady that stood out to me the most was 16 year old Sybil Ludington. On April 26th, 1777 she rode 40 miles to alert her father’s militia company that Danbury, Connecticut was under attack and to have everyone meet at the Ludington house. Knowing that women and men weren’t treated equally back then, I think that was a very heroic thing for Sybil to do. She most likely saved many lives that could have been lost. Imagine how grateful the people in Danbury were for her heroic actions. I also found some of the methods the soldiers used incredibly interesting. One of these clever methods was used with lanterns. One or two lanterns were placed in the spire of Boston’s Old North Church to alert

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

Esther Hill Hawks, M.D. is one of the many women that decided to stay away from the battlefields in order to support the Union Army. She and her husband were well to do doctors that worked in a hospital that took in and cared for black soldiers. On one day Hawks was to expect over five hundred wounded soldiers.

This image shows Mary Edward Walker. She was the only female surgeon to ever serve during the Civil War and advocated for women's rights. During the Civil War, she was captured by the Confederate Army. When she was released, she received the Medal of Honor for her meritorious service. When the civil war was over, Walker lectured on issues such as dress reform and Women’s suffrage. Mary Walker started the realization and advocation that women are equal to

In the United States, women played an imperative role that is clearly depicted in American history. Women’s significance was apparent in imperative historical events such as the American Revolution, struggle for independence, and the colonial America. During the American Revolution, women contributed significantly, where they played an active role in the American armies (Wayne & Tiffany 213). In this case, the women participated in the war as soldiers, where they fought alongside men, with the intention of overwhelming nations that took part in the revolutionary war. Women such as Deborah Sampson, Hannah Snell, among many others played an active role (women soldiers) during the revolutionary war. Their active participation in battle accounted for their rise in high military ranks. The likes of Deborah Sampson were named aide-de-camps to revolutionary war generals such as John Peterson.

Nearly 20,000 women worked more directly for the Union war effort. Working-class white women and free and enslaved African-American women worked as laundresses, cooks and “matrons,” and some 3,000 middle-class white women worked as nurses. The activist Dorothea Dix, the superintendent of Army nurses, put out a call for responsible, maternal volunteers who would not distract the troops or behave in unseemly or unfeminine ways: Dix insisted that her nurses be “past 30 years of age, healthy, plain almost to repulsion in dress and devoid of personal attractions.” (One of the most famous of these Union nurses was the writer Louisa May Alcott.)

These female volunteers generally obtained no compensation. Still other females and most men, who were characterized as medically skilled nurses, had their obligations appointed to them in a higher manner because of how close they lived to a battlefield or medical healing hospital. As army skilled nurse, Sarah Palmer, wrote in The Story of Aunt Becky’s Army-Life, “I think it was well that no one ever held a bond over me strong enough to restrain me from performing my plain duty, fulfilling the promise which I made my brothers on enlistment, that I would go with them down to the scene of conflict, and be near when sickness or the chances of battle threw them helpless from the ranks. I found it was a place for women. It was something to brave popular opinion, something to bear the sneers of those who loved their ease better than their country 's heroes, and who could sit down in peace and comfort at home, while a soldier 's rations, and a soldier 's tent for months and years made up the sum of our luxurious life.” (Palmer 1-2) It’s easy to gather that Civil War nurses faced several of the same hardships the soldiers for whom they cared for faced as well. Most of the Civil War nurses who enlisted in the war as nurses had very little knowledge on medical training. Although, they provided great care and comforted the sick army soldiers, they faced hardships beyond the battlefield. They performed the many duties I previously discussed as nurses, which many in society viewed as

Women have courageously served in the military in many ways. “During the American Revolutionary War, women served the U.S. Army in traditional roles as nurses, seamstresses and cooks for troops in camp (Women in the U.S. Army).” These jobs were needed to keep the military healthy and functional to continue the fight. These women were not sheltered from the war, and were by no means safe from harm. During the Civil War females held many of the same positions, and faced the same dangers. The only female recipient of the Medal of Honor was Dr. Mary E Walker, who was captured by Confederate forces in 1862. During peace time, the regular military was not enlisting women, but when war was declared, women became invaluable. Brigadier General Edwin H. Simmons, who served in the

While out on the battlefield working in places not ‘proper’ for a lady to be in helped change public opinion on what women can do. Once the Civil War had ended, following the rise of industrialization of cities, the populations nearly doubled in cities leading to cramp, crowded living conditions. The Incremented population in the small area helped the spread of disease immensely, so much so that the sick wards of hospitals had been almost always full of emaciated patients. The sheer number of people needing treatment led to more employees being hired at the hospitals without any rational background check, because of that, many of the employees were drunkards or convicts, even prostitutes had the option of being sentenced to jail or going into health care. The night shift was desolate of nurses, rather being watched by

1861: Clara Barton was known as “Angel of the Battlefield” during the Civil war. She provided care to soldiers both from the North and South side. She was the first president of Red Cross Association, now the American Red Cross (Burton & Ludwig, 2015). Dorothea Dix was a