Women During the Civil War " I want something to do ' Write a book,' Qouth the author of my being. Don't know enough, sir. First live, then write.' Try teaching again,' suggested my mother. No thank you, ma'am, ten years of that is enough.' Take a husband like my Darby, and fulfill your mission,' said sister Joan. Can't afford expensive luxuries, Mrs. Coobiddy.' Go nurse the soldiers,' said my young brother, Tom. I will!' (Harper 14)." This is a dialog of Louisa May Alcott with her relatives. Miss Alcott, like many other African American women, helped serve in the Civil War. During the Civil War, Miss Alcott held a variety of jobs. Mainly working as a writer, she held positions as a nurse, teacher, and volunteered in …show more content…
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). For the African American women that couldn't get jobs in the war, they spent their time supporting and setting up organizations to aid the black troops. The United States Colored Infantry, National Freedmen's Relief Association, and Ladies' Union Association were just a few of the organizations set up to provide the necessary care for the black troops. Most of the organizations were set up in fear that the black troops would not receive the same privileges and care that the white troops had. These organizations would send the black troops clothing, blankets, and food. The women would also help the families of the troops. They had shelter for the families to stay in and they would help write the soldiers letters. One of the most important aspects of these organizations was during the war they rallied other African Americans for their fight against
Women in the armed forces and social welfare programs both brought advantages to non working civilians. World war 2 was the time that women were given new opportunities to help in the war. The Canadian Women Army corps was one of the women divisions, and had more than 50% of the 50000 women who had enlisted in the program were involved in this section. The women helped on foot with basic essential tasks, for instance, cooking and preparing meals as well as washing the laundry. Having the women take on these jobs gave the men more time to spend the majority of their time fighting at battle and less or the time spent having to take care of their minor needs. Eventually women started to take on more severe male jobs, they worked as mechanics and also had the task of driving around the ambulance cars and other important vehicles around the fields. Next to these women who both stayed in Canada and travelled overseas, there were also those who took part in the Canadian Women Airforce. The women in this sector had been trained for administrative and support roles, although on top of this women proceeded to work in other positions as the war continued. They were working as parachute riggers, lab assistants, and in all the mechanical and electrical areas. The wage for women increased due to their joining of the higher male jobs and aircraft business. The third area
Many filled in as medical attendants in the both the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. Others served in all branches of the military. On the home front, ladies worked in processing plants building boats, tanks, and planes; others upheld war bond drives, raised triumph cultivates, and helped with scrap drives.
In this essay i will explain not only the civil war, I will explain the impact women made on the civil war. U should read this to not only understand more about the women in the Civil war but to see that women can do as much as men. This essay will prove that women is as much good as men. You may never know what women did to help in the Civil war if u don't read this essay The Courageous Women of the Civil War
When the American Civil War began on April 12th, 1861, over 3 million Union and Confederate soldiers prepared for battle. Men from all over America were called upon to support their side in the confrontation. While their battles are well documented and historically analyzed for over a hundred years, there is one aspect, one dark spot missing in the picture: the role of women in the American Civil War. From staying at home to take care of the children to disguising themselves as men to fight on the battlefield, women contributed in many ways to the war effort on both sides. Though very few women are recognized for their vital contributions, even fewer are
Southern women had no national organizations, but had charitable groups to help aid the war effort. Charity balls and fairs were used to raise money for the war. Thousands of women served as nurses, while many took over jobs that the men had to leave behind, such as working in factories or offices, taking over plantations, farms, and even finances. The work the women did during the war also changed their future. When the men came back, many took back their jobs, but after the war there were more educational opportunities available to women, nursing offered postwar employment, and their cultural, political, economic, and social lives would never be as confining as they were
n recent years, historians (including this reviewer) have examined the complex reactions of Confederate women to the Civil War with an emphasis on ambivalence, class conflict, and new gender roles. There has also been an emphasis on disaffection from the Confederacy and sometimes from men in general. Much of this scholarship has attempted to revise and even displace the stock contemporary and historical images of Confederate women as fervent and unwavering patriots willing to make any sacrifice for their beloved cause. Perhaps the interpretative pendulum has swung a bit far, and the publication of Ellen Renshaw House 's diary should remind us that the traditional picture of fire-breathing and unreconstructed "secesh females" had some basis in fact.
When you hear women in the civil war, what do you think? Some people think can that really be, women are not meant for war, all they are needed for is cooking and cleaning and taking care of their children. Well everyone who stereotypes women of that is wrong, because just like men women did have some part of the civil war. Although they may have not fought in the war, they did help with the recovery of the injured men so that they can go back and fight in the war. Being a union nurse is not the only way they were apart of the war, some women did things that went down in history. Just like Harriet Tubman, who made history because she was the creator of the Underground Railroad. She was not the only women who was part of the army and made a
Women were mostly known as the support systems during the time of the war they helped out by providing assistance to the military force. This included them cooking, Moving into the house to support the slave-owners wife when he went out to serve in the war, Taking care of the wounded and sick was another job of the African American females and there were those women that work alongside the men in making forts to protect both the Indians and the British and working as spies that jobs were to keep them informed on the British and with the promise of freedom was motivation and it kept the women working harder and finding several ways to assist as much as they
In 1942 the Women’s Army Corps was introduced. These women worked in more than 200 non- combatant jobs stateside and also every part of the war. They served not only as common nurses but also “within the ranks of the United States Army.” There was also the Women’s Army Corps introduced in 1942. This group of 1,100 women was asked to join and fly military aircraft, due to the shortage of pilots. Their job was to fly from factories to military bases and also different take off points around the country. Even though during their enlistment the WASP were supposed to become part of the military, after a couple years the program was cancelled. The last group the, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service, was already established. After being absent for twenty-three years, they had to be reactivated because of WW2. While a large portion of these women did the job of secretarial and clerical they had other jobs they did. Thousands of WAVES performed duties in aviation, medical professions, communication, intelligence, science and technology. These military jobs and the other non-traditional jobs the women participated in made them almost like a ghost in their home front.
They opened up their homes to the wounded, raised money for and provided food and clothing to the Army. There are even several recorded instances of women serving as spies or soldiers in disguise. Most of the active participants however, were in the form of what was called "camp followers". While some of these were women were prostitutes, many others were wives, daughters and mothers of soldiers who followed the Army because they were unable to support themselves after their men left for war. They served the Continental Army as nurses, cooks, laundresses, and water bearers. These women became the earliest American examples of women who supported the military to "free a man to fight" as they performed jobs usually done by male soldiers.
Women in the nineteenth century were beginning to let themselves go. When the Civil War began, many women were not content to sit home and set up charity events. Some women took a more active, romantic role during an the time of the war. Some of the women during the Civil War are best recalled for their colorful clothes, compassion, and holding up the house. But some women began joining the army, to be fight with their husbands and loved ones, or to even prove to themselves and society that women could do a man's job just as well as men. Some seeked the war opportunity for excitement and travel. The fact of the matter is that women committed to the Civil War by either becoming soldiers,
After four years of seemingly endless battle between a divided nation, more than 600,000 people were killed. These lives, however, were not given in vain. Had it not been for the American Civil War, abolition may not have been carried out. The nation might have remained divided. Women might have remained confined to their roles as the "homemakers." Although the Civil War was fought in hopes of preserving the nation and ridding it of slavery, another war raged on within the depths of this war--the women's war. Serving as nurses both in the hospital and on the battlefields, women came to know a whole
The ideology of “true womanhood” defined the majority of American woman to stay back home focusing primarily on housework and childcare. However, when the Civil War broke out and men went in mass to fight for their side North or South, women had more responsibilities at home. Many of them became the head of the house hold and had to find out how to feed their families, taking care their kids and making sure everything running smoothly. Women were now in charge of more physically farm work such as planting, harvesting and even maintaining. Beside handling more roles within household, women began to get involve in more duties to support the war and their family members, neighbors and friends who were in the military. They were charged with helping to keep soldiers’ morale. They were expected to always be cheerful when keep their soldier updated about daily news from home. It was a difficult responsibility while there were so many changes when their men went to war.
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
There was another group of women who put their lives and in many cases their reputations at risk to help during the war. These women worked as spies, smugglers, couriers, and guides. As in other areas, the exact number of women that served in this capacity for the North and South during the war is