Women in the Civil 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.
First off the nurses were important because they were the ones who helped the injured ones or the sick ones. Normally it would be the nurses who would find out if the women disguised as men would actually be a woman and when they found out the truth they would have to go and tell a genreal the truth. Now between 2,000 to 5,000 women volunteered as nurses during the war. Nursing was a gruesome job that provided an upclose look at the horrific casualties of the war. Civil War nurses cleaned wounds, fed soldiers, dispensed medication and assisted surgeons during operations and medical procedure like amputations.
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Yes it was hard to do these roles but they risked their lives especially if they went to go and fight. At least some of the women had hope that their husband or loved one would return back home alive. And the nurses were brave for not passing out while doing operations to the injured ones.
In Conclusion, the women in the Civil War were really important because of what they did and why they did it. I hope I gave enough information to tell you why they were so important when the war had happened. Even some of them risked their lives for their side and country. Maybe not a lot of women died but they tried their hardest. It must have been hard for them to go and fight like that and it was sad because what if some of them had a loved one back home then they would’ve been really
Even though men said the battlefield was no place for women, these ladies contributed in their own ways. One of the main ways women committed to the war effort was by taking the job of a nurse (Youhn). Women had a lot more experience caring for the sick and wounded, along with keeping a room sterile, than men (Youhn). Some of these
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 was the first time that women had ever had a major role in combat. They signed up for volunteer brigades, and many went to work as nurses for the soldiers. More than 400 adventurous women actually put on disguises
There were others that were about of the regiments in which the male relative was serving. These women “camp followers” tended to the sick, cleaned weapons, cooked, and help take care of the sick. (Middle Tennessee State University Teaching with Primary Sources, 2015) In my own opinion I believe the war had a great effect on the women of both the North and the South. Without them, I don’t believe there would have been enough nurses to have saved the men they did and there wouldn’t have been anything “at home” for all left on the home-front. Because of the war, we have great American History about women and the impact they had on the Civil War and after. Which I believe led to a huge part of the Women’s Rights Movement.
Another woman who was influential in providing the Union with medical support was nurse Clara Barton. She was one of the main volunteers to first show up at the Washington clinic to watch over injured Union officers. After her dad’s passing, Barton left the city clinics to go among the officers in the field. She was able to bring three wagons full of medical supplies to the Union soldiers at the Battle of Antietam which is known as the “bloodiest single-day battle in American History.” Through that battle she gathered men and directed them to get water, prepare food, and perform any first aid necessary for the injured soldiers. Many of the supplies and transportation need for the Union was provided by Barton herself or donations she was able to get. These are just two of the thousands of women nurses who aided the Union to succeed in critical battles of the American Civil War.
For Civil War women in the 1860s it was predictable wisdom that a “woman’s place is in the home,” but the Civil War challenged this view. There were many women who played an important role in the Civil War. It is normal to think the Civil War was a man’s fight. However during the war, many women challenged the role of the women and took on different roles. While the men marched off to war, the women had to work hard and try to provide for their families. Women became doctors, spies, nurses, couriers, and even soldiers.
Some of the first female nurses entered the battlefields during the Revolutionary War (“Women’s”). So, when the Civil War began in 1861, “between 2,000 to 5,000 women volunteered as nurses” (Brooks). Nurses had to deal with a lot of traumatic events, and “many nurses came under fire and were wounded or killed. One quarter suffered serious illnesses, and there was a constant risk from typhoid fever,
April 12, 1861 was a day that played a crucial part to what the United States is today. This was the first day that the Civil War broke out, the Battle of Bull Run, and from then on it was history. Many citizens played part in to making this war right, although the Union had a big advantage, so did the Confederacy. This was the first time that women were going to have the opportunity to play a big role in United States history. Women played a huge role in the Civil War. If it weren’t for many women who gave their lives and dedication to this war, this war’s results would have turned out to be really different, and the crucial part to this were the accomplishments of Woman Spies.
The American Civil War was a time of pronounced racial and gender role changes. Despite political tension and fighting, many women began to hold a variety of jobs in order to make valuable contributions to the war effort. Moreover, a patriarchal government governed the effects of slavery and the economy. Nonetheless, the influence women had during the Civil War tends to be minimized, especially African American women. Despite facing discrimination, black women greatly influenced the war effort. The discrimination they faced is most prominently seen through wage disparities between white and black female workers and the pensions black women were denied when the war came to an end. One such occupation African American women held were as
When bringing up the Civil War, many people connect it to the amount of deaths that had taken place or the idea that this war had put a stop to slavery. During this time in history, however, women played a significant role in the Civil War. Although it may have seemed that way, women in fact did not just sit idly and let the men go through war alone. In reality, women had multiple jobs to perform during this four year conflict. Women were highly influential throughout the war by the different tasks and jobs they would perform in place of or for the men. With all that new gained independence and responsibilities, women also began to realize their worth. At this point in time, it was one step taken towards respecting women at the same level as
The Civil War, fought in 1861, is known for its audacious men and their hard work towards the four-year-long war. Many would have never known that among the soldiers who fought were more than four-hundred women. During the 1800s, men believed that “true women” should not receive equal rights as they do and were expected to do housework and raise a family. When the war broke out, men were sent to fight in the war, leaving a gateway to a new lifestyle for women. The Civil War was an opportunity for women, allowing them to face new duties and responsibilities as a way to change perception between men and women, such as fighting in the war, nursing for the sick and wounded, and providing resources to the soldiers.
Many other things were happening during the war other than fighting. Such as African Americans were being hated. Immigrants were struggling to find jobs and to make money to provide for their families. But I thought the most interesting part was what the women were doing. Since the men were leaving to fight the women were taking jobs in the army and filling the jobs that the men left behind. That is how American women had a big impact on the war both fighting and on the homefront.
Women were truly helpful and needed during the Civil War. There is adversity in a world that is not fair,but despite this, women still put forth the maximum effort to help. There were nurses, spies, soldiers, abolitionists, civil rights advocates, and promotes of women’s suffrage. There is over four hundred documented cases of women dressing up as men, and fighting for their cause. With their beliefs in mind, Women from both sides chopped off their long hair, traded their dresses for guns, and fought for what they believe in. Opinionated people would say that these women were ‘mentally unbalanced’ or that they were ‘prostitutes.’ The United States service magazine said, “Those who generalize on the impropriety and non ladylikeness of such conduct, are questionably in the right, according to the practical parlor standard of life.” Women had a eagerness to fight for their beliefs, and some said they had more than the men fighting along beside them. The women who didn’t go to battle stayed home and took the jobs that men had. Finally they had independence, which was foreign to them. Sarah Rosetta Wareman was a female soldier serving the New York State volunteers. She was one of the few who wrote home about her struggles. She struggled with her gender, and in one letter she wrote, “I am as independent as a hog on ice.” She saw the war as a source of freedom from her strict family. Also, you didn’t have to be
The civil war was a tragic war, Many people fought and lost their lives to give us freedom. The civil war was not supposed to happen, Abraham wanted freedom and wanted everyone to be friends and get along but some people didn’t like what he wanted so they went to war to fight for it. The civil war happened in the year 1861-1865, During the war 620,000 people lost their lives fighting for the country. This passage is not only about the civil war but it is about women’s rights and It tells the reader about how the sneaky they were during the civil war.
For the duration of the civil war, many women decided to disguise themselves as men and enlist into the army. The reasons women joined the army has a wide variation which spans across love, patriotism, or the want for adventure. (Smith) One woman, Amy Clark, joined the war in order to fight alongside her husband. Clark was so determined that she kept on fighting even after her husband had been killed. (Chang) Women were most often discovered when they were injured and needed to be examined by a doctor. (Smith) Nonetheless, these women fought bravely to stand up among the men in order to fight for what they believed in. Unfortunately, out of the estimated 400 to 750 women who fought in the war, only one received a veteran’s pension. (Smith) Although this may be true, it indeed is a grave injustice because those courageous women deserved recognition. Among the women who decided to serve as soldiers were those who choose to be spies. An example of a prominent female spy was Elizabeth Van Lew, more famously known as Crazy Betsy. Living in Richmond, the Confederate capital, Betsy would collect information from hearing the confederates talk around her. With this in mind, whenever she gathered information she would send it to the Union for their purposes. Not only did she spy for the Union, but she also hid union soldiers in her home. (Chang) The work that Betsy did to assist the Union was truly