Little Women

Did you know that women of the Civil War had a major impact on history? They influenced the occupation of nursing for many women, including Louisa May Alcott, who was the author of Little Women. While some of these women took on the roles of spies and soldiers, others stayed home to maintain their families and their homes. Women of the Civil War were very important to changing the course of history for women, by serving as courageous nurses, secretive spies, daring soldiers, and hardworking laborers on the home front. Women were motivated to join the war effort for a variety of reasons. Some joined the effort for adventure, and some because of patriotism for their cause and country. Some women served in the army simply because they wanted
to be with their loved ones who had gone to war. Those who wanted to be with their husbands or sons could enlisted as flag bearers, cooks, laundresses. Women who enlisted with their husbands, could earn $12 a month. (Zeinert 20)
Women who wanted to actually fight in the Civil War, dressed as men, cut their hair, changed their names, and enlisted in the army as soldiers. Those who fought disguised as men, earned a soldier’s pay of $13 per month (Cordell 1). All soldiers had to take a medical exam before enlisting, which probably discouraged many women from trying to enlist. The brave one’s found that examiners often only checked for “enough teeth to tear open a powder packet and enough fingers to pull a trigger” (Cordell 2). Both white and black women served as soldiers in the Civil War and no women had any effect on the Civil War and the battles that took place.)