Women's Role In The Civil War

Throughout history, women have played pivotal roles in many parts of history as well as create their own history by advocating for women’s rights. Women were not able to be much other than housewives during the times before the Civil War, however, when the Civil War came, women were promoted to many new positions. As the Kelvin and Laurie Hillstrom said in their academic journal titled, Women in the Civil War published in 2000, “In order to serve their country, these women had to overcome traditional attitudes that had limited them to roles as homemakers and mothers in the past” (Hillstrom). In addition, Nayani Melegoda’s academic journal titled, Southern Women in the American Civil War, 1861-1865 published in 2007, “From the beginning to the
end of the Civil War women played a prominent role in supporting their nation and families. It was not only the poor, black or elite women; women from all walks of life were involved. Historians have often stated that women made the Civil War their war” (Melegoda). During the time of the Civil War, women played pivotal roles as they formed unions to support the men, acted as spies, became workers, and aided as nurses. At the beginning of the Civil War in 1861, women played major roles as supporters of their country and soldiers when they began to form unions and committees for things such as medical aid with one specifically being the “Sanitary”.
When the war first began, women were particularly concerned about the health and well being of the soldiers as many of them had never been involved in battle before and were very clueless when it came to self-protection. Women petitioned to be involved by selecting one hundred out of a thousand women to work in army hospitals. Lincoln approved, but with apprehension as stated from the oratory of Josiah H. Benton Jr. on Decoration Day of 1894 titled What Women Did for the War and What the War Did for Women. “The consent of the government to the establishment of this commission was very reluctant, and President Lincoln said he feared it might be the "fifth wheel of the coach;" but within twenty-four hours from the time it was authorized it was actively at work. Its membership was increased first to twenty-one, and subsequently to over five hundred” (Benton). Women clearly were very eager to help in as many ways as possible. This group, which expanded to 7,000 members, was known as The Sanitary Commission. Their goal was to reduced soldier’s death due to disease. Women in the Civil War stated, “Before it’s inception, four soldiers died of disease for every one who fell in battle. The Sanitary reduced this ratio by half. By one estimate, it saved
more than 180,000 lives” (Women in the Civil War). Women who were homemakers or not close to battlefields could contribute to the war in the way of forming unions to build aid. Aside from forming unions, women of the Civil War era were also able to contribute to the war effort by acting as spies. Women were able to easily and very covertly perform that task because no one had expected them to act in such ways. One woman in particular, Belle Boyd set the stage for espionage and clandestine services among women during the war. During the Shenandoah Valley Campaign, Boyd found herself in the middle of a convention of union soldiers discussing tactics about how to fight off the incoming confederate troops. When she was discovered as a confederate woman, she was literally chased out of there and hunted until she reached the confederate army a few miles away. She continued her services until she was arrested in 1862 when she served a month in prison with no charges (Engle). The reward fore these services however was very little. According to the Encyclopedia of the Confederacy under the title “Espionage: Confederate Military Spies” published in New York by Simon & Shuster in 1993, “Many of them received no money for their pains, and most who were paid received little more than their expenses. They were individuals doing what they could for the cause in which they believed” (Espionage: Confederate Military Spies). Clearly, these women put themselves out there and did only what they thought was for the better without any expectation of pay. Next, women of the Civil War were able to fill the gap in the workforce when they began to work in factories. With the loss of men to war, many of the effects of the industrial revolution were reversed until women proved themselves as able to work in the factories. Victoria E. Ott’s article titled Daughters of the Union: Northern Women Fight the Civil War discusses several roles of women in the war, which includes an explanation for why women went to work in factories. “Left at home without the economic support of men, women devised creative means of sustaining the household economy, including assuming wage-earning jobs, farm labor, and selling surplus items” (Ott). Even though all of that work was done, women were still discriminated for their gender and the work they did. Many women worked in textile factories sewing and making cloth, but they only made half of the wages men did if they made that much (Zboray). Some women were angered because they needed those wages to support themselves when there was no husband to take care of them, but others didn’t mind as much because they were just working to work. Obviously, women of the Civil War worked hard to fill they gap in the workforce and earn their share of wages available. Last, one of the largest and well-known contributions of women in the Civil War was their service as nurses.
Nurses were one of the most essential and influential parts of the Civil War. As mentioned above, The Sanitary Union was a group of female nurses who strived to keep hospitals and work areas clean to prevent diseases and improve health of the injured soldiers. Their efforts definitely paid off. According to Women on the Battlefield in the Gale Library of Life: American Civil War printed in 2008, “Fewer than four thousand women served as paid nurses for the Union Army. Neither the number of paid Confederate nurses nor the women on both sides who nursed without compensation is recorded with any accuracy” (Women on the Battlefield). This behavior may of nursing was an act of love from some women who followed their husbands to battle. Jo Ann Carrigan’s account of war nurses ttitled Our Army Nurses: Stories from Women In the Civil War / Angels of Mercy: An Eyewitness Account of the Civil War and Yellow Fever published in 1999 stated, “Many women followed husbands into service, occasionally leaving young children with relatives. Sometimes when a soldier was wounded, his wife went to the base hospital to care for him and stayed on, after his recovery or his death, to nurse other sick and wounded soldiers” (Carrigan). Clearly, these women were very brave and expedient with their care of their men and soldiers. Women were very involved especially in that area because young
men loved having women tend to and care for them. In conclusion, women played many pivotal roles in the Civil War, which improved their moral, as well as the countries and the soldiers they came into contact with. Women who wanted to contribute to the war in small ways helped out with the funding unions like The Sanitary, which aided nursing efforts. When they wanted to become more involved, they acted as spies and informants. Women also worked in factories or textile mills to fill gaps in the workforce and earn wages. Yet, the most common and often important part of the contribution of women in the Civil War was their contribution as nurses. Clearly, women improved themselves and the war effort by their extraordinary contributions.