Women's Role In The Civil War

Nearly 20,000 women worked directly for the Union war effort (“Women in the Civil War”). Many of these women worked close or on the battlefield taking on positions like nurses, spies, and even soldiers. Being so close to the battlefield required a whole lot of courage. Women were brave enough to be so close to all of the fighting and to care for everyone at the same time. Inspired by the work of Florence Nightingale and her fellow nurses in the Crimean War, they tried to find a way to work on the front lines, caring for sick and injured soldiers and keeping the rest of the Union troops healthy and safe (“Women in the Civil War”). Because so many women helped the Union war effort, they played critical roles on and near the battlefield, and were
Being a spy was dangerous, and there was a high risk of getting caught. Most of the people who spied for the Union were either freed African-American women or Union sympathizers living in the south. Although being a spy was a risky job, that didn’t stop Union women from joining. “Probably thousands of women on both sides successfully passed on information to military officials at some point during the conflict,” (Currie 69). The women who participated in being spies were greatly appreciated, because the Union generals and army could benefit from almost every single tip they got. They cleverly snuck information and documents in baskets and shoes, leaving the opponent’s with almost no clue of what was going on. One thing that helped women spies not to get caught was that many military officials believed that women were not intelligent enough to remember such detailed military information (Currie 70). This helped the women spies to be able to sneak away without being captured. Each army wanted an advantage over the other, and women spies played important roles in giving the Union a step-up over the