The Civil War affected every aspect of American life. Across the nation, north and south, homes and families were destroyed. In the south, the once fertile landscape was laid to waste, and an entire region was stripped of its ability to foster any type of economy. This devastating and brutal war forced the women to start doing different kinds of jobs, which they had not done before. While the men were all out fighting in battle, women flocked in to fill their positions in the workplace, as well as the battlefield. They secretly posed as men to fight in battle, worked as spies and especially were active as nurses on and off the battlefield. Before the war men thought that it was impossible for women to perform such tasks, but that belief was quickly proven otherwise.
The war started in 1861 and by the time 1863 came around the union was desperate for troops. As a result of this very labor-intensive need, Congress enacted a military draft. This law required all white men between the ages of 20 and 45 to report for military duty. Women were left, in both south and north, to tend to the plantations and farms. Industries at this point were not as mechanized as they are today. When the men went to war, this forced large numbers of women and children into work at the factories. (Hart)
Women did not just carry burdens and make sacrifices for the good of the war, but some extraordinary women were brave enough to fight side by side along with the men. Both Confederate and Union armies forbade the enlistment of women. However, women from both armies assumed masculine names, disguised themselves as men and stepped out onto the battlefield to fight. Since these women were disguised as men, it was nearly impossible to tell exactly how many women participated and died in battle. Mary Livermore of the U.S. Sanitary Commission in 1888 remembers:
“Someone has stated the number of women soldiers known to the service as little less than four hundred. I cannot vouch for the correctness of this estimate, but I am convinced that a larger number of women disguised themselves and enlisted in the service, for one cause or other, than was dreamed of. Entrenched in secrecy, and regarded as men, they were sometimes revealed as women, by accident or casualty. Some startling histories of these military women were current in the gossip of army life.” (Livermore, National Archives)
What amazed Confederate and Union leaders the most was how capable women were at being spies. Some women, like Rose O’Neal Greenhow and Belle Boyd, were successful because men did not think women could accomplish such an assignment. Both Greenhow and Boyd were successful spies from the Confederate army. For instance, Greenhow observed the battle for Fort Sumpter and reported it in a letter to Alexander Boteler, “The enemy have put forth every effort to capture it… For the last week the enemy has been attacking our batteries - having made a lodgemont on Morris island - one end of which we hold, and upon which is planted Battery Wagner... On Saturday they commenced a combined naval and land attack, and continued until dawn to shell this Battery. I witnessed this whole from St. Michael's tower and it was fearfully grand.” (Greenhow)
Even though, Belle Boyd was not as nearly notorious as Greenhow, her information that she passed on helped Confederate troops take Front Royal. She happened to be staying at a hotel, where Union General James Shields was meeting with some of his officers. She overheard valuable information about troops moving toward the east, which meant the Union army would have less numbers stationed at Front Royal. Later on, before being discovered as a spy, Boyd received lavish praise from Confederate General Stonewall Jackson for her actions toward the victory. He said, "I thank you, for myself and for the army, for the immense service that you have rendered your country today.” (
http://civilwarwomen.blogspot.com/2008/06/belle-boyd.html)
Women did not just risk their lives in battle, but also tried their hardest to save lives too. About two thousand women, North and South, served as volunteer nurses in military hospitals during the American Civil War. Before then, most nurses were men; it was not traditional for women to lend a helping hand in the hospital. In fact, it was considered somewhat risqué for women to leave their homes and undertake such a risky and difficult job.
Louisa May Alcott is one of the most well known Civil War nurses. This is because she chose to write about her experiences during the war; most nurses did not leave any records behind. An excerpt from her diary describes a usual day in the hospital:
“Till noon I trot, trot, giving out rations, cutting up food for helpless “boys”, washing faces, teaching my attendants how beds are made or floors are swept, dressing wounds, … dusting tables, sewing bandages, keeping my tray tidy, rushing up and down after pillows, bed-linen, sponges, books, and directions, till it seems as if I would joyfully pay down all I possess for fifteen minutes' rest. At twelve the big bell rings, and up comes dinner for the boys, who are always ready for it and never entirely satisfied. Soup, meat, potatoes, and bread is the bill of fare. Charley Thayer, the attendant, travels up and down the room serving out the rations, saving little for himself, yet always thoughtful of his mates, and patient as a woman with their helplessness. When dinner is over, some sleep, many read, and others want letters written. This I like to do, for they put in such odd things, and express their ideas so comically, I have great fun interiorally, while as grave as possible exteriorally. A few of the men word their paragraphs well and make excellent letters. John's was the best of all I wrote. The answering of letters from friends after someone had died is the saddest and hardest duty a nurse has to do.” (Alcott)
Unlike, Ms. Alcott not all women were trained as nurses; however the injured soldiers needed all the help they could get. Mary Kelly traveled from Pennsylvania to Winchester, Virginia, to care for her injured husband. While she was there she ended up nursing other wounded soldiers besides her husband. In the following letter Mary wrote to her sister in Pennsylvania. She writes, “Mr. Slocum is going tomorrow he has his thigh broken but seems in good spirits. I think he will soon get well. The ladies here have been very kind to our men though there are plenty of Secesh here of the meanest kind.” (Kelly)
On top of everything, the number one issue which affected women the most was dealing with problems in and outside the home that fathers, brothers and husbands used to do. An example is a letter from George Tillotson to his wife Elizabeth. n this letter he sends her off to do his bidding. The errand entails straightening out a quarrel between her husband, Fred Bunnell, and a man named Will White. Mr. Bunnell owned a stallion who was supposed to cover Mr. Tillotson’s and Mr. White’s mares. The deal fell through. However, Mr. Tillotson was at war, which left Elizabeth Tillotson to settle the matter. In the letter Mr. Tillotson writes,
“ The damned scoundrel (Fred Bunnell) knows as well as I do that Will White was to pay for his horses services and that he himself accepted White for pay at the time the trade was made and I can prove it…Yes I think best to try the luck again but if there is any other good horse in the country which has a deasent owner send her there instead of to Bunnells and if Fred comes around just read to him what I say about it. I did not expect to have my letter published and don’t think its looks very well in print but still I shant scold now it can’t be helped.” (Tillotson)
These were the typical situations women were put into, while the men were away. Most of them were able to keep things going, which proved women are capable of taking care of affairs outside the home. Although their contributions to the war effort would bring forth many positive changes in how people thought about ordinary women, they would still continue to suffer under the accusation of inferiority by virtue of their gender long after the war ended. Their time to rise permanently would come at World War I.
