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Harriet Tubman's Role In The Civil War

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During the Civil War, women took a unique role in America,by essentially taking the place of the men who went to war. When the men left, home life changed completely. Women now had to do many of the things that the men would have taken care of around the house, as well as the things that the women would normally do themselves. During the war, however, some women got more of a taste for life outside the home than others. They had to reconfigure themselves in the world and find where they belonged without the aid of men. 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 …show more content…

One such woman was Harriet Tubman, who was a female war spy. She was a former slave, and the head of the Underground Railroad, which freed more than 300 enslaved people. Before being a spy, she worked as a cook for the Union army until they decided to recruit her. She was a very active woman in the war. Harriet Tubman “became the first woman in the country’s history to lead a military expedition when she helped Col. James Montgomery plan a night raid to free slaves from rice plantations along the Combahee River”(smithsonian). There were also memorable women on the confederate side of the war. A famous confederate woman, who went by the name of Rebel Rose, played a significant role during the war. Her birth name was Rose O’Neal and she used her outstanding social fluidity to get intel and pass it down the right channels to the confederate army. Even under house arrest, Rebel Rose still got her messages out. Women spies were sneaky during the war, usually using their charm to gain information for their side. Sometimes, they would even sneak weapons and supplies to the troops “To smuggle goods such as morphine, ammunition or weapons, they often attached them to the frame of their hoop skirts or hid them in baskets, packages and even inside dolls.””(civilwarsaga). Women in the civil war were not just useful in hospitals, but also excelled with undercover assignments as

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