Women's Role In The Civil War

Rather it be experiencing extreme passion to discover the world, patriotism and determinism to fight for their beliefs, or simply a desire to help, many women joined the Civil War. As an amazing step of progress in history, these heroes effectively challenged traditional values

During the American Civil War, many women volunteered to become nurses who eventually impacted the lives of others. Before the Civil War era, the nursing profession consisted of only men, however that changed once the war began and led many woman to converge to join. As men were fighting a bloody war, women were fighting their own battles to prove that they can be strong just like men. Their situation required them to have real strength and stamina, in which they proved to the men they had. Some nurses even risked their lives to go out on the fields to aid soldiers or even pass off as soldiers. Women such as Clara Barton and Dorthea Dix provided care for those soldiers and became one of the most influential nurses in the American Civil War because of their work and

Society on both sides varied in terms of race, social class, and gender. This included both for African Americans and the general women population. Though women played an important role in the war as spies or nurses women were mostly discouraged in medical administration and military service. They had to prove whether they were worthy for the job by being able to withstand grisly conditions especially full of male strangers. Some women craved fighting which led to some incidences where women disguised as men to fight in the war; these were the “woman in battle”. Women did many other things other than medical work which included serving meals, sending letters to soldiers, and laundry. Nevertheless, women were mostly restricted from military service. They had to be highly skilled otherwise would be of no

Since most of these women were poor wives, mothers, and daughters who were accustomed to doing housework, they were well suited for the positions. Soldiers although women were not allowed to serve at the time and join the military. Many women still served as secret soldiers during revolutionary war. Females often disguised themselves as men by cutting their hair, binding their breast with bandages and adopting masculine names. Their motivations for signing up vary but since most of these women were young, unmarried and poor.

One of the social aspects during the time 1861-1865 revolved around the new roles given to women. While the hundreds of thousands of men went to war, women were left to manage their new roles as head of the household. What this means is that they now had to undertake the jobs the men would usually do. Some of these new roles included running farms and stores, and working in government, factories, and offices while managing their own households, as well. The war also permitted women to enter former male-orientated professions such as teaching, civil service, and nursing, due to the shortage of men (Keene, 392). The nursing profession practically became completely female-orientated after around 30 years, despite the disapproval of many male doctors

Everyone thinks that men where the only ones in the war, but that is not all true. In the civil war there women and men. Although women where not allowed to be in the war many disguised themselves as men to fight. Every women who went into the war had there own reasons, but most women went to the war to stay close to their love ones. It was discovered that women where in the war when they where cleaning the battle field and they discover a women dressed as a man. That is just one case of finding them an estimate of female soldier in the war is between four hundred and seven hundred and

While many men were coerced or volunteered into fighting or serving in the American Revolution, many women were forced into taking on the leadership roles society was in need of. Examples of this change included the non-domestic roles women took on in the military such as nurses, cooks, and maids for the soldiers. A key historical figure showing the unconventional roles of women in this time is Deborah Sampson who successfully disguised herself as a male soldier and fought in the war. This is significant because women felt empowered and felt a sense of worth in the name of their countries’ independence. This inspired many women to support feminism.

Nearly 20,000 women worked directly towards the American Civil War effort. Clara Barton, and many other brave women risked their lives aiding the sick and wounded alongside Dorthea Dix. Elizabeth Blackwell and Clara Barton were both inspired to create aid and relief organizations. The few female surgeons during the civil war took part in destroying the stereotype that women can’t be surgeons. Hannah Ropes and Mary Ann Bickerdyke stood up to their male superiors and achieved respect in the hospitals across America. As the American Civil War progressed, women started to stray from their traditional feminine roll by supporting the medical field in many ways, such as nursing on the battlefront and creating aid organizations, becoming surgeons, and earning respect in the hospital system.

When the American Civil War began on April 12th, 1861, over 3 million Union and Confederate soldiers prepared for battle. Men from all over America were called upon to support their side in the confrontation. While their battles are well documented and historically analyzed for over a hundred years, there is one aspect, one dark spot missing in the picture: the role of women in the American Civil War. From staying at home to take care of the children to disguising themselves as men to fight on the battlefield, women contributed in many ways to the war effort on both sides. Though very few women are recognized for their vital contributions, even fewer are

She later got caught and was later put into prison in 1864 by confederate troops and taken into prison. Along with Mary Edward walker, Clara Barton, was an Army nurse. Clara was to serve help in curing injured men. She had a bad experience when she went to go cure a man, a bullet that killed the man she was helping was peireced threw her sleeve. She had been assisting him and tried to save him, but it was too late and he had died. Also these women made a legacy in life, Underground Railroad, being the first US army women surgeon, and the foundation of the American Red Cross. Mary Todd Lincoln, who was married to Abraham Lincoln. Although she was a lot different then the other important women in the civil war, she was just as important. She was the wife of the president during the war. Although she did not exactly fight or become a nurse of the war, she still had to take care of her family and all of Abraham’s stressful days. She had to mend to her children’s needs while Abraham was out making sure the troops in the war were in the right standings. When 1865 came around it was a terrible year for her, her family and her heart were crushed. Her loved one was assassinated, and her family and herself had no idea how to handle it. Being that she was the presidents wife, she was still important to make a legacy. Showed that women are strong enough to handle stress, children, and deaths in their family to be strong for

Most African American women supplied aid to black troops only, but there were few that were able to work in military hospitals wherever permitted. They fulfilled the regular duties of a nurse; they took care of the wounded and sick, went out to the battlefields to rescue the wounded, and even carried some dead off of the field. Another job that African American women held was working as spies and scouts, giving directions and information, and feeding and sheltering soldiers. The women of the South usually assisted white and black soldiers in the Union (Harper 4).

However not all women were at the war front as soldiers. Some women especially from the “Daughters of the regiment” were followers who assisted in cooking helping out on hospital ships and also helping out with domestic chores such as laundry and cleaning. Some were also made as teachers who educates soldiers on how to read and write. One of the important contribution females made were watching out as spies. Mary Ann Pittman was one of the spies during the civil war.

They opened up their homes to the wounded, raised money for and provided food and clothing to the Army. There are even several recorded instances of women serving as spies or soldiers in disguise. Most of the active participants however, were in the form of what was called "camp followers". While some of these were women were prostitutes, many others were wives, daughters and mothers of soldiers who followed the Army because they were unable to support themselves after their men left for war. They served the Continental Army as nurses, cooks, laundresses, and water bearers. These women became the earliest American examples of women who supported the military to "free a man to fight" as they performed jobs usually done by male soldiers.

Prior to WWI, women were only allowed to be a military nurse but even then, they weren 't actually enlisted. They were taking care of the men during the war and wasn’t given no type of recognition for doing so. Women 's roles

Women, regardless of the opposition, were determined to support their armies and their beliefs even on the battlefield. The North and South armies of the country were fighting without proper organization from their respective governments, leading women to volunteer to help their men in whatever manner they could. Contributing to the war effort, women were “responsible for much of the clothing, feeding, and nursing of the soldiers.”18 Women would cook and do the laundry for the soldiers, working in camps away from the battlefield. Other women would provide comfort for the dying soldiers, nurturing the wounded and staying with the men who were dying until their last moments. Their efforts were to offset the fact that the wounded men were separated from their loved ones and “represented domestic tranquility in the midst of armed conflict.”19 Women were not prohibited from nursing injured soldiers because it was “not yet a profession requiring special training…care of the sick and injured was traditionally a female skill”20. Nursing was not the only important contribution that women provided during the war. They also worked within their communities to make up for the men who had left to fight in the war, managing homes and plantations,