Women played an important role in the American Civil War. The role of women during the Civil War has often been overlooked in history. Women had many different roles. Prior to the Civil War, women were confined to their family and home. Some women during this time were able to find work outside of their homes but the opportunities were limited. During the Civil War more women began to work outside of the home, they worked the family farm, in factories or for the government. They would work to provide for their family while their husband was at war. During this time there were still some women who would stay at home, but would also contribute to the war by gathering supplies and raising funds for the soldiers. Other women chose to be involved in the war in a more direct way. These women took the roles of nurses, vivandieres, saboteurs, spies and soldiers. They took these roles to prove that women could be aggressive, resourceful and patriotic just like the men. Many women were very brave and served with great courage in the war.
Prior to the Civil War, women barely had any freedom and opportunities, they were not allowed to continue their education, pursue a career or work outside of their home in a job that they enjoyed. The women were housewives, they were to stay home. Women were expected to take care of their home; do the chores, have children and care for their family. They were obligated to educate their children at home. Females were seen differently than the men, their social status was below that of men, men were at the top while the women were at the bottom just above the poor and slaves.
When the Civil War came into play, women’s lives drastically changed. The Civil War had a positive impact on women’s lives. There were more opportunities for women outside of their home. Women took new roles to support the war, not only from home, but also in the battlefield. Their employment opportunities consisted of a range of occupations from field work and manufacturing to working for the government and assisting in the battlefield. It was revolutionary to see women in the battlefield, taking the positions of nurses, vivandieres, saboteurs, spies, and even soldiers.
At the beginning of the war most women remained at home, taking care of their family. While these women were at home they were also in charge of taking care of the family farm while their husband was at war (Jensen, 2017). During this time women felt the urge to support the country by helping the troops, supplying them with food, clothing, medical supplies and sometimes even money (Jensen, 2017). Also, during this time the Ladies Aid Societies were created by the women at the home front in response to the soldiers’ needs. This organization was created to aid the soldiers and care for those who were sick and wounded on the battlefield. The Ladies Aid Societies later led to the participation of nurses.
Before women went off to participate in the war most of the occupations offered were taken by men. Doctors and nurses in the early years of the 19th century were men, although women were often more skilled due to their experiences at home as caregivers. In 1861, women took their skills outside of their home to go out into the war and care for the soldiers. The nurses that volunteered in the Civil War were often the wives and daughters of the soldiers, they were their to accompany their loved ones. These women cared for their sick, wounded, and dying relatives.
Clara Barton, one of the most famous nurses who volunteered in the Civil War. Clara Barton was born on December 25, 1821 in Massachusetts. Barton pursed a teaching career, she started teaching at the age of 18, after 15 years she opened her own school, one of the first free public schools in New Jersey (Stevenson, 2017). Barton experimented with new careers, she worked for the government, but after 3 years she was fired because there was uncertainty whether women should be working in government offices (Stevenson, 2017). With break out of the Civil War in 1861, women were encouraged to go back into the real world to work. Clara Barton decided to go into the battlefield and take care of the soldiers. Barton served as a volunteer nurse for the Union Army for the entire duration of the Civil War. After the Civil War, Barton continued to help others, in 1881 she founded the American Association of the Red Cross (now known as the American Red Cross) (Stevenson, 2017). Barton died on April 12, 1912 at the age of 91 in Maryland.
Another profession that was available for women who wanted to work in the battlefield, not directly but to help out soldiers were vivandieres. Vivandieres is a french term used for women who work for the military as canteen keepers. Vivandieres (canteen women) were the women who were in charge of supplying food and drinks to the soldiers. They often wore colorful uniforms. Some of the vivandieres were also in charge of doing laundry. These women went onto the battlefield to provide support for the troops.
Saboteurs and Spies:
Saboteurs and spies were professions that were taken by women who were willing to participate in events that had to do with enemies. These women were in charge of sabotaging or spying on enemies.
Saboteurs were women who were willing to sabotage their enemies, preventing them from advancing in their plans. Saboteurs would damage the enemies’ belonging by setting them on fire, or by destroying everything until there was nothing left behind. When saboteurs were caught, the cost of their crime was often prison. The most successful saboteurs during the Civil War were the women from the South.
Spies were crucial in the Civil War (Curry, 2004). Spies were comparable to saboteurs, they participated in espionage against enemies. Female spies were often employed to gather information and were less liable to be suspected and caught compared to male spies. General relied on undercover agents for information on enemy numbers, strategy and sympathetic locals (Curry, 2004). Two well known spies during this time of the Civil War were Rose Greenhow and Belle Boyd.
Rose Greenhow was a spy for the Confederacy. Greenhow supplied Confederates with information, reports from meetings and notes (Taylor, 2006). Greenhow was a widow who worked for the Confederates gathered information by entertaining politicians at her Washington D.C., townhouse (Curry, 2004). She was the emissary of President Jefferson Davis (Taylor, 2006). After sometime Greenhow started her own spy network consisting of only women. She maintained her network operating even when imprisoned since she had the contacts and ability. When she was liberated she went back to working as a spy. In 1864, Greenhow died, she drowned while attempting to escape to the South (Taylor, 2006).
As well as Rose Greenhow, Belle Boyd was also a Confederate spy. Boyd was 17 years old when she became a spy (Carpenter, 1999). To gather information for the Confederate army about the Union battle plans and troop movements Boyd used her charms (Carpenter, 1999). While working as a spy for the Confederates, Boyd aided General Stonewall Jackson in 1862, she help him with information concerning the Union. After some years of working as a spy she was captured and was denounced of being a spy, although this happened she continued to spy for the Confederates (Carpenter, 1999). Boyd was imprisoned 4 times and was sentenced to death the last time she was detained, but she escaped. Boyd went off to England where she started a new life, she even wrote her autobiography. The Confederates that Boyd helped appreciated and thanked her for her years of work as a spy.
There were approximately 400 documented cases of women who served as soldiers during the Civil War according to the Sanitary Commission (Civil War Times, 2012). Women were not allowed to join the Civil War as soldiers. Contemporaries often look at female soldiers as outcasts in a society where men and women had different roles (Civil War Times, 2012). They were seen as unbalanced lesbians or heroic patriots who wanted to be Joan of Arc by society (Civil War Times, 2012). Females who joined the war as soldiers had to dress up as men. Women chopped off their hair, wore fake mustaches, and traded their dresses for guns (Civil War Times, 2012). These women used male names to protect and hide their true identity. Female soldiers hid their identity to continue fighting in the Civil War, if they were discovered they would be sent back home. Most of the women who disguised themselves as men to participate in the battle were never discovered, although some females were discovered when they ended up being pregnant, getting sick, or dying.
Why did women decide to join as soldiers?
Women decided to participate in the Civil War for various personal reasons. These female soldiers went into battle to accompany their family members, they could not resist separation. Some women joined because they wanted to gain a measure of economic, legal, and social independence that was not available to them during this time. Other women went to war for some of the same reasons as men- patriotism, duty and thrill-seeking (McCollum, 2002).
The most well known female soldier is Sarah Edmonds. Sarah Edmonds was born in Canada. Edmonds first decided to disguise herself as a male when she was 17, she was trying to escape from her abusive father and an arranged marriage (Kirkus Reviews, 2012). Sarah Edmonds disguised herself as a man and took the name of Frank Thompson to hide her identity. At the age of 19, Thompson first tried to join the army, but was rejected because he was too young (Kirkus Reviews, 2012). According to Kirkus Reviews, Edmonds claimed she “Went to war with no other ambition than to nurse the sick and care for the wounded” (2012). Three months after being rejected he went back and tried to join again he was not given the position as a soldier but was accepted as a nurse (Kirkus Reviews, 2012). Thompson was assigned as a male nurse at the First Bull Run (Kirkus Reviews, 2012). As a nurse, Thompson took care of the sick and injured soldiers. After sometime Thompson excelled in this position and was given risker duties. Thompson was first given the task of a postmaster, responsible for carrying mail to the front lines, the second task he was given was as a spy (Kirkus Reviews, 2012). Thompson was a master of disguise, adequate for the spy position.
The Civil War forced women of the mid 19th century to take action, whether it was by working in a factory or taking charge of the family farm, in order to support their family while their husband went off to war. Other women chose to follow their loved ones to war as nurses or vivandieres. Those who wanted a more direct involvement in the war participated and joined as saboteurs, spies and soldiers. Regardless of their role, women had now become patriotic and independent, much different from the women prior to the Civil War; women who were dedicated to their home and family.
The American Civil War was like a revolution for women. Their positions and actions led to opportunities that were not available for women before the war, such as an education and careers. These opportunities did not come rapidly, they to a lot of time and plenty of work. Women sacrificed and contributed to the Civil War to make an a change and impact. Women and men are equal, these women were faced with the same dangers as men, although no one recognizes it. These actions also encouraged freedom and independence. Women’s participation in the Civil War not only supported the cause, but also the women’s right movement (Civil War Times, 2012).