Download July 14, 1861 My very dear Sarah

Civil War Women
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Women played a vital role in the war
effort in both the North and South
Kept “the home fires burning”
Nurses
Fundraisers
Authors
Advocates
Laundresses, camp helpers
Spies
Soldiers.....and many more
We will simplify this into 4 broad
categories:
•Homefront
•Healing
•Helping
•Heroines
Homefront
Love letters and hardships
July 14, 1861
My very dear Sarah:
I have no misgivings about, or lack of
confidence in the cause in which I am
engaged, and my courage does not halt
or falter. I know how strongly American
Civilization now leans on the triumph of
the Government and how great a debt
we owe to those who went before us
through the blood and sufferings of the
Revolution. And I am willing—perfectly
willing—to lay down all my joys in this
life, to help maintain this Government,
and to pay that debt
.... something whispers to me... that I shall
return to my loved ones unharmed.
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If I do not my dear Sarah, never
forget how much I love you, and
when my last breath escapes me on
the battle field, it will whisper your
name.....
But, O Sarah! If the dead can come
back to this earth and flit unseen
around those they loved, I shall
always be near you; in the gladdest
days and in the darkest nights . . .
always, always, and if there be a soft
breeze upon your cheek, it shall be
my breath, as the cool air fans your
throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit
passing by. Sarah do not mourn me
dead; think I am gone and wait for
thee, for we shall meet again . . .
“Keep the home fires burning”
• When soldier’s left home to fight, women had to pick
up the slack – taking over in the fields and factories in
the North.
• In the South as the war dragged on and the Anaconda
Plan and “Total War” came into play, women of the
slaveholding elite, unused to hard labor, found
themselves working the fields alongside of the slaves
as food in the south dwindled and people began to
starve. Poor women picked up factory work and
competed with slaves for low-paying jobs. Food
shortages lead to high inflation and even rioting.
Southern Hardships
• Poor Southern women suffered the most from
the destruction of the South – they did not
have money to pay for food and other
necessities as inflation drove prices up 1000%
• As the war stretched into 1864 and 1865, they
began to encourage their husbands to desert,
and they did, an average of 200 a day.
• Large numbers of Widows create long-lasting
social problems, especially in areas where
women have few employment opportunities
The Impact of War
• Women faced the psychological impact of war as
their loved ones left home – perhaps never to
return
• Women sewed, knitted stockings, and saved their
lint to make bandages for the wounded.
• Women in areas in the path of the great armies
faced tremendous hardships as their homes and
fields were destroyed
• They also faced the threat of rape and “dishonor”
Helping
Fund Raising
• Women held benefits to raise money for the
troops
• In Chicago, a group of women raised over
$100,000 for the US Sanitary Commission – a
fortune in those days
• In the South, a group of women raised enough
money to build an ironclad warship!
African American Women
• Many black women could not participate in support
organizations , so they formed their own benevolent societies
to serve the troops and the war effort.
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For example: St. Thomas’s African Episcopal Church in Philadelphia had it’s own
Ladies Sanitary Association , supporting Black Regiments. After 1865, these
organizations supported the ex-slaves transitioning to freedom.
IN the South, many slaves helped the Union War effort by running away and
offering their services to the troops (cooking, cleaning, nursing, etc, passing along
information, or refusing to work/working less on the plantations.
• Black women in the South filled in jobs left by men in factories
and fields. They worked under white supervisors and were
usually given the hardest or “dirtiest” jobs. When the labor
shortage was at it’s peak, some were even able to claim wages
for their work!
In Camp
• Some officer’s wives
stayed in camp with their
husbands, setting up a
“home away from home.”
• Other women set up
business, sometimes with
husbands, sometimes
independently – as
laundresses, cooks, and
as suppliers of hard to
find items.
Healing
The Nurse
• Before the Civil War, nursing was not a
profession for women
• The Civil War opened this as an opportunity
for women as thousands of wounded and sick
men strained the army surgical capabilities
beyond their limit
• Most female nurses served in hospitals, largely
out of harms way.
• Other nurses, like Clara Barton, became
famous for their merciful care of the wounded
on the battlefield
Dorthea “Dragon” Dix
• Before the war, an
advocate for the
mentally ill
• Appointed
superintendant in
charge of all female
nurses in the Union
Army in 1861
Dorthea Dix on Nurses’ requirements
• “No woman under 30
years of age need apply
to serve in government
hospitals. All nurses are
required to be very
plain looking women.
Their dresses must be
brown or black, with no
bows, no curls, no
jewelry and no hoop
skirts.”
Mary Ann Bickerdyke
• Chief of nursing under the
command of General Ulysses S.
Grant.
• When someone complained
about her to Union Gen. William
T. Sherman, he told him, "She
ranks me.”
• The common soldier loved her
and nicknamed her "Mother"
Bickerdyke
• When a surgeon asked her on
whose authority did she think
she could boss him around, she
replied, "On the authority of Lord
God Almighty, have you anything
that outranks that?”
Sally Thompkins
• Southern woman in
Virginia who ran a
private hospital and a
staff of 6
• Cared for 1333
wounded Confederate
soldiers, losing only 73
– a record unmatched
by any hospital during
the war
US Sanitary Commission
• “The war was fought at
the end of the medical
middle ages.” – Union
Surgeon General
• Surgeons didn’t
disinfect instruments,
didn’t know anything
about germs or proper
sanitation.
• The United States
Sanitary Commission
was a government
agency, created to
organize, coordinate ,
and control the
volunteer efforts of
women who wanted
to help the war effort
• The volunteers raised
money ($25 million),
collected donations, worked
as nurses, ran kitchens in
the Army camps,
administered hospital ships,
made uniforms, and
organized Sanitary Fairs to
support the Federal army
with funds and supplies.
• Inspected camps and
hospitals and made
suggestions for
improvement
• Cut deaths by
disease, infection –
2/3 of deaths during
the war was from
disease – yet this is
actually an
improvement over
statistics from the
Crimean War in
Europe the decade
before.
“Public Women”
General Joe Hooker
• or camp followers...
• Prostitution became
widespread during the
Civil War, especially in
large cities where there
were high populations
of soldiers like
Washington, DC and
Nashville.
• It was an occupation of “last
resort” for women struggling to
support themselves or their
families during the war
Heroines
Southern Spies
• Rose O’Neal Greenhow A popular society hostess
in Washington, DC, she
used her contacts to gain
information to pass to
the Confederacy.
• Imprisoned for a time for
her espionage
• Died when the blockade
runner she was traveling
on was sunk by Union
ships.
Belle Boyd
• Belle Boyd – young,
beautiful-She passed
information on Union
army movements in the
Shenandoah to General
T. J. (Stonewall) Jackson,
and was imprisoned as
a spy.
Northern Spies
• Elizabeth Van Lew –
abolitionist placed as a
spy in Jeff Davis’ house
• Harriet Tubman set up a
spy network in South
Carolina using her skills
honed as a conductor
on the Underground
Railroad
Soldiers
• “I have the honor to inform you that no
official record has been found in the War
Department showing specifically that any
woman was ever enlisted in the military
service of the United States as a member of
any organization of the Regular or Volunteer
Army at any time during the period of the civil
war. “
• Estimated 400-500 women, North and South,
served as soldiers during the Civil War.
• How? No medical exams prior to enlistment
• Soldiers didn’t undress or use the “facilities” in
front of each other – often wore the same
clothes for months on end
• Some men knew but kept the secret
• Poor nutrition and hard labor meant many
women did not menstruate
Lt. Harry Buford
Loretta
Velazquez
Why did they enlist?
• Patriotism or desire for adventure
• Women working traditional occupations
earned about $3/month – soldiers earned
$13/month – plus there were enlistment
bonuses
• To be close to husbands or sweethearts
• When discovered – imprisoned and disgraced
• Many were not discovered until wounded…or
killed.
In your notebooks....
1. You have decided to join the war effort – now you just have to decide how. Will
you....expose yourself to the horrors of war as a soldier or a nurse? Work on
inspecting and improving camps for cleanliness? Fundraise for your cause to bring
in much needed funds, or work elsewhere?
• Write a letter to your mother, who wants you to be a proper lady, explaining what
you will do to help the war effort. Provide details about what side you support,
how you will support it, why you support it, what joys and hardships you will face,
and any other details to make your letter accurate and interesting.
or
2. You are a Southern Woman living in Georgia. You have experience running a
household, but you have never done any hard labor....until now! Sherman’s Army
has destroyed your neighbors’ homes and fields. You have 3 children left, a sick
father, and no other men to help you out. Your food is running out and you only
have $5 left. Food prices have increased in town 1000% and $5 won’t go far. There
is a city 10 miles away – should you stay or should you go and try your luck there?
Your husband is serving in the Confederate Army. Write a letter to him explaining your
hardships. What happened to YOU when Sherman came through? What were
your fears? What are you going to have to do now to survive? What should your
husband do to help?