Women have been a very instrumental part of history, usually taking a background role, influencing man 's decisions from behind the curtain, so to speak, or they were the prostitutes that attempted to keep up the moral of the men. They were the nurses when they could be, and they were the faithful wives that gave the men something to look forward to. As Mark Twain said, “Custom inures the most sensitive person to that which is most repellent, and in the war we saw the most delicate woman, who could not at home endure the sight of blood, become so used to to scenes of carnage, that they walked right into the hospitals, and margins of battle fields, amid the poor remnants of torn humanity, with as perfect self-possession as if they were strolling in a flower garden.” (Warner) The American women, whether African American or not, served a great many purposes during the war, and though greatly varied from a seamstress to a recruiter, each was greatly needed by the men, and women, soldiers that fought in this war. The most commonly thought of role that women had during this, or any war, is that of the concerned girlfriend, mother, or sister waiting for their counterpart to return home, however, this was only a small part of the job the women who stayed home did.
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To follow, if for only a moment the common idea of the home bound woman, “Just as many Union soldiers would not have survived without the “relief” provided by thousands of home-front women...” (Attie). An account from the southern side of the war stated that, “Destruction of home-front morale was the crucial factor that led to the massive number of desertions that left the Confederacy unable to fend off Federal advances.” (McKinney) Thus, it can be seen that, even without joining the fight in any form of physical way that the home-front woman was a help during the Civil War. They, above many other things, kept up the moral of the men, gave them something to fight for. These home-front women were also instrumental because of the physical roles they partook in during the course of the war. These necessary physical jobs included acting in as “...recruiting agents, teachers, activists, fundraisers, [and]organizers...” (Forbes). One example of these tasks was selling Normandy cakes in the Sanitary Fair in New York, and the women filling these roles defied the steriotype of the button topped nurse with her little white hat. They were women of mixed race, varied age, and occupation. Though most women were, in the middle class (whether white or not), mainly responsible for their household 's clothing (Schutz). As it was not common for any family in this time to rely only on 'ready-made ' clothes, though they worked in textile mills (commonly called Lowell Girls when working in the textile business), factories, and at other miscellaneous jobs in, and out, of town that a man would have filled under other, more peaceful, circumstances (Kumar). Along with the common, more respectable jobs taken by women in this time there were rumors of less respecable jobs as well, as there always are. One of these such rumors was that the Confederate women wold take the bones of their deceased soldiers in a form on demon-like devotion and sell them to provide money for the still living soldiers, or that they would drink from the skulls of their enemies (Silber). Though much like other tales they were likely only told as beast tales to scare new recruits or children into behaving. Many women also worked on the battle front as “...spies, scouts, camp workers, nurses, cooks, seamstresses... and relief workers....”, and it was said of these front line women, “...there were 'loyal women ' as well as men, who did not fear shell or shot, who cared for the sick and dying; women who camped and fared as they boys did...” (Forbes). It was said for a long time that the only truly embattled women in the Civil War were the southern white women along the lines of those like Scarlett O 'Hara (Silber). It was asked for a time, and is still asked, whether the presence of women truly aided the
To follow, if for only a moment the common idea of the home bound woman, “Just as many Union soldiers would not have survived without the “relief” provided by thousands of home-front women...” (Attie). An account from the southern side of the war stated that, “Destruction of home-front morale was the crucial factor that led to the massive number of desertions that left the Confederacy unable to fend off Federal advances.” (McKinney) Thus, it can be seen that, even without joining the fight in any form of physical way that the home-front woman was a help during the Civil War. They, above many other things, kept up the moral of the men, gave them something to fight for. These home-front women were also instrumental because of the physical roles they partook in during the course of the war. These necessary physical jobs included acting in as “...recruiting agents, teachers, activists, fundraisers, [and]organizers...” (Forbes). One example of these tasks was selling Normandy cakes in the Sanitary Fair in New York, and the women filling these roles defied the steriotype of the button topped nurse with her little white hat. They were women of mixed race, varied age, and occupation. Though most women were, in the middle class (whether white or not), mainly responsible for their household 's clothing (Schutz). As it was not common for any family in this time to rely only on 'ready-made ' clothes, though they worked in textile mills (commonly called Lowell Girls when working in the textile business), factories, and at other miscellaneous jobs in, and out, of town that a man would have filled under other, more peaceful, circumstances (Kumar). Along with the common, more respectable jobs taken by women in this time there were rumors of less respecable jobs as well, as there always are. One of these such rumors was that the Confederate women wold take the bones of their deceased soldiers in a form on demon-like devotion and sell them to provide money for the still living soldiers, or that they would drink from the skulls of their enemies (Silber). Though much like other tales they were likely only told as beast tales to scare new recruits or children into behaving. Many women also worked on the battle front as “...spies, scouts, camp workers, nurses, cooks, seamstresses... and relief workers....”, and it was said of these front line women, “...there were 'loyal women ' as well as men, who did not fear shell or shot, who cared for the sick and dying; women who camped and fared as they boys did...” (Forbes). It was said for a long time that the only truly embattled women in the Civil War were the southern white women along the lines of those like Scarlett O 'Hara (Silber). It was asked for a time, and is still asked, whether the presence of women truly aided the