Women's Roles In The American Civil War

The American Civil War is an event in American history that is looked back on with regret. Regret that our country had to go through such a terrible time when brother killed brother, and father killed son. When most look back on the American Civil war, they might think of the men, maybe Abraham Lincoln, maybe the slaves, but do women come to the mind of most when thinking about the American Civil War? Women played a great role during the Civil War. Some women were spies, like Isabelle Boyd and Elizabeth Van Lew; many were nurses, like Clara Barton; some were even soldiers in disguise, like Sarah Edmonds; there were also women who didn’t have a direct role in the war, but had effort in supporting the soldiers. Women had very significant roles …show more content…
In the text, “Women in the Civil War,” women‘s indirect role of the creating of a foundation is described, “Women came together in over seven thousand Northern societies to form the U.S. Sanitary Commission…They raised money for medical supplies and trained nurses. They held bazaars and fairs to raise money to help the widows, disabled soldiers, and orphans left behind” (Women Women). According to the text “Women in the Civil War, in 1861 the group was nicknamed “The Sanitary.” This group was a very large contributor to the war effort in favor of the soldiers, one is written in “Women in the Civil War,” “The greatest contribution of The Sanitary was to reduce the fatalities resulting from the war. Before its inception, four soldiers died of disease for every one who fell in battle. The Sanitary reduced this ratio by half. By one estimate it saved more than one hundred eighty thousand lives” (Women Women). The Sanitary is an example of how many women had contribution to the war effort without playing a direct …show more content…
In “Harriet Tubman” her work in the Civil War began as this, “In 1862, for example, Governor Andrew of Massachusetts sent her to Beaufort, South Carolina, after the fall of Fort Royal to nurse the sick and wounded soldiers and teach newly-freed blacks to become self-sufficient. Tubman worked as a spy, too, organizing a group of eight men of African decent to scout the inland waterways of South Carolina to prepare for Union’s raids under direction of Colonel James Montgomery (Harriet). More about her nursing during the Civil War is described in “Women in the Civil War,” “…(She) worked for the Union as a volunteer nurse, administering to wounded soldiers - black and white - with potions of herbs and roots” (Women Women). Women, like Harriet Tubman, played more than one role contributing to the war