Women are often forgotten when people speak about the Civil War, but it was women who nursed the sick and dying soldiers. Also, women were the ones who raised funds to help with the war efforts. Thanks to women, soldiers had a home to return to after the fighting or if they were injured.
Who were the women who are often overlooked? What did they accomplish? What were their roles? Let's take a deeper look into these questions and more as we study the women in the Civil War.
Women's Role in the Civil War
While the men went off to war, women were left behind to keep the United and Confederate States of America running. While some women volunteered as nurses, and spies, and even disguised themselves as male soldiers, many women remained at home.
Women kept businesses alive while their husbands were away. They were also the farmers who supplied the armies with food. Many women began to participate in politics but not as politicians. In Virginia when the price of bread increased, women led riots that caused lawmakers to create welfare programs.
Richmond Bread Riots
In April of 1863 in Richmond, Virginia a riot broke out over the cost of bread. Inflation, Union troops cutting Confederate supply lines, and increased taxation caused the price of bread to become unaffordable. Women chanted "Bread or Blood!" as they looted local shops for food and valuables. This led to welfare programs to help the poor.
Women also sewed the soldier's uniforms. They held food drives plus other events to raise funds and gather medicine for the army. Women also sewed flags for the different military units.
Fig 1: Add for Women-led fundraiser
African American Women in the Civil War
If women are the forgotten participants of the Civil War, then Black women are almost erased. They were active throughout the war because they had so much to lose. In the camps of the Union States Colored Troops, Black women made sure the soldiers were fed, had tents, and even a flag. They also helped recruit by encouraging Black men to join the war.
It was a battle in its own right just for women to get to these camps. Even when traveling through the North, they were denied access to public transport. One woman had to jump out of a moving train car in order to avoid being harmed by white people. Black women did more than their share of aiding the Northern cause.
Important Women in the Civil War
The women who chose to aid their country directly did so by going to the soldiers' camps. Some women went because their husbands were in the war, and they wanted to be together. Others decided to become nurses, spies, and even soldiers! Let's take a look at some of the most famous women in the Civil War.
Women Nurses in the Civil War
Before the Civil War the profession of nursing was occupied by men but when the need arose during the war women stepped in. A nurse would help with a soldier's treatment but also make sure that he was comfortable.
Fig 2: Nurses
Clara Barton, Union (1821-1912)
Clara Barton may be the most famous woman from the Civil War. Barton decided that she would take her wagon and treat soldiers on the battlefield. No one approved of this, she just did it because she felt it was right. After realizing soldiers in her care had high recovery rates, Barton was authorized to be a nurse. After the war, she went on to find the Red Cross.
Did You Know. . .
Barton would treat wounded Union soldiers plus captured Confederate soldiers!
Phoebe Pember, Confederate (1823-1913)
Phoebe Pember was a Jewish socialite before the war. In 1862 she became the first woman to be an administrator at Chimborazo Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. Pember was constantly tested by her staff of male nurses who thought she could not fulfill her duties since she was a woman. Pember continued to run the facility and even held a male nurse at gunpoint when he tried to steal whiskey, which was used as medicine at the time. She kept her patients, who were mostly soldiers, in comfort.
Women Spies in the Civil War
Women made excellent spies! Often underestimated because of the misogynistic gender roles of the time, women were able to sneak between borders and deliver important information to generals.
Harriet Tubman, Union (1822-1913)
Fig 3: Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman is most remembered for her role in the Underground Railroad though she was also a spy! Tubman was paid by the Union then she would sneak into the Confederacy. She would pose as a slave and then pay slaves for information. Due to racist beliefs, white Southerners often underestimated the capabilities of slaves. They would speak about secret military operations right in front of Black people who could then inform the North!
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of people who would house escaped slaves on their way to freedom in the North. The guides who led the escaped slaves were called "conductors". No one knew of all the safe houses in America, it was very secretive in order to keep the system from falling apart. It is estimated that between 30,000 and 100,000 slaves escaped through the railroad.
Belle Boyd, Confederate (1844-1900)
Belle Boyd was considered to be very pretty. She would use her charms to convince Union soldiers to spill military secrets that she could report to the Confederacy. In 1862 she was sent to a family-owned hotel where she overheard valuable information. She wasted no time riding to General "Stone Wall" Jackson's camp to report to him. Boyd would continue her spying until she was arrested and imprisoned. Eventually, she was deported to the South.
Women Soldiers in the Civil War
Some women donned men's clothing and joined the army as soldiers. Women were not allowed to be soldiers at the time and if they were caught, they were sent home or to jail for impersonating a man. Historians estimate that at least 1000 women fought in the Civil War and that women soldiers were at every historic Civil War battle.
Sarah Edmund, Union (1841-1898)
Sarah Edmund was a Canadian who fought for the Union. She posed as Frank Tomlinson and joined the Michigan 2nd Regiment. Edmund fought in some battles but also spent a lot of time volunteering in the hospital. She rode as a courier for a while but was severely injured when she fell from her horse. Edmund was even a spy for a while, she pretended to be an Irish peddler as she crossed into enemy territory.
Courier
Someone who delivers messages
Edmund contracted malaria and had to desert the army to seek medical attention. She was afraid that the army doctors would realize that she was a woman. When she recovered, Edmund planned to return to the army, but Frank Tomlinson was marked as a deserter. Edmund was a nurse for the rest of the war. After the war, she was able to get a soldier's pension, and deserting was removed from her record.
Loreta Janeta Velazquez, Confederate (1842 - 1897)
Loreta Janeta Velazquez was a Cuban woman who disguised herself as Lieutenant Harry T. Buford when her husband joined the war. She raised a small voluntary militia and brought it to her husband who died a few days later. Buford then left and joined another battalion of soldiers. She fought in the Battle of Bull Run and Ball's Bluff.
Fig 4: Loretta Janeta Velazquez
Tired of the soldier life, Velazquez returned to her traditional women's clothing and began to spy for the Confederacy. She would slip through dressed as a woman or as a man. For the Battle of Fort Donelson, Velazquez returned to her Buford disguise to fight. She was injured and it was revealed that she was a woman. Velazquez returned to the spy life after that. After the war she wrote a book about her life called The Woman in Battle: A Narrative of the Exploits, Adventures, and Travels of Madame Loreta Janeta Velazquez, Otherwise Known as Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, Confederate States Army.
Women's Role in the Civil War
Women were active participants in the Civil War whether that be by fundraising or picking up a gun and becoming a soldier. Women believed in the causes of their countries and wanted to do their part in aiding them. While Clara Barton and Loreta Janeta Velazquez do not represent the everyday woman, all women were affected by the war.
Women in the Civil War - Key Takeaways
- Women were active participants in the Civil War
- Women were nurses, spies, and soldiers
- Black women aided the cause by taking care of Black soldiers
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