Women+and+the+Civil+War

=Women and the Civil War=

Page editor: Mrs. Z Page Update: April 16, 2008
 * Page authors**: Julia Van, Marley Jane, Maggie, Lexi, Jill, Will

====The role of women / Women's Aid Societies and sewing circles / Women and Medicine / Women's Fashions====

=Roles of Women=

In order to survive or to help the war effort, [|women] joined the workforce in increasing numbers, especially in the war industries. Women could only communicate with their men through letters. Much news that reached the homefront was tragic. Life at home was harsh because of the changes brought about by the war. Farm women had added work, due to the men who were no longer at home to do the work. The women had added planting, weeding, and harvesting crops in addition to their daily jobs. For some women, this was the first time they had such responsibilities.The majority of battles in the Civil War were fought in the South and Southern women had no choice but to take over households and do the work of the men. Because most of the war was fought in the South, it was harder to maintain a "normal" life. The North did not have the devastation that the South experienced. Many families lived with the constant threat of warfare in their community. Their crops and livestock were confiscated for the armies or destroyed by federal soldiers.  Women often served as spies, nurse men who would get hurt while fighting, keep the family together and sometimes even fight disguised as men. Many women [|dressed up as men] to be spies and soldiers in the war. Some women soldiers were buried without people knowing that they were women. Some women followed their husbands to war, sometimes with their children. They helped with laundry and mend clothes. They were called the "[|Soapsuds brigade]."

Many women in the North and South kept [|diaries]. They wrote about being nurses and working for the end of slavery. All these women had to struggle to keep their land and houses, to pay taxes, and to live and survive, especially if their soldier husbands or sons or brothers died. Some women became lonely and moved in with other family members. Often, many of their homes were taken over by the armies and used as hospitals or headquarters. Food shortages were serious.

After the war had ended, women still helped the country. They would send teachers and nurses to former slaves to help them be educated and healthy. This way, newly freed slaves could get a job, support their families, and start a brand new life.

=Women's Aid Societies & Sewing Circles=

Women did their part to help the war effort by sewing. They made a wide range of things. Women and girls sewed shirts, uniforms, and bedding for the soldiers from morning until night in churches, schools and homes. They also knitted socks and packed food and medical supplies. Many companies and regiments were completely outfitted by the women. The sewing circles gave women a chance to socialize and tell each other news about the war. The work the women did required a lot of determination and energy. They also made hospital clothing and bandages and they put together comfort bags, which were filled with small goods.

In the South, women would make their own shoes by knitting. Some sewing circles would raise money for medical care of the soldiers. A town in the North raised over 50 millions dollars for the medical supplies.

The Women's Central Association of Relief (WCAR) collected money and gave donations to the armies. Women organized fairs, concerts, plays, auctions and balls to make money to support the war. They also gathered supplies and delivered them to the troops. Some also joined Abolition Societies.

=Women and Medicine=

When mothers, daughters, sisters, and other compassionate women on both sides found out about the awful conditions of the war, they pleaded with military authorities to allow them to help. Thousands of women in the North and South offered their services as nurses. The armies felt that the military camps and battlefields were not places for women but there were some strong women who would not take "no" for an answer.

Most women did not have professional nursing training when they first starting caring for soldiers but women had learned from their mothers how to keep a room clean and how to care for and feed sick family members. Even so, nurses had to be trained because most did not know how to nurse properly. They volunteered at different hospitals to help soldiers recover and get back into the army. Nurses did not have much to eat and often worked all night without rest and many nurses died from being exposed to deadly diseases.

Women also took care of soldiers on the battlefields. They were called "angels of the battlefield" by the soldiers because they nursed them, and the men rarely saw women during the war. [|Clara Barton].was the most famous "angel". She supplied soldiers with comfort and food from her home, but she knew they needed more. Barton continuously delivered material and nursed the wounded at numerous Eastern battlefields. She founded the [|American Red Cross].

Roman Catholic religious women from several orders also provided nursing to the wounded. The [|Daughters of Charity], from Emmitsburg, Md., provided the most nurses and served the wounded on both sides of the war. They were strictly neutral in their politics but would not hesitate to invoke Abraham Lincoln himself to get needed supplies for their patients. Union soldiers stopped at their Motherhouse en route to Gettysburg and were fed and sheltered by the sisters who began praying for all those about to engage in the horrific battle. When the battle was over, they drive their wagons into Gettysburg and began caring for the wounded; soon, every building in the area was a hospital with the local sisters joined by others from other convents.

Their religious habits included black dresses and large, white, winged head pieces. The sisters were highly regarded for their competence and kindness. They were the only trained nursing staff available in the days before nursing schools and the medical corps appreciated them for their dedication and discipline. Not one of the estimated 300 Daughters of Charity were killed or injured during their battlefield service although one did die of illness. The respect that they earned was especially remarkable given the common anti-Catholic feeling that was common in the country at that time.

=Women's Fashions=

Women would wear the same [|dress] all winter. Women would have to pay $ 500 for a mourning dress, veil, bonnet, and gloves. The quality of the clothes at that time was poor. Women would take out their old spinning wheels and spinning looms to make homespun clothes. Women knitted socks from unraveled wool blankets. Shoes were made from leather hats. Women would rip up silk dresses for flags. They would also turn dresses inside out and use the protected fabric for clothes. With out cotton some textile mills closed in the North.