The Role Of The Female During The Civil War
Women’s role during the Civil War has always been treated by history as a mere footnote. This has been a great disservice to their roles which were no less essential than that of the men’s.
Women were treated as second class citizens during the Civil War yet they played a very active role with the war efforts. Almost every woman was affected by the Civil War which emboldened many of them to contribute to the war. Many women risked their lives to care for sick and dying soldiers. Others put their well being on hold to gather information and act as spies.Never heard of this before? Get up to speed here. They organized themselves as volunteers and aide. Many of them worked with organizations such as the United States Christian Commission.
Of course, there were also women who took care of the home front, who became both mother and father to their children while their husbands fought the war. They kept civil society going while their country was being torn apart by war. Theirs, along with countless other women, showed great tenacity and strength.
The least known role of the female during the civil war, but no less important, was that of a soldier. Women were not allowed to serve in the military during the Civil War except in the capacity of nurses yet there were a significant number of women who were believed to have served as combatants. Writings, that included memoirs from that period, reveal an estimate of about 200-400 women who served as soldiers yet the military has no official records of such women. The lack of official records has not denied the existence of these women which included Frances Clayton of Missouri, Mary Owens of Pennsylvania and Loreta Velassquez of Texas. Ahead of their time, these women flouted conventions to fight for the cause they believed as they fought alongside the men.