Civil War
Women in the War
Women in the War
A dead woman dressed as a Confederate private was found by the Union men. Thousands of women from the North and South volunteer to work as nurses. It was the first time in the American history that women played a significant role in the war effort. In 1861 there was a war, women and men volunteered to fight. In the Northern State women couldn't volunteer to fight, all they had to do is bake, plant fruits and vegtables for the soldiers, do laundry, knited socks and gloves, mended blankets, quilts and pillowcases. They also had to help raise money for all the medical supplies.
Many women wanted to take a more active roles. In June 1861 a federal government agreed to create "a preventive hygenetic and sanitery service for the benefit of the army" called the United States Sanitery Commission. The Sanitery Commission had provided about $15 million supplies that women had collected to the Union Army. Nearly 20,000 women started working for the Union War. The activist Dorothea Dix the superintended Army nurse put out in call for a responsible women worked as a nurse which was Louisa May Alcott. Army nurses traveled hospital from hospital to take care and help sick and injured soldiers. Nurses also acted like mothers they took care of the soldiers and they did housekeeping.
There was about 400 documented cases of women who fought as soldiers in the Civil War. There were many important roles in the Civil War including, nurses, spies, soldiers, abolitionists, Civil War advocates, and promoters of women suffrage. During the Civil War women especially faced a host of a new duties and responsibilities. In most of the parts these new roles applied to the ideas of Victorian Domesticity. Many women would like to participate in the Civil War, but they couldn't just beacuse they were females.