Collateral Damage
The Women And Refugees Of The Civil War
Quote by Sarah Rosetta Wakemen
"I am as independent as a hog on ice."
-Sarah Rosetta Wakemen, who was a female soldier and this sentence was in a letter to her family back at home.
8 Facts About The Women And Refugees Of The Civil War
1. In 1908, a Confederates Woman's House opened to the widows and wives of confederate soldiers.
2. As the fighting intensified in the Southeast civilian refugees poured into Texas, on their way to Mexico or the Southeast.
3. When tens of thousands of men left to serve, the men's responsibilities fell onto the women.
4. Some women served their country as spies,, gunrunners, and nurses. Some even disguised as men and served as soldiers.
5. The women who stayed home had to deal with food shortages, low currency values, refugee migration, frontier Indian raids, and rumors of Northern invasions.
6. Elizabeth "Lizzie" Scott Neblett was 30 years and pregnant with her fifth child when her beloved husband, William, died. Their wartime letters show Lizzie's struggles during the war.
7. In 1854, William and Malinda Smith got 400 acres of Farmland. When William died of Influenza in 1864 in the war, Malinda got sole responsibility of the Farmlands, and with the aid of her children and former slaves, they survived.
8. If you compared American Women to previous generations, they improved their educational standing, secured additional legal rights, and required greater access to manufactured goods by the 1800's, during the Civil War.
3 Questions and Answers
1. How did the war effect the women who stayed at home?
Answer: There were shortages on food, supplies, and medicine since they were all being shipped out to the soldiers in the war, so the women had to improvise by making clothes, using home remedies, and other things to get by.
2. Why did some women serve their country?
Answer: Because, they didn't want to just sit at home. They wanted to help their country in some way, and serving their country was one way of helping.
3. How did the women come out as stronger women?
Answer: As the war progressed, they adapted to what was going on around them and taking up the men's responsibilities. They worked their hands to the bone, just like the men did, along with other responsibilities as caring for their children, making clothes, and other things.