Jun 12, 2015
2. A Group of Confederate Women During the Civil War
3. The Roles
Civil War was known as a man's fight. The image women had during
the war wasas nurses, spies, or ladies maintaining the home in the
absence of their husband. They even took arms and charged into
battle, like the men. The women lived in camps, suffered in
prisons, and died for their causes.
4. The different roles of women during the Civil War
5. Women in the Civil War
6. Nurses
Historians believe that somewhere between 3,000 and 8,000 women
volunteered as nurses throughout the Civil War, most of them of
them being from northern states. The nurses' job was to:
make sure that all patients were fed the correct diet.
Manage the physical needs of patients, including the distribution
of blankets and clothing or supplies received.
Care for the emotional and spiritual needs of the patients. This
included activities from daily conversation with patients, to
writing letters for them or reading to them. One nurse might have
sang to the men of her hospital every evening, while another might
have cheered them up by putting flowers by their beds or decorating
the hospital. Patients were thankful for the efforts made by their
nurses. The presence of females in the hospitals lightened the
hearts and minds of the soldiers, many not having seen a woman for
months at a time. For them, female nurses took on the roles of
mothers, daughters, or sisters.
7. Clara Horlowe Barton helping a wounded soldier
8. Woman nurse helping the wounded soldiers
9. Spies
Spies were an important source of information in the war. The best
spies are the people that would never be suspected. Women best fit
this description. They would dress as men and join the army, pose
as dumb slaves, or just kept their ears open in social circles.
Female spies provided critical information in the war. It was a
woman spy who gave Union battle plans to the Confederate Army which
allowed them to win the First Battle of Bull Run.
10. Bella Boyd was one of the most famous Confederate Spies during
the war.
11. S. Emma E. Edmonds
12. Women Maintaining the Home
When the men left for war, the women had to step in to fill their
place. Women took up roles as factory workers, clerks and school
teachers and to earn money to feed and clothe the family.
13. A group of women holding up the home front
14. Emilie Riley McKinleymaintaining the home during the war
15. Soldiers
Both the Union and Confederate armies forbid the use of women
soldiers. Women soldiers of the Civil War therefore took on
masculine names, disguised themselves as men, and hid the fact they
were female. Because they passed as men, it was impossible to know
with any certainty how many women soldiers served in the Civil War.
Estimates place as many as 250 women in the ranks of the
Confederate army.
16. Frances Clayton served as a man in Missouri artillery and
cavalry units
17. 18. African American Woman in the War
The South used enslaved African Americans to help in the efforts of
the war. African American men and women were forced to build
fortifications, work as blacksmiths, nurses, boatmen, laundresses,
work in factories, hospitals, and armories. In the meantime, the
North was refusing to accept the services of black volunteers and
freed slaves. When President Lincoln issued the Emancipation
Proclamation, the federal army officially accept black soldiers
into its ranks. The African Americans rushed to enlist in the
war.
19. Harriet Tubman during
her Civil War service
20. African American women doing laundry
21. Conclusion
The many different roles women played in the war were all very
important. From being a soldier or spy to being a nurse or staying
home keeping the income coming, all of the roles helped the war
play out as it did. Woman are just as useful as men.