Women in the Civil War
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
620,000 in the Civil War and 644,000 in all other conflicts.
#48 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
A handful of these women even fought in the famous battles of Gettysburg and Antietam. In order to enlist, these women disguised themselves as men and adopted masculine names.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
A recent study puts the number of dead as high as 850,000.
#54 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
After the start of the Civil war, on June 10, 1861, Dorothea Lynde was appointed the Superintendent of Women Nurses.
#76 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/women-spies-of-the-civil-war-162202679/
After the war, Tubman tried to collect $1,800 for her service but was unsuccessful. Due to the service of her late husband, she did receive a widow's pension of $8 per month beginning in June 1890
#89 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
Although it was important for spies to keep a low profile while they were still working, once they were detected or released from prison, some spies, such as Belle Boyd and Pauline Cushman, became instant celebrities after the press published articles about them.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Antietam--22,717 casualties
#84 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
Apprehended women spies were often branded as prostitutes unless their reputations were strong enough to protect them.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Approximately 620,000 soldiers died from combat, accident, starvation, and disease during the Civil War.
#13 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
Army nurses traveled from hospital to hospital, providing "humane and efficient care for wounded, sick and dying soldiers."
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
As George Worthington Adams famously wrote, "The Civil War was fought in the very last years of the medical middle ages."
#85 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
As soldiers caught on to the activities of these women spies, it became harder and harder for them to cross enemy lines without getting searched or apprehended.
# 30 Daring Women of the Civil War
As soon as the war began tons of women wanted to become nurses to help the soldiers
#37 Daring Women of the Civil War
At least 400 women disguised themselves as men to fight in the civil war
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
At most battlefields the dead were exhumed and moved to National or Confederate cemeteries
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
At the beginning of the war the Northern states had a combined population of 22 million people
#52 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
Besides hospitals they also served near the fighting front and on the battlefield.
#45 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
Between 2,000 to 5,000 women volunteered as nurses during the Civil War. According to the book "Women in the Civil War," so many women eagerly volunteered for the job, they earned a nickname from the press
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Both men fought in the battle
#94 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-women-who-fought-in-the-civil-war-1402680/
Both the Union and Confederate armies actually forbade the enlistment of women.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
By the end of the war, the plight of prisoners of war on both sides had become bleak indeed.
#10 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
By war's end, the Sanitary Commission had provided almost $15 million in supplies-the vast majority of which had been collected by women
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Chancellorsville--24,000 casualtie
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Chickamauga--34,624 casualties
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Chloroform, ether and whiskey were the main anesthetics.
#87 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
Confederate spies often gathered information directly from the Union troops who, when occupying southern towns, would invite local women to army-sponsored balls, where they would sometimes talk about their military plans, not realizing the potential for espionage.
#34 Daring Women of the Civil War
Dorothea Dix was the person to assign jobs and train nurses for the Union Army.
#20 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
During the Civil War, women especially faced a host of new duties and responsibilities.
#56 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
During this war approximately 6,000 women were employed as nurses. Of these women about 181 were black nurses that worked in U.S. government hospitals and convalescent homes.
#44 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
Emeline Pigott from North Carolina, gathered military information by entertaining Union soldiers at dinner parties in her home.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Essentially, a casualty is any soldier who goes into a fight and does not return fit to take part in the next battle.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Germ theory had not been widely accepted in the medical world at the time of the Civil War and modern antiseptics,
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Gettysburg--51,000 casualties
#97 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
However, these wartime contributions did help expand many women's ideas about what their "proper place" should be.
#77 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/women-spies-of-the-civil-war-162202679/
Hundreds of women served as spies for both the Union and Confederate army during the Civil War.
#8 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
In June 1861 The federal government agreed to create "a preventive hygienic and sanitary service for the benefit of the army" called the United States Sanitary Commission.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
In fact, a casualty is "a military person lost through death, wounds, injury, sickness, internment, or capture or through being missing in action."
#5 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
In the Northern states, women organized ladies' aid societies to supply the Union troops with everything they needed, from food to clothing to cash.
#58 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
In the South and in the North too, women made bandages for the wounded and knit socks to keep the soldiers' feet warm and dry.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
In the first years of the conflict, equal numbers of captured troops were regularly exchanged for one another, helping to keep the total number of prisoners manageable for both sides.
# 31 Daring Women of the Civil War
In those days it wasn't considered proper for a women to take care of a male stranger.
#67 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
It became clear there was typically a distinction between women who had a loved one fighting or working for the government in Washington and those who did not.
#93 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-women-who-fought-in-the-civil-war-1402680/
It was the Victorian era and women were mostly confined to the domestic sphere.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Many soldiers, especially in the Confederate ranks, became casualties several times: some soldiers were captured multiple times; some were wounded in non-consecutive engagements.
#46 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
Many women participated in war relief efforts, such as sewing circles where they made clothing for soldiers or they held charity drives where they gathered food, medical supplies and bedding for local military encampments and hospitals.
#40 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
Many women supported the war effort as nurses and aides, while others took a more upfront approach and secretly enlisted in the army or served as spies and smugglers.
#26 Daring Women of the Civil War
Many women wished that they were men so that they could fight during the war
#74 http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets2.html
Mary Ashhurst, wife of Lewis Ashhurst, a Philadelphia merchant and bank director, wrote daily journals throughout her life (1809-1890), including two during the war years.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Medicine is an ever-evolving science. Unfortunately for those who fought in the Civil War, the technology of warfare had surpassed the technology of health care.
#79 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
Men didn't expect women would get involved in such a dangerous job, so women spies often went undetected during the early phase of the Civil War.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
More than 400,000 soldiers were captured over the course of the Civil War.
#29 Daring Women of the Civil War
Most women kept diaries during the civil war
#62 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
Most women were affected by the war in some way. Some leapt into the war effort working for various organizations, including the Ladies Hospital Aid Society, the Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, and the United States Christian Commission.
#22 http://www.historynet.com/women-in-the-civil-war
Most women were engaged in supplying the troops with food, clothing, medical supplies, and even money through fundraising.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Nearly as many men died in captivity during the Civil War as died fighting in Vietnam.
#50 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
One female soldier, Mary Owens, served under the alias John Evans for 18 months before her identity was discovered during treatment for a wound on her arm.
#63 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
Others performed activities on a more personal level, such as sewing individual items to be shipped to soldiers they knew.
#23 http://www.historynet.com/women-in-the-civil-war
Others took to directly caring for the wounded, treating the sick and ensuring the health of the troops.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Others were buried near the hospitals where they died.
#32 Daring Women of the Civil War
People thought women were too delicate for the shocking sights of death, disease, and crippled bodies.
#61 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
People were grateful for the contributions of women in the war, and newspapers reported their accomplishments. Many other services and supplies were also needed for the war effort.
#86 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
Punishment for the crime of espionage was stiff. Male spies were often imprisoned or executed, usually by hanging. Women were rarely executed though and were usually imprisoned or deported to Canada or the South.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Robert E. Lee surrendered the last major Confederate army to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse on April 9, 1865.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Roughly 1,264,000 American soldiers have died in the nation's wars
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Second Manassas--22,180 casualties
#35 Daring Women of the Civil War
She has spent more than twenty years working in mental hospitals and prisons.
#36 Daring Women of the Civil War
She hired only plain-looking women who were older than thirty.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Shiloh--23,746 casualties
#82 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
Since the Civil War took place during the Victorian-era, dominated by strict societal rules for women, women spies were often caught or aroused suspicion due to the unladylike behavior that went along with being a spy,
#19 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
Slave women were, of course, not free to contribute to the Union cause.
#98 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
Slave women were, of course, not free to contribute to the Union cause.
#90 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-women-who-fought-in-the-civil-war-1402680/
Some historians believe that somewhere between 3,000 and 8,000 women volunteered their services as nurses throughout the duration of the Civil War, the majority of them being from northern states.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Spotsylvania--30,000 casualties
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Still, many survived their wounds and had only the dedicated doctors and nurses and their selfless efforts to thank.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Stones River--23,515 casualties
#64 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
Such women's efforts certainly attest to the idea that women fought the war in their own ways on the home front and in doing so played a crucial role in helping the war effort.
#99 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
The Civil War promised freedom, but it also added to these women's burden.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The Civil War was also contested on the Atlantic Ocean as far off as the coast of France, the Gulf of Mexico, and the brown water of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The Civil War was fought in thousands of different places, from southern Pennsylvania to Texas; from New Mexico to the Florida coast.
#16 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
The Confederacy had less money and fewer resources than did the Union, however, so they did much of their work on their own or through local auxiliaries and relief societies.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The Northern armies were victorious, and the rebellious states returned to the Union
#9 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
The Sanitary Commission's primary objective was to combat preventable diseases and infections by improving conditions in army camps and hospitals.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The Southern states had a combined population of about 9 million.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The Union forces outnumbered the Confederates roughly two to one.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The Wilderness--29,800 casualties
#73 http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets2.html
The beliefs and routines each engaged in on a daily basis are often mentioned in great detail and include Christianity, spirituality, visits with friends, weather, children, and gardening.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The incoming Lincoln administration and most of the Northern people refused to recognize the legitimacy of secession.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The last battle was fought at Palmito Ranch, Texas, on May 13, 1865. Click here for a Civil War timeline.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The majority of the fighting took place in the states of Virginia and Tennessee.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The war began when the Confederates bombarded Union soldiers at Fort Sumter, South Carolina on April 12, 1861.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
The war ended in Spring, 1865.
#57 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
The women of the war formed groups like the Sick Soldier's Relief Society and the Soldier's Aid Society
#68 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
The women who wrote of a husband, brother, or son participating in some way were more likely to feel the need to contribute themselves, even if that meant simply sewing garments and sending them to soldiers they knew.
#49 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
Their disguises were so convincing that the women were often only discovered by accident while being treated for injuries or illnesses.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Their estimate is derived from an exhaustive study of the combat and casualty records generated by the armies over five years of fighting.
#25 http://www.historynet.com/women-in-the-civil-war
There is very little written record of their service though a few of the more famous names left accounts, including Louisa May Alcott, Jane Stuart Woolsey, susie King Taylor and Katherine Prescott Wormeley.
#21 http://www.historynet.com/women-in-the-civil-war
There were many women playing important roles in the Civil War, including nurses, spies, soldiers, abolitionists, civil rights advocates and promoters of women's suffrage.
#53 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
These brave acts earned the women the gratitude and respect from the soldiers that they helped.
#43 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
These women also smuggled supplies, ammunition and medicine across enemy lines by hiding them underneath their large hoop skirts.
#88 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
These women spies also eavesdropped on soldiers during dinner parties, at boarding houses where the soldiers would stay or gathered information from their friends and connections in southern society.
#14 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
They also acted as mothers and housekeepers-"havens in a heartless world"-for the soldiers under their care.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
They feared that it would discredit democracy and create a fatal precedent that would eventually fragment the no-longer United States into several small, squabbling countries."
#17 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
They provided uniforms, blankets, sandbags and other supplies for entire regiments.
#18 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
They wrote letters to soldiers and worked as untrained nurses in makeshift hospitals.
#55 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
This appointment by the Secretary of War produced a nursing organization for the Union army.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
This disparity was reflected in the size of the armies in the field.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
This number comes from an 1889 study of the war performed by William F. Fox and Thomas Leonard Livermore.
#69 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
Those who did not mention the war service of a family member, however, had less of a tendency to do something for the war effort
#65 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
Those women who did help with the Union cause appear to fit into a general pattern, with few exceptions. For the most part, older women were more likely to participate through local organizations such as their churches or nearby hospitals by donating needed items or volunteering their personal time.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Thousands of Southerners died in the freezing camp at Elmira, New York, and the camp at Andersonville, Georgia,
#24 http://www.historynet.com/women-in-the-civil-war
Thousands of women served as volunteer nurses during the Civil War.
#81 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
To smuggle goods such as morphine, ammunition or weapons, they often attached them to the frame of their hoop skirts or hid them in baskets, packages and even inside dolls.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Too often, people take 'casualty' and 'fatality' to be interchangeable terms.
#75 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/women-spies-of-the-civil-war-162202679/
Tubman became the first woman in the country's history to lead a military expedition when she helped Col. James Montgomery
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Two thirds of those killed in the Civil War died of disease
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Typically, soldiers were buried where they fell on the battlefield.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
Vicksburg--19,233 casualties
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
When Abraham Lincoln won election in 1860 as the first Republican president on a platform pledging to keep slavery out of the territories,
#28 Daring Women of the Civil War
When the men left women took on more roles than they anticipated
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
While many still debate the ultimate causes of the Civil War, Pulitzer Prize-winning author James McPherson writes that, "The Civil War started because of uncompromising differences between the free and slave states over the power of the national government to prohibit slavery in the territories that had not yet become states.
#100 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
White women in the South threw themselves into the war effort with the same zeal as their Northern counterparts
#15 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
White women in the South threw themselves into the war effort with the same zeal as their Northern counterparts
#47 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
Women also raised money through fundraisers and charity events such as the Sanitary Fair in Chicago in 1863.
# 27 Daring Women of the Civil War
Women could not: -vote -own property -serve a jury -be elected to political office
#51 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
Women nurses served in both Confederate and Union hospitals during the Civil war.
#42 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
Women spies usually gathered valuable military information by flirting with male soldiers at parties, dinners or other social events.
#33 Daring Women of the Civil War
Women were allowed to take part as nurses because there were so many men getting injured
#38 Daring Women of the Civil War
Women were not allowed to become soldiers so they had to pretend to be men they wore men clothing and cut their hair short
#78 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
Women were perfect for the role of spy because they were easily trusted and viewed as non-threatening by soldiers who, enamored by their beauty, would often let their guard down around them.
#59 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
Women worked to manufacture arms, ammunition, uniforms, and other supplies for the soldiers.
#39 Daring Women of the Civil War
Women would avoid medical help if they were injured afraid they would have to take off their shirts.
#11 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
Working-class white women and free and enslaved African-American women worked as laundresses, cooks and "matrons".
#66 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
Younger women interested in helping the Union cause seemed more willing to do something a distance from their homes, such as traveling to Washington or the battlefields
#71 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
a woman may have deemed her letters or her journal an inappropriate place for that type of personal information or may have been so deeply concerned for her loved one that she could not write about it.
#1 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
before the Civil War, the lives of American women were shaped by a set of ideals that historians call "the Cult of True Womanhood."
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
but because there were so many bodies, and because of the time and effort it took to disinter them, there are undoubtedly thousands if not tens of thousands of Civil War soldiers in unknown battlefield graves.
#41 http://civilwarsaga.com/the-roles-of-women-in-the-civil-war/
hundreds of women served as spies for the Confederate and Union armies in the Civil War.
#70 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
if a woman knew a man involved in the war she would mention him in her letters or diaries.
#6 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
many women wanted to take a more active role in the war effort
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
seven slave states in the deep South seceded and formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America.
#12 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
some 3,000 middle-class white women worked as nurses.
#83 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
such as allowing men into their homes at all hours of the night, arranging meetings with men in various locations and riding on horses and in buggies unaccompanied.
#3 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
these experiences had expanded many Americans' definitions of "true womanhood."
#72 https://hsp.org/collections/catalogs-research-tools/subject-guides/women-during-the-civil-war
these letters and diaries provide an excellent study of the daily lives of women during the 1860s.
#96 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
these new roles applied the ideals of Victorian domesticity to "useful and patriotic ends."
#7 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
they tried to find a way to work on the front lines, caring for sick and injured soldiers and keeping the rest of the Union troops healthy and safe.
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
which could have greatly reduced the spread of bacteria and the outbreak of disease, did not exist
http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/faq/
which held Union prisoners, has become one of the most infamous in the history of war.
#4 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
women and men alike eagerly volunteered to fight for the cause.
#95 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
women especially faced a host of new duties and responsibilities.
#60 http://americancivilwar.com/women/women.html
women in the Fayetteville arsenal made some 900,000 rounds of small arms munitions in 1864.
#2 http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/women-in-the-civil-war
women in the North and South joined volunteer brigades and signed up to work as nurses.
#80 http://civilwarsaga.com/women-spies-in-the-civil-war/
women spies often gathered information about the enemy's plans, troop size, fortifications and supplies on scraps of paper or fabric and sewed them into their blouses and petticoats or rolled them into their hair.
#91 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-women-who-fought-in-the-civil-war-1402680/
women weren't legally allowed to fight in the Civil War, it is estimated that somewhere around 400 women disguised themselves as men and went to war
#92 http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-women-who-fought-in-the-civil-war-1402680/
women weren't perceived as equals by any stretch of the imagination.