Women's Role In The Civil War
The Civil War was a conflict between the North and the South of the United States, a war over equal rights and the abolishment of slavery. This caused many opportunities for female workers to show their worth. While many believe that the war was only participated in by men, there are many women that prove otherwise. They played a very crucial part in the Civil War.
Although professional nursing was only done by men, without women as nurses, the war would have ended very differently. Nurses like Clara Barton helped save thousands of wounded on the battlefield. Even though the War department didn’t approve her going out into the field to help the wounded, she did anyways. Everyday she would put her life in danger to help others. But she didn’t just nurse, she cooked as well. Because of her excellent work she was even given the nickname Angel of the Battlefield. Her ultimate devotion to nursing lead to many opportunities for everyone. A trip to Europe is what changed it all. She became aware of the Red Cross in Geneva and immediately wanted to participate. By 1881 she was so successful on the battlefield that she founded the Red Cross. She continued to lead it for the next 23 years, as president.
Women weren’t just helping the wounded on the field, they were also the ones fighting on the battlefield. Courageous people like Sarah Edmonds changed the war. Since she disguised herself as a man to be able to fight for the Union army, when she got malaria she couldn’t get treated. She couldn’t put herself at risk of everyone finding out she was a woman. So, she fled to Illinois where she could get treated as a woman. But when she returned to fight in the war, she realized she was listed as a deserter. Later on, in 1882 she got her government pension for her wonderful service. in the end she was freed of her desertion charges.
Not all women had to be on the battlefield to make a change. People like Harriet Tubman helped by doing what needed to be done, including liberating slaves. In 1861 she was the only African American volunteering, as a part of the Massachusetts troop. Tubman wasn’t officially there, but she did end up helping many people. She helped by assisting in nursing, cooking and washing clothes. In 1862, in South Carolina, she healed many wounded soldiers at Freedman’s Hospital. Since the emancipation proclamation allowed colored people to enroll in the military, she became a spy, along with a whole group. Their job was to liberate as many slaves as possible, sometimes as much as 750 slaves were freed.
In conclusion, without women in the civil war, it would have ended very differently. Many important figures such as Clara Barton, Sarah Edmonds and Harriet Tubman helped make the Civil War easier and overall better for everyone. They all saved many people by, nursing, fighting and freeing.
