U.S. History: The Role of Women During the Civil War

During the tumultuous years of the Civil War, women who did not have a right to vote, own property and had few civic liberties of their own, unified in support of the war efforts. Women who had not worked a day in their lives, with grit and determination hid their identity and took up arms of their own, cared for sick and dying soldiers, risked their lives to gather information, cooked, cleaned and care for children. The tenacity and love with which these women served their country was astounding, and yet often overlooked.

Although women were not allowed to serve in the army, that did not stop some women from disguising themselves as men and taking up arms. Women would create masculine names and hide their identity from officials. We do not know how many women served because they did so secretly. On occasion, their sex was revealed. Mary Owens, after being shot in the armed, was discovered to be female. Upon returning home, despite her sex, she was received warmly. Both the Union and Confederate army refused to acknowledge that women had served.

During wartime, women who were not fighting also played very important roles. When battle began, both armies were unprepared for the wounded. Women with no medical training would rush out to the front lines to help injured soldiers. Within two months, it was decided that Dorothea Dix would be appointed Superintendent of Nurses.

Ms. Dix had high standards for women wishing to serve as nurses. Women were to be over the age of thirty, plain looking, wear service dresses, and be interviewed by her personally. These nurses worked strenuously 12 hour shifts sometimes attending to forty patients at a time. Many nurses literally worked themselves to death. A good chronicle of the life of a nurse is Louisa May Alcott's "Hospital Sketches."

Some women chose to nurse independent of Ms. Dix. One such woman was Clara Carton who would later be credited as founder of the American Red Cross. To help assist in the war efforts she would collect and distribute necessities to the soldiers.