did you know women played large and important roles in the civil
war they did and it wasn't just by keeping the home fires burning they
were real soldiers join me today on the ancestral findings podcast to learn more
by the beginning of the latter half of the 19th century more rural women were becoming educated
and women everywhere in the United States were being treated with more respect and granted more
legal privileges than in the past they enjoyed these new freedoms and this is why it should
come as no surprise that many of them lept on the opportunity to contribute to the civil war
in some way it was the first war fought in the United States where they could have some official
role while there were always unofficial roles in Wars for women in past times this was their
first opportunity to openly help their sides cause and they did so in large numbers perhaps
most surprisingly is that they volunteered to fight in the war as soldiers while the numbers
of female soldiers were not huge there are around 250 documented women who were Civil War soldiers
and probably many more who were not documented women participated in the fighting at every major
Civil War battle most of the women soldiers joined the war along with a male relative or
a husband sometimes they volunteered along with their fiance or sweetheart to stay closer to them
and make sure they were protected others join the army to earn money for their families while
others had a genuine belief in their sides cause and wanted to do their part to achieve a win the
vast majority of female soldiers dressed up as men and pretended to be men when they join the
army their gender was usually only known to the male with whom they joined if any and they were
typically only discovered to be females if they were injured or killed in battle this is why it
is believed many more women fought as soldiers in the Civil War than are documented most of them
were probably never discovered to be women other women served regiments openly as women but not as
soldiers they worked for the regiment's doing women's work such as cooking cleaning teaching
soldiers to read tending the ill and injured and more they usually served in the same read
as their husbands or male relatives there were women who worked as spies for both sides during
the Civil War and they did so on the front lines it was easy for women to be spies as most men
did not expect women to have political opinions that would make them liable to join the military
therefore women could easily get behind enemy lines gained the confidence of male officers
of high ranks and passed the information they received on to their own military superiors
when they would meet up with other spies with messages to carry across enemy lines they had
easy hiding places in the voluminous layers of their clothes and no gentleman on either side
would dare go there without permission in addition to spying women on both sides engaged in a little
smuggling - usually it was the women's spies who also did the smuggling since the two activities
were so closely related to one another of course plenty of women served as nurses during the Civil
War and this role is what they are best known for today in fact it was Clara Barton's work
as a nurse in the Civil War that started the American Red Cross and brought some fame to
the Civil War female nursing profession at first they were discouraged from doing this work as it
was often grisly gory and violent women nurses had to serve in chaotic environments with a lot
of seriously wounded soldiers often in the dangerous location of right on or near the
battlefield they had to prove they were up to the task before being allowed to become nurses
being able to work on the body parts of males who were strangers to them was also a requirement and
something Civil War women had to prove they were willing to do before joining a regiment
civil war nurses stitched up soldiers operated on them gave them medications often amputated limbs
tended healing wounds changed bandages and even provided comfort in the form of cooking for the
wounded and reading and writing letters for them Clara Barton became famous for tending injured
soldiers on the battlefield and dodging bullets as she did it women didn't have to join the army
to be part of the war effort and help their side either many of them stayed home usually
out of necessity due to having children who needed their care however they still did their part they
started local societies for the aid of soldiers these societies provided supplies to men on the
battle lines they also opened up their homes to house sick and wounded soldiers and fed those who
were in their area who were hungry as the Army's rations often ran low especially near the end of
the war sometimes they organized the community to open up churches and schools for these same
purposes as far as enslaved women in the south they also had a role to play the approaching
Union armies brought opportunities with them many women left with the Union armies who promised them
freedom some brought their families with them while others left on their own with only the
clothes on their backs and what they could carry those who left their families behind hoped they
would be able to retrieve them or bring them north with them later and they were sometimes able to do
this after the war other women chose to stay where they were and use the victories of the Union Army
to negotiate better conditions for themselves and their families with their white owners after the
war was over the women who stayed often stayed on at the places where they had been enslaved
but with the ability to demand and receive pay for their work others use their newfound freedom
to find better situations for themselves in the south during Reconstruction some did help the
army in the same way white women did usually in the Union Army but in rare circumstances usually
where they were negotiating for their freedom in the Confederate Army women played large roles in
the Civil War while they were always a part of any war in which the United States took place
this was the first time they could serve in an official capacity and once given the opportunity
they prude they could serve with just as much valor bravery and dedication as any man this
paved the way for their official inclusion as genuine officers in the military in future Wars
join me next time on the ancestral findings podcast as we talk about how to become a
better genealogist whether you're a beginner or a veteran your research will improve if you focus
on these three things have a wonderful week and be sure to check out ancestral findings dot-com
there you can also download older podcast messages to hear again at your convenience
that's ancestral findings comm see you the next time on the ancestral findings podcasts