Civil War Women

When a majority of people think about the Civil War, what typically comes to their minds are the battles, the North, the South and most importantly, slavery. Unfortunately, this means that the American women during the time are often forgotten. The women weren’t willing to sit at home or participate in fundraisers for the cause while the men fought in the war; they wanted to play a more active role. Thus, women decided to join the fight by disguising themselves as men. Women that didn’t join the fight chose to become nurses or spies, while others took on more household responsibilities as the men in their lives we’re called to duty. The lives of enslaved women were changing due to the Civil War also, as they were beginning to live free. The Civil War claimed roughly 620,000 lives, which left numerous women mourning for loved ones. The lives of women were changed significantly once the Civil War began whether they became soldiers, spies and nurses, or simply stayed behind on the home front.

When the Civil War began, it was during a time when females weren’t allowed to join the military. However, women still decided to volunteer to enter the battle as soldiers. These ladies joined for multiple reasons; some were seeking adventure while others were attempting to provide for their families. Women were able to fight alongside their husbands, brothers and neighbors. To enlist, the women had to become familiar with male lifestyles. American women had to cut their hair, choose a masculine name to be referred to as, learn to act and talk like men and bind their breasts; while some even went as far as to smoke cigars and wear fake mustaches. For the ladies that decided not to wear fake facial hair, they knew that they could pass as young men. The recruiters of the time, Union and Confederate, didn’t require proof of identity which made it really easy for the women to enlist, especially after their transformations to look more like men. The recruiters typically only wanted to determine which individuals had evident handicaps that would prevent them from doing standard soldier acts. Women soldiers remained modest during the war. To avoid undue attention, women would sleep in their clothes and shower in their undergarments. The ladies usually had to wear the same pair of underwear for several weeks. Sneaking into the woods became a normal habit of theirs, especially to handle personal matters such as using the restroom. The women became extremely good at concealing their gender; therefore, they hardly ever faced disadvantages. A majority of the male soldiers that enlisted into the war were new to the military service, similar to the women. Like most of the women, the male enlistees had never fired any sort of weapon before entering the war. Thus, women soldiers were able to learn how to be a soldier right along with the males. Women experienced everything that men did during the war such as taking part in combat, being wounded, taken prisoner