Few Examples Of Civil War Nurses example essay topic

Women in the Civil War and the Roles They Played on the Battlefield and on the Home front By: VM HIST 1301 8/01/03 The Civil War, which lasted for four long years, was a "total war" involving every aspect of society. During this time in one of the bloodiest of wars, northern and southern women were as equally involved as their male counterparts, if not more. Because of this war, women were forced to abandon their traditional roles of the 19th century, and participate in the war effort. Some fearless women disguised themselves as young men, and took on the role of soldiers, in order to show their patriotism. Some of the more cunning women freelanced as spies outside the government sphere, so that they could participate in the war. Others supported the war effort by taking on the roles of nurses who risked their lives on the battlefield; however, most of them worked in hospitals located in the rear.

No matter how big or small the role they played during the civil war, the significance of their effort and support broadened beliefs about the abilities of women and what they could achieve outside of the home. One of the more significant roles that women played during the civil war was that of a soldier. Both Union and Confederate armies forbade the enlistment of women, so those that wanted to enlist, crossed gender boundaries and disguised themselves as young men and assumed masculine names. This war was not only a man's fight, but it was also a woman's fight. Female civil war soldiers, like the male soldiers, lived in camps, suffered in prisons and died for their respective causes. They were wounded prisoners of war, and killed in action.

Going to war was strictly by choice and they were all aware of the risks involved. Many had never fired a rifle before much less contained the understanding of the army way of life, but nevertheless, they still managed and some were very successful. It was estimated that 400 women rolled up their pants, bound their breasts, and cut their hair, in order to enlist with the fighting forces. Among those that joined the Confederate Army ranks was Mrs. Amy Clarke, "who enlisted with her husband and continued service after he was killed at Shiloh. It was not until she was wounded a second time and captured by the Federal that Mrs. Amy Clarke's gender was detected". Female soldiers had plenty of guts; they did not faint at the sight of blood, nor did they swoon in unbearably hot weather.

They endured the same physical and mental hardships as their male counterparts. Taking on soldiers roles' in the Union or Confederate Armies, was one of the many ways women could show their patriotism for what they believed in. Another significant role that was taken on by women during the Civil War was that of a spy. This option allowed a woman to keep her femininity and capitalize on it. A perfect example of such a women was Belle Boyd. She made a wartime career of spying for the confederacy.

"Charming and flirtatious, Belle Boyd masked her fierce will with innocent smiles and coquettish conversation. Her dark ringlets and flashing eyes, as well as quick wits and deep determination, led her to become a great menace to the helpless Union army". Belle Boyd began her career as a spy at the age of 17, when she shot a union soldier for using offensive language when he spoke to her mother. Surprisingly, she was pardoned instead of punished by the Union Officers. She continued her work during the civil war as a spy by completing such feats as capturing Union Calvary men as her prisoners, and helping Jackson's troops to capture Front Royal, Virginia from the Union. Another example of a successful female Confederate spy was Mrs. Rose O'Neal Greenhow.

Mrs. Greenhow was a social prominent widow from Washington D.C., who used other methods to gain access to secret information. She used her social connections to gather exclusive and secret information on Federal plans, which later led to her arrest and imprisonment by the Federals. In her diary, My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington, displays the strength of her will and determination for the confederate cause. "The useless series of torments and provocations to which I was subjected - the changes in my place of imprisonment, and the many attempts to entrap me into a betrayal of myself or the Confederate cause. Hence the long and wearisome captivity, to beak my spirit, or to goad me into undignified bursts of indignation - in all of which I trust I may flatter myself that they signally failed". By manipulating gender expectations, both Boyd and Greenhow obtained the freedom to aid their beloved Confederacy while claiming blameless.

However, female spies were not limited to just working for the Confederacy, the Union contained a successful arsenal of their own. An excellent example of a successful Union spy is Elizabeth Van Lew. Elizabeth Van Lew worked for four years as a dedicated and resourceful spy. She was outspoken, rebellious, and a little eccentric. Unlike Belle Boyd who used her good looks to obtain information, Elizabeth Van Lew was quite the opposite. Lacking in beauty, charm, coquette's air, and a lush figure, Van Lew accomplished her tasks by resorting to other methods.

She relied on her gentleness, eccentricity, and flattery to get what she wanted. For example, "after the war started, Elizabeth Van Lew openly supported the Union. She took items of clothing and food and medicine to prisoners at the Confederate Libby Prison and passed information to U.S. General Grant, spending much of her fortune to support her espionage. She may also have helped prisoners escape from Libby prison. To cover her activities, she took on a persona of "Crazy Bet", dressing oddly; she was never arrested for her spying". Crazy Bet" was so bold and daring somehow she managed to penetrate the home of President Davis by convincing one of her former servants to secure a position in the Davis household staff.

The techniques that Miss Van Lew developed are still used in espionage today. She was smart enough to tear messages into several pieces and send them out with different couriers, so if one of those couriers were caught the message could not be deciphered. Another technique she used was invisible ink in her messages. In order to make decoding that much more difficult, she would implant coded messages with invisible ink before she would tear the message into pieces.

To name another successful Union spy is Pauline Cushman, a. k. a. Harriet Wood. Pauline Cushman was a native of New Orleans, Louisiana. When the Civil War began, she decided that the best way to serve her country was to become a spy. Pauline was an actress by trade and used her skills and occupation to try to find information and Confederate spies. She was ostracized by the north as a southern sympathizer, so as a result she used it to her advantage to continue her spying activities.

"In May of 1863, Miss Cushman was sent to the Confederate lines in Tennessee, to determine the abilities of the Army of Tennessee. There she was captured by General Bragg. Who sentenced her to be hung as a spy on the spot. Conveniently, the town she was held at soon had to be evacuated".

She was forgotten about by the Confederate Army, and soon after the Union troops arrived, Pauline Cushman was rescued. Cushman became so famous after this event, that she was obligated to retire as a spy for the Union. She was later recognized for her dedicated service to her country, that she was given the title of "Major". There were other female Confederate and Union spies, however, some were not as recognized or as well known. All the same, these women still played a significant role risking everything including their lives in order to obtain vital information. They successfully did so in ways that most of their male counterparts could not match.

They were devious, sly, and witty all of which were scandalous from a gender role during the Victorian Era. These women were courageous, determined and quite resourceful, and despite what side they were on they did what was needed to show support for their cause. The last most significant role that women took on during the Civil War was that of nurses. Between the years 1861-1865, over 3,000 women served as nurses. Many of them had no formal training, since the first nursing school did not appear until 1873.

The Civil War brought out strengths in women that had never been revealed before. After the start of the Civil War, these women like those mentioned above, were driven by their convictions and their desires to help in any way they could. Because these women had no formal training as nurses, many of them were not prepared for the emotional impact of seeing bodies mangled by bullets and bayonets, or the stench of rotting amputated limbs that lay near their workstations. Despite the daily horrors they faced, female nurses rose to the challenge that was laid before them. Limited in their duties, since most nursing care was performed by male physicians and nurses, they spent most of their time in hospitals located in the rear and on wounded soldiers hygiene.

They also wrote letters home for the wounded soldiers who were unable due to their injuries that they had sustained. Female nurses were not allowed on or even near the battlefield, but then there were those who defied the rules and took that chance. A prime example of a nurse who took this risk was Clara Barton. Clara Barton with her carriage and medical supplies would reach battlefields before the fighting has ended just to nurture the wounded. "At Antietam, Maryland, she treated the wounded by removing bullets with a pocket knife, wrapping their wounds with corn husks once her supply of bandages were exhausted". At that particular battle site, Clara Barton cam quite close to taking a bullet of her own, however, she was undaunted and continued to work nonstop until dark.

When she returned from the site she was quoted to have said, "what could I do but go with them [Civil War soldiers], or work for them and my country? The patriot blood of my father was warm in my veins". This quote proves her loyalty and fervor to the wounded, and it is no wonder that she is "angel of the battlefield". Clara Barton continued to visit more horrific battle sites, in order to take care of the wounded soldiers, who did survive the battle. However, in one particular battle site, the Battle of Fredericksburg, she was too late. She was witnessed to a horror so moving that she wrote a letter to her cousin Vira about her experience.

"The acres of little shelter tents are dark and still as death, no wonder for as I gazed sorrowfully upon them, I thought I could almost hear the slow flap of the grim messenger's wings, as one by one he sought and selected his victims for the morning sacrifice... Oh northern mothers wives and sisters... would to Heaven that I could bear for you the concentrated woe which is so soon to follow". Another example of a passionate nurse is Louisa May Alcott. She worked in a hospital located in the rear in Washington D.C. She had been at that hospital for no more than 3 days, and was already bombarded with wounded soldiers from the Battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia. Wounded patients whose arms and legs had been blown off reminded her that she was there "to work, not to wonder or weep". She bottled up her feelings and performed her duties up until she was forced to leave the hospital after developing Typhoid Fever.

Regardless of what situation female nurses found themselves in, they had displayed commitment, bravery, self-sacrifice, but most of all love and patriotism, which they all shared for their country. It is apparent however big or small the roles that they played during the Civil War, women were the lifelines of the Union and the Confederacy, whether it is a brute soldier, a sly spy, or even a courageous nurse. These women have displayed the ultimate courage, will, determination, passion, and desire for their cause, no matter what side they supported. Though, their roles may not have changed the outcome of the Civil War, it had definitely changed the condescending beliefs on the abilities of women.

Works Cited Primary Sources: Blanton, DeAnne. United States National Archives and Records Administration. Women Soldiers of the Civil War: Vol. 25, No. 1. Washington: GPO, 1993. This source gave an exclusive insight into how women became soldiers in the Civil War and their experiences as such during this conflict. Carroll, Andy.

War Letters: Extraordinary Correspondence from American Wars. New York: Scriber Publications, 2001. This book gave an in depth look on the emotional and horrific side of war, particularly from women that were involved on the battlefield. Greenhow, Rose O'Neal. My Imprisonment and The First Year of Absolute Rule at Washington. London: Richard Bentley, 1863.

Reprint, Chapel Hill, N.C. : University of North Carolina Press, 1998. This source provided an on hand account of Greenhow's experiences while in captivity. It also mentions her determination to continue sending messages to the Confederacy and the methods that she employed to make sure those messages arrived to their destination. Secondary Sources: Christen, Bill. Pauline Cushman, Spy of the Cumberland. Roseville, MN.

EdinboroughPress. 2003. The author of this book outlines Pauline Cushman's brief history as a struggling, aspiring actress, to a Union Spy. The way in which she obtained information is what I found to be of interest. Collett, Janelle.

"All is Fair: Women and the American Civil War", Feminist. Com. Home page on-line. Available from web Internet; 30 July 03. The website provided possible reasons as to why women chose to be soldiers, nurses, or spies during the Civil War.

These reasons helped me understand how some of the women felt at the time of their decision. Divine, Robert A., Breen, T.H., Fredrickson, George M., Williams, R.H., American Past and Present: Vol. I to 1877.6th ed. Addison-Wesley Educational Publications, 2002.

The textbook provided information on women's influence and the roles they took on when the war started. It also described the attitudes and beliefs of the Victoria society toward those women who broke from traditional roles to participate in the war. Emanuel, Sarah. "Women of a Different Generation: The Lady Spies and Soldiers of the Civil War", Women and the Civil War. Home page on-line. Available from web Internet; accessed 30 July 03.

The author gave many examples of female spies from both Confederate and Union Armies, which included biographies, techniques used, and their accomplishments. I had the freedom of choosing a few that interested me. Frisch, Karen. "Women Nurses in the Civil War", Ancestry Daily News. Home page on-line. The web site gave a few examples of Civil War nurses, however, it mainly described their duties and their limitations as women nurses.

The article gave me a peek on a few of their experiences, which described their courage in a horrific war. Gunter, Jimmy. "Women and the Civil War", Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Home page on-line. This author of this article provided many examples of women playing many different roles and described their experiences on and off the battlefield.

Kane, Harnett T. Spies For The Blue and Gray. Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1954. The author of this book provided a plethora of biographies, techniques and accomplishments of women, who spied for the Union Army listing the most influential to the least. Markle, Donald C. Spies and Spymasters. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1994. This book gave examples of female spies from both the Union and the Confederate Armies.

These examples included the most significant women and the methods they used that are still practiced in espionage today. United States National Park Service. "Clara Barton - Angel of the Battlefield". Home page on-line.

This article provided a brief biography of Clara Barton, to include, her experiences on the battlefield as a nurse during the Civil War and a brief outline of her accomplishments after the war. Ze inert, Karen. Elizabeth Van Lew: Southern Belle, Union Spy. New Jersey.

Dillon Press, 1995. The author gave an intimate view of one of the most significant spies during the Civil War with a thorough background of Elizabeth Van Lew, not leaving out her adventures and hilarious techniques used.