Tuesday, January 15, 2008 Warrior Women of the Civil War

1- List five (5) ways that women helped the war effort.

Many women helped the war by serving as nurses, vivandieres, sutlers, spies, and even soldiers.

2- About how many women served as soldiers during the Civil War?

More than 400 women became soldiers in the Civil war.

3- The government did not allow women to join the military so how were women able to become soldiers?


Women had to become soldiers by disguising themselves as men.

4- What were some of the reasons women joined the military?

Women had many different reasons for becoming soldiers. Many did so after a loved one, usually a husband, had gone to war. Some women thought that it was their wifely duty to follow their husbands into battle.
Others envied their brother's and husband's brave attempts to help end the war. The sanitary fairs and soldier's-aid societies that were open to women were just not enough for some. These women became soldiers to fill a need for adventure and independence.

5- What could happen to a women if they were "discovered" in the army?

Although the penalty, if caught, was to be arrested and treated as a criminal, many women still risked it. However, because these women were enlisted under aliases, records are very scarce.

6- What is being planned to recognize the accomplishments of these fighting women?

Unfortunately, there are probably many more women soldiers that are just not known about because they were forced to keep their true identity a secret. These women fought and died in battle to help unite our country and make it what it is today.
It is sad that our country has been so slow in recognizing the great accomplishments of these women. This too is changing, however. There will soon be a memorial to all of the brave women who fought in the Civil War.