Women in the Civil War
Women played a significant cause during the war, on and off the battlefield. In the Civil War, thousands of women on the North and the South volunteered to be nurses in camps and on the battlefield. . On the battlefield, thousands of women worked as nurses in Union and Confederate camps and even the front lines to serve as nurses. Away from the battlefield, women worked with children in factories and farms to help with the war effort or simply help provide money and food for their families while their husbands were fighting in the Civil War. Some women off the battlefield raised money to fund the United States Sanitary Commission. This commission was created to combat medical diseases in the Civil War and also helped care for wounded soldiers from the Civil War.
How Did Women Contribute?
Nurses in the Civil War (most notably Clara Barton) worked on both sides' camps to support wounding soldiers. Nurses often brought medicine, food, and clothes to wounded soldiers in the battlefield, helping both sides keep soldiers alive and well. Some nurses traveled hospital to hospital and camp to camp, to help care for wounded soldiers. Some women off the battlefield worked to support the war effort on both sides; raising money and sending supplies to help each cause.
Clara Barton the "Angel of the Battlefield"
Clara Barton, a nurse, was one of the most influential members in the American Civil War. After working at the clerk office (being one of the first women ever to hold that position) in Washington D.C., Clara Barton became a nurse along with thousands of other women to help with the war effort. Being called the "Angel of the Battlefield", Clara Barton contributed to the Union cause helping in many battlefields and camps. Sometimes, she visited prisons for Prisoners of War to learn about the captives in there. She also informed families about their family member's whereabouts in the Prison Camps. She eventually founded the American Red Cross which helped wounded soldiers after the war, and eventually, everyone into the modern day. Clara Barton held a very important influence during and after the Civil War.