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Women's Role In The Civil War Essay

760 Words4 Pages

The Civil War in the United States was an intense war. A civil war is a war between citizens from the same country. In the American Civil War, women played a vital role in the civil war such as being nurses, spies, and soldiers. One of the jobs a women would be was nurse. Nurses would usually have no knowledge and training, do many procedures, deal with discriminatory rules, and more. These women had barely, if any, training. No formal nursing school existed at the time, and there were only about 150 hospitals in the entire country. They had to take a hands-on approach to acquire important skills. “Nothing could prepare the women for the gruesome wounds and terminal illnesses they would encounter (“Women in Nursing During the Civil War”). The nurses didn’t carry out certain operations with sterile tools, …show more content…

“Apprehended women spies were often branded as prostitutes, unless their reputations were strong enough to protect them (“Women Spies in the Civil War”). If caught, women were imprisoned or deported to Canada or enemy lines, rarely were they executed. Also, a role women would take on was being a soldier. This was a dangerous role to take on. They had a reason to fight, but had to sneak in and had the punishment of being caught, and more. There were between 400-750 women who fought in the civil war. Many women were violent fighters and that some “women soldiers fought in some of the biggest and most famous Civil War battles (“Women Spies in the Civil War”).
During the Civil War, some women maintained a male persona for months or even years. To sneak in women chopped off their hair and adopted male allies. They also wore baggy clothing and even used a deeper voice. There were many reasons women fought as soldiers, but some reasons were for money, patriotism, adventure, and a chance to

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