Women Civil War POW’S? Certainly.

A surprising number of women dressed as men and went to war in 1860’s. It’s not known exactly how many, but there is documentation, by means of hospital records, diaries, and prison records, that women fought beside their male counter parts.

The Civil War era prison, Castle Thunder, was located in Richmond Virginia. It was, like most other prisons of this time period, filthy, disease ridden, 

Castle Thunder Prison, VA

overcrowded, and lacked in food and medical care. Over the course of the war, Castle Thunder housed over one hundred women, and had one area specifically for female inmates—“deprived and abandoned” women. Some inmates were prostitutes, but most where smugglers, spies and political prisoners. The most famous prisoner of war was Doctor Mary Edwards.

Dr. Edwards was the second college trained, female doctor in the nation. After obtaining a second medical degree, she worked as a field surgeon near the Union front lines after the Battle of Chickamauga, the first female surgeon in the United States Army. After being taken prisoner by the Confederates, while treating a confederate soldier on the battlefield, Mary

Dr. Mary Edwards

championed better prison conditions at Castle Thunder and indeed, the inmates received an increase of grains and the addition of cabbage to their diets. Four months after being taken prisoner, Mary was released in a prisoner exchange.

Andersonville Prison in Georgia is famous for its brutal living conditions. Here are the abbreviated stories of three known women prisoners who were imprisoned in Andersonville. 

One soldier, who was not discovered to be a woman until after her death, is buried in a grave marked with “Unknown”. I can’t help but wonder who this woman was. Did her family know she fought in the war? Was she missed?

The second, Florena Budwin, (it’s unknown if this is her real name) decided she didn’t want to send her husband to war alone. So, she dressed as a man and enlisted. It is believed that Florena’s husband was killed in battle, though there is speculation that he died in Andersonville by the hand of the guards. Regardless, Florena was captured and sent to Andersonville. She kept her identity hidden during her stay. It’s unknown why she decided to remain in disguise, had she told the truth she would’ve probably been released. Florena died after being transferred to Florence Stockade in Florence, SC. She was only twenty years old.   

The third, Janie Hunt, married Captain Harry Hunt. On the day of their wedding the bride and groom, along with their wedding guests, boarded Captain Hunt’s boat for a short pleasure cruise. After a few hours, a Federal revenue cutter stopped the vessel and ordered Captain Hunt to pick up a load of corn in North Carolina. For whatever reason, all guests stayed aboard and sailed to North Carolina. While picking up the corn, Confederates seized the ship. Most of the wedding guests were released, but the new Mrs. Hunt chose to stay with her husband in hopes he’d soon be freed. Her hopes were quickly dashed when Janie learned her new husband would be sent to the newly opened prison in Andersonville, Georgia. Janie Hunt was allowed, after much begging and bribing, to dress as a man and accompany her husband, Harry, to prison. To help conceal her identity, the newlyweds made camp in a far, out of the way corner of the open prison yard. Janie was four months pregnant when she arrived at camp. After giving birth to a baby boy (the young family named the baby Harry Jr. also called little Harry) in the couple’s tent, the prison doctor heard the cry of the baby and the family was discovered. The doctor took pity on the young Hunt family and arranged for Janie and her son to stay at a local farmer’s home close to the prison so she could often visit her husband. The doctor also made Captain Hunt his assistant and therefore kept him safe through the war.

It seems each woman’s reason for participating in the Civil War was as different as each individual woman. But the one thing each had in common was determined bravery. I think that determination is a part of each woman’s over-all make-up. We all have the capability to make hard choices for the good of ourselves and the ones we love.

I hope today’s post has inspired you just a bit. Thank you for stopping by Heroes, Heroines and History. Unit next month…

May your days overflow with blessings,
Michele


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 Multi award-winning author, Michele K. Morris’s love for historical fiction began when she first read Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House book series. She grew up riding horses and spending her free time in the woods of mid-Michigan. Married to her high school sweetheart, they are living happily-ever-after with their six children, three in-loves, and ten grandchildren in Florida, the sunshine state. Michele loves to hear from readers on Facebook, Twitter, and here through the group blog, Heroes, Heroines, and History at HHHistory.com.

Michele is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube Agency.

Civil War Stitches

A footnote from history by Stephanie Grace Whitson

Neither the Union nor the Confederate governments were prepared to field armies when the Civil War first began. The most obvious need was for uniforms for the tens of thousands of volunteers. President Lincoln's first call was for 75,000 volunteers. An estimated 4.5 yards of fabric were needed per uniform. that's 337,500 yards (or 191.76 miles) of fabric just for trousers and jackets. Who made those uniforms? Well, at the outset of the war, governments contracted with factories, but they couldn't work fast enough. Women stepped up, and they did made a lot more than just uniforms.

Women made the regimental flags carried into battle. The photo below

shows a detail of one such flag presented by the ladies of St. Louis to a regiment serving with the Missouri Guard. Those bears are created with silk thread, one stitch at a time. The flag flew outside the regimental commander's tent. Other regimental flags made by women were carried into battle. 

Once war broke out, sewing circles that already existed to benefit the destitute immediately added filling soldiers' needs to their cause, providing shirts and socks, blankets and quilts, for the boys and men volunteering from their town or region.

"My dear friend, you are not my husband nor son; but you are the husband or son of some woman who undoubtedly loves you as I love mine. I have made these garments for you with a heart that aches for your sufferings ..." [note included in a Sanitary Commission shipment] 

As the war went on and hospitals began to fill with the wounded, women produced hospital shirts and bandages. One impressive statistic: by war's end, the Northwestern Sanitary Commission headquartered in Chicago had supplied 267,936 pounds of bandages, compresses, and lint (lint was used for packing wounds and created by unraveling linen towels or "scraping" other household textiles to break down the fibers). 

"My dear boy, I have knit these socks expressly for you. How do you like them? ... Write and tell me all about yourself, and how you get on in the hospitals ..." [note included in a Sanitary Commission shipment]

Women knitted socks and mittens, the latter created from a pattern developed to incorporate a trigger finger. The Western Sanitary Commission headquartered in St. Louis had, by war's end, provided 78,656 pairs of socks.

In the early stages of the war, women collected quilts and blankets. When the supply ran out, they began to make cot-sized quilts and tied comforters (15,131 comforts from the Northwestern Sanitary Commission and 40,574 blankets and comforts from the Western Sanitary Commission), along with 100,000 pillow cases. 

The numbers are a bit staggering, aren't they? In an era when we buy the textiles we need for our families, it's difficult to imagine having to make literally everything a soldier might need in the field. 

"She'd sat up half the night making Seamus his own mending kit--a replica of the one a teary-eyed Bridget Feeny had presented to Jack yesterday afternoon. The soldiers called them housewives, Bridget said. Making one for Seamus had given Maggie something productive to do last night, when sleep simply would not come." From Daughter of the Regiment

Housewife (soldier's mending kit)

Soldiers had to do their own mending in camp, and so women made mending kits referred to as "housewives." Many different examples survive in museum collections. I photographed the one at left when I visited a museum exhibit about Illinois women's efforts during the war.

"Feed the Hungry" quilt

Civil War women were very well aware of the importance of what they were doing. Some referred to their sewing groups as "needle regiments." With the conclusion of the war, they didn't stop stitching for the benefit of soldiers and their families. Raffle quilts raised funds to benefit destitute families of wounded warriors. The one at left was created and raffled by a Methodist Episcopal ladies group in Lexington, Missouri. Across the surface of the quilt, the words "feed the hungry" reminded survivors that the war might be over, but the need for women's stitches had not ended. 

The tradition of sewing for soldiers continues today. One example is Quilts of Valor, created to "cover service members and veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor." 

Have you ever sent a care package to a modern-day warrior? Are you part of a contemporary "needle regiment" making Quilts of Valor? God bless you.

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Stephanie learned about "Civil War stitches" while researching her book Daughter of the Regiment. This fall, you'll be able to read about Civil War stitchers in her novella appearing in A Basket Brigade Christmas, a Civil War collection written with Nancy Moser and Judith Miller. Stay tuned!

http://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Regiment-Stephanie-Grace-Whitson/dp/1455529036

An inspiring story of discovering courage and friendship through tremendous adversity. Drawing on the actual histories of women who found ways to work on the battlefront during the Civil War, this outstanding historical will attract fans of Janette Oke, Lisa Wingate, and Tamera Alexander. *Starred review* Library Journal

Based on true events, this story will capture the hearts of historical fiction fans. Publishers Weekly

Daughters of the Regiment in the Civil War

A footnote from history by Stephanie Grace Whitson
To win a free copy of Stephanie's new book ... keep reading



The October 9, 1862, edition of the Nashville, Tennessee Daily Union reported an incident wherein a young woman disguised as a soldier and hoping to serve with the Irish Legion had been found out. Instead of being sent home, however, Eliza Miller was allowed to stay, " ... accepted as a female appendage to the regiment." Eliza was one of many women who, like the unknown woman pictured at right, served during the Civil War as an American version of vivandieres and cantinieres, French women who, as part of their service during the Crimean War, carried water to the wounded on the battlefield. 

A number of women in both the Union and the Confederate armies earned the title "Daughter of the Regiment." Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard says that "daughters" were probably initially seen as a kind of mascot, "guardian angel," or nurse. However, the realities of war (and the strength of the women so named) expanded their roles. Daughters of the Regiment did much more than carry water and tend the wounded. Some rallied their men to fight, carried the regimental colors on the march (and sometimes in the field). Others took part in battles.  

Among the women known to have served as Daughter of the Regiment are: Kady Brownell of the 1st and 5th Rhode Island, Lucy Ann Cox of the 13th Virginia, Bridget Divers of the 1st Michigan, Annie Etheridge of the 3rd and 5th Michigan, Hannah Ewbank of the 7th Wisconsin, Jane Claudie Johnson of the 1st Maryland, Lizzie Clawson Jones of the 6th Massachusetts, Belle Reynolds of the 17th Illinois, Rose Quinn Rooney of the 15th Louisiana, Sarah Taylor of the 1st Tennessee, and Nadine Turchin, of the 19th Illinois.

Letters and reminiscences pay tribute to these women:

"She is always on hand and ready to bear the same privations as the men. When danger threatens, she never cringes."

"She is always to be seen riding her pony at the head of our Brigade on the march or in the fight."

"The balls fall thick and fast around her, but she fears them not, and performs her task as cooly as if she was in camp and out of danger." 

"She had not slept for 48 hours, having worked incessantly dressing wounds."

"She has been riding with the cavalry all the time ... always ready to succor the wounded on the field ... often getting men off who, but for her, would be left to die, and fearless of shell or bullet among the last to leave." 

"Hundreds of soldiers ... will never forget the work of charity and bravery that Mrs. Reynolds is doing, single-handed, these days."

" ... how we all respected, believed in, and came to love her for her bravery, gentleness and constant care of the sick and wounded in the Regiment."

"...manifesting perfect indifference to shot or shell, or minie-balls, even when they fell thickly around her, she led the troops into action, facing the hottest fire, and fought bravely at their head."

Annie Etheridge of Michigan was awarded the Kearny Cross in recognition of her service. After the war, she was granted a pension for her wartime service. She is buried in Arlington National Cemetery--an exceptional honor.

Kady Brownell of Rhode Island (pictured at left) is the only female to have received official discharge papers from the Union Army. After the war, she was accepted as a member of the GAR and received a pension for her service. 

Kady's uniform reminded me of the costumed doll I photographed at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield, Illinois, when I was researching my Daughter of the Regiment. She's a cantiniere in zouave costume. (Zouaves were part of the French military in 1830 Algeria who adopted Moorish costume.) Because the Zouaves were known as fierce warriors, many Civil War regiments adapted the style for their uniforms. It's easy to see how the uniform would have inspired Daughters of the Regiment to shorten their skirts and don pantaloons in order to be more suitably dressed for military maneuvers.

What do you think motivated women to serve the military during the Civil War? If you know any women in the military, be sure to thank them for their service. 
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Best-selling, award-winning novelist Stephanie Grace Whitson wrote her first historical fiction in the 1990s while home schooling her four children and learning the true stories of the pioneer women of the West. She celebrated her twentieth years as a published novelist in 2014. In addition to writing, she enjoys giving programs on a variety of historical and inspirational topics for civic organizations and church groups, quilting, learning about women of the past, and riding her Honda Magna motorcycle named Kitty. 

Stephanie's newest book, Daughter of the Regiment, is set in Missouri during the Civil War and tells the story of Irish immigrant Maggie Malone and her neighbor, Elizabeth Blair, the mistress of Wildwood Grove plantation. When military maneuvers and a subsequent battle bring the Irish Brigade (and Maggie) to Wildwood Grove, Libbie's home is commandeered as a field hospital. The two women whose brothers have fought on opposite sides of the same battle come face to face while tending the wounded in the aftermath of a battle won by Union troops.

Stephanie is giving away three free copies of Daughter of the Regiment. To be entered to win, go to www.stephaniewhitson.com between March 12 and March 20, 2015, and subscribe to Stephanie's newsletter. Winners will be contacted via e-mail on March 21 (and announced here at HHH).

LEFT BEHIND - CIVIL WAR WOMEN by Golden Keyes Parsons

The War Between the States changed much of the culture of our country, none anymore than that of

women. Before the war, for upper class women, the home was a haven of femininity and chivalry. For the Southern woman, the house slaves took care of the cooking, cleaning and care of children.And, of course, the field slaves handled the crops and livestock. But when war was declared and the women had to bid their husbands, fathers and brothers good-bye, all of that proper society was turned upside-down.

Many of the slaves initially remained on the plantations in the South, but as the war wore on, more and more of them left. Women took to the fields themselves to harvest the crops, along with their children. Eventually most of the plantations collapsed under the devastation of the Union Army ravaging their livestock and food. Lower class women fared even worse, as they struggled simply to feed themselves and their children.

Some women followed their men onto the battle field, cooking and nursing as the battles raged around them. Nursing had traditional been a man's domain up until this time, but as the male population became more and more decimated, the women assumed that role. Every facility available became a hospital, from churches to front porches, and the women tended to the wounded.

In the North women organized sewing societies to make blankets, flags, and knit scarves and socks for their loved ones. They canned food, planted vegetable gardens and raised funds for medical supplies. Some women, on both sides, disguised themselves as men and fought alongside the men. On both sides there were women who acted as spies.

Perhaps more than any other war, the Civil War shifted the roles of women from keepers at home to serving in an active position in society. I can't help but think how women always rise to the occasion when called upon. 

Golden Keyes Parsons writes historical fiction, and is also a popular retreat/conference speaker. Her highly acclaimed Darkness to Light Series (Thomas Nelson) chronicled the journey of her French Huguenot ancestors in 17^th century France. Her fourth novel, His Steadfast Love, is a Civil War novel set in Texas. Her latest release is a compilation of four novellas (WhiteFire Publishing) – a biblical fiction series entitled Hidden Faces, Portraits of Nameless Women in the Gospels. Golden lives in Waco, TX, with her husband, Blaine, where they enjoy their children, grandchildren and are avid sports fans of their alma mater, Baylor University. You can contact her at www.goldenkeyesparsons.com.