Women in the Civil War

When the Civil War broke out, women answered the call for help. They broke away from their traditional roles and served in many capacities, some of them even going so far as to disguise themselves as men and enlist in the army. Estimates of such women enlistees range from 400 to 700. About 60 women soldiers were known to have been killed or wounded.
More than sixty women who fought or who served the Union or Confederacy in other ways are featured. Among them are Sarah Thompson, the Union spy and nurse who brought down the famous raider John Hunt Morgan; Elizabeth Van Lew, the Union spy instrumental in the largest prison break of the war; Sarah Malinda Blalock, who fought for the Confederacy as a soldier and then for the Union as a guerrilla raider; Dr. Mary Walker, a doctor for the Union and the only woman to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor for Civil War service; and Jennie Hodgers, the longest serving woman soldier (and the only woman to receive a soldier’s pension).

Now retired, Larry G. Eggleston worked for the Department of Defense for thirty years and is currently a freelance writer specializing in Civil War stories. He lives in Wanatah, Indiana.

Larry G. Eggleston
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 222
Bibliographic Info: 43 photos, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2009 [2003]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-4234-8
eISBN: 978-1-4766-0781-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      v
Preface      1

1. Women POWs at Andersonville Prison      5
2. Sarah Rosetta Wakeman: Woman Soldier      12
3. Jennie Hodgers: Woman Soldier      16
4. Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmonds: Woman Soldier, Spy and Nurse      23
5. Loreta Janeta Velazquez: Woman Soldier and Spy      32
6. Frances Louisa Clayton: Woman Soldier      39
7. Frances Hook: Woman Soldier      43
8. Charlotte Hat.eld: Woman Soldier      46
9. Sarah Malinda Pritchard Blalock: Woman Soldier and Guerrilla Raider     50
10. Fanny Wilson and Nellie Graves: Women Soldiers      55
11. Amy Clarke: Woman Soldier      58
12. Frank Martin: Woman Soldier      60
13. Lizzie Compton: Woman Soldier      62
14. Charles H. Williams: Woman Soldier      65
15. Marian McKenzie: Woman Soldier      67
16. Molly and Mary Bell: Women Soldiers      69
17. Notable Women Soldiers      71
18. Elizabeth Van Lew: Union Spy      80
19. Rose O’Neal Greenhow: Confederate Spy      86
20. Maria Isabella Boyd: Confederate Spy      92
21. Antonia Ford: Confederate Spy      97
22. Charlotte and Virginia Moon: Confederate Spies      102
23. Olivia Floyd: Confederate Spy      107
24. Mrs. E. H. Baker: Union Spy      110
25. Rebecca Wright: Union Spy      113
26. Notable Women Spies      117
27. Harriet Tubman: Abolitionist, Scout, Nurse and Spy      121
28. Pauline Cushman: Union Scout and Spy      125
29. Kady Brownell: Daughter of the Regiment and Nurse      130
30. Anna Blair Etheridge: Daughter of the Regiment      134
31. Marie Tepe: Vivandiere and Nurse      138
32. Notable Daughters of the Regiment      141
33. Emma Sansom: Southern Patriot      145
34. Anna Ella Carroll: Union Pamphleteer and Spy      148
35. Barbara Frietchie: Legendary Union Patriot      151
36. Civil War Heroines      155
37. Sarah E. Thompson: Union Spy and Nurse      160
38. Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke: Union Nurse      164
39. Clara Barton: Union Nurse and Humanitarian      168
40. Civil War Nurses      173
41. Women Doctors in the Civil War      179
42. Women Crusaders      183

Bibliography      189
Index      209

“superb…meticulous detail…a powerful research tool in an easy-to-use format…a must have”—The Civil War News; “lively prose…engaging and easily read…allows the reader to understand the many ways in which women served their country on both sides of this war”—Blue & Gray; “carefully researched”—Counterpoise; “nicely illustrated”—The Civil War Courier; “a suitable reference”—Feminist Collections; “great…a gem”—Colorado Libraries.