WOMEN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR

[Dover]

I have read about how women filled in for men in the factories and shipyards during World War II but had never thought about or seen anything written or discussed on their role during the Civil War. So I thought I'd post this in hopes of generating a discussion. Interesting that this book was written in the midst of the women's suffrage movement which had begun to examine and recognise women's rights and roles. The book, in 1845 by Margaret Fuller, titled Woman in the Nineteenth Century, had a profound influence on the development of American feminist theory, and probably opened the door to further research and writings such as this.



WOMEN'S WORK IN THE CIVIL WAR

A RECORD OF HEROISM, PATRIOTISM AND PATIENCE

BY L P BROCKETT
AND
MRS MARY C VAUGHAN
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY HENRY BELLOWS

ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTEEN STEEL ENGRAVINGS
PUBLISHED
ZEIGLER, MCCURDY
1867

One of the most interesting Civil War books that you are going to read. Filled with many acts of bravery and heroism of the women who lived through the Civil War, it contains may stories rarely written about and many that have long been forgotten. A rare glimpse into an important chapter of the American Civil War, a book that must be read by anyone who enjoys reading books about this war. The engravings are beautiful, you can see the strength and character of these amazing women.

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[tishaLA]

1. I have to admit, I like the original title

of Fuller's work, The Great Lawsuit, as it seems a more accurate description of what she does in her treatise. Fuller had an incredibly interesting life, which included seeing the revolutions of 1848 in Italy and the illegitimate birth of her daughter to Giovanni Ossali (recounted in her columns to the New York Tribune in These Sad But Glorious Days (Yale UP, 1991). I confess I am actually a literary scholar, not a scholar of history, so these things may have different meanings to me than to those who privilege historical analysis...

To my knowledge, Duke has the best online resources of civil war literature about women here, but of course women were a driving force behind the Civil War, as Pres. Lincoln's comments to Harriet Beecher Stowe demonstrate.