Women played important roles during the Civil War despite facing legal restrictions. Sarah Emma Edmonds disguised herself as a man named Franklin Thompson to enlist in the Union Army, becoming a nurse and spy. The United States Sanitary Commission, founded in part by President Lincoln, promoted better health conditions and was led by nurses like Clara Barton. Arabella Rankin of Flint, Michigan founded aid societies that collected and sent supplies to soldiers. Authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe and activists like Susan B. Anthony advocated for abolition and women's rights.
9. Contracted malaria and had to desert the army to seek medical attention as a woman. Upon her recovery, Pvt. Frank Thompson was listed as a deserter, and therefore had to present herself as a woman and work as a nurse for the remainder of the war.
10. After the war wrote a book entitled Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. She gave all profits to the Union Army.
11. Then she became homesick for Canada, and returned there.
12. She married and moved back to the United States. First to Ohio, then Texas.
13. Considered a deserter by many she appealed her case to Congress receiving honorable discharge for her services.
14. Is the only female member of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR), an organization formed after the war by Union veterans.Courtesy of Captain Barbara A. Wilson, USAF (Ret.)
15. What do you think about a woman in combat? Would impersonation in the military today be tolerated?
16. United States Sanitary Commission The commission what founded, in part by President Lincoln, in 1861 Was to promote clean and healthier conditions for the soldiers Many of the ladies became staff in field hospitals, raised money and supplies, provided food and shelter for soldiers returning home, and after the war advocated for veterans rights Strictly a volunteer operation Raised about $5 million in cash and $15 million in supplies The South did not have such an organized group Women included those such as Louisa May Alcott, Dorothea Dix, Julia Ward Howe, and Clara Barton Commission was the forerunner to the American Red Cross Flint had its own local association of sanitary ladies, the Ladies Aid Society, which later became the Ladies of the United States Sanitary Commission, led in part by Arabella Rankin.
17. What is the significance of the sanitary commission? Was the commission important? Why or why not? What types of things did the commission do to help the war efforts?
18. Arabella Rankin, Flint Came to America from Dublin, Ireland in 1848. She and her husband were set out for Wisconsin but settled in Flint because of the unusual kindness they received from its people. Helped her husband with “The Wolverine Citizen”, a weekly Flint newspaper that they published and ran. Helped establish the Ladies’ Library Association, and set up a small library in Flint. Lost her oldest son Charles in the war when he died of a fever in 1861. He had been part of the 2nd Michigan Infantry. Arabella and her daughters started their aid campaign by sewing uniforms. It quickly transgressed into much more, collecting and sending food, and housing those injured and returning home. One slogan of the group included persuasions such as “Send your sweetheart an onion or potato” instead of a letter! Was one of the founders of the United States Sanitary Commission and the American Red Cross
19. Clara Barton Was a very, very shy girl! When her older brother became very ill, she learned how to administer all of his medical needs. She then became a teacher in a young age, teaching in Massachusetts and New Jersey Set up one of the first public schools in New Jersey When a male was appointed principal in her place, she resigned, moving to Washington in 1854. There she became the first woman to work at the Patent Office Helped establish groups such as the United States Sanitary Commission Served in some of the grimmest, bloodiest battlefields in the American Civil War Helped identify the 13,000 unknown dead Union soldiers, leading her to campaign to identify missing soldiers. Helped found the American Red Cross, becoming its first director. Photo Courtesy of The National Park Service
20. Harriet Beecher Stowe American abolitionist and author Born in Connecticut, mother passing away when she was only 4 years old. Was educated in her sister’s seminary, receiving a traditionally male education At 21 moved to Cincinnati, Ohio to join her father, the president of a seminary there Married Calvin Stowe, a professor at that seminary. He was a major critic of slavery. Together they supported the Underground Railroad and housed slaves in their home. They later moved to Maine. In 1850, Congress had passed the Fugitive Slave Law. This law prohibited assitsing fugitive slaves. This prompeted Harriet to write. In 1851 she wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin. The book is an anti-slavery work. It is said that her book helped begin the dispute over slavery (North vs. South). It is said that President Lincoln once said to her “So you are the woman who started the war!”. Photo Courtesy of Leroy Pletton
21. Rose O’Neal Greenhow Born in Maryland but moved to her aunt’s boardinghouse in Washington, D.C. Easily became a socialite among the political life Married Robert Greenhow and had four daughters Was friends with presidents, congressmen, and all sorts of people Became close friends with John C. Calhoun, loyal to the South When the war broke out Rose, a now widow, became a spy for the Confederacy. Suspected of espionage she was imprisoned in 1861. In 1862 after her trial, she was deported to Richmond. That summer, Jefferson Davis sent her to Europe as a courier… there she collected intelligence. In 1864, she boarded a vessel and made her way back to the American South. Her ship was chased forcing it to ground on a sandbar. Rose convinced the captain to send her and two others to shore on the ship’s lifeboat to escape. The lifeboat overturned and Rose drowned carrying $2,000 in gold she carried. Photo Courtesy of www.civilwarhome.com
22. Susan B. Anthony Was the second of seven children, born in Massachusetts Attended a boarding school in Pennsylvania and had to leave to teach and earn money to pay her father’s debt (obtained in the panic of 1837). She taught until 1949 when her father asked her to come home to run the family farm so he could build an insurance business. The family was well known amongst abolitionist leaders. Her home was even visited by Frederick Douglass and William Lloyd Garrison. Her family attended the first women’s rights convention at Seneca Falls Campaigned for the abolition of slavery and for women’s rights. After the abolition of slavery with the passing of the 13th Amendment, Susan continued to fight for women’s suffrage until her death in 1906. Photo Courtesy of the Susan B. Anthony House
23. How were women important in their roles during the Civil War?
24. References Clara Barton, 1821-1912: Civil War Nurse: Founder American Red Cross. (n.d.) Retrieved March 9, 2010 from http://americancivilwar.com/women/cb.html Clara Barton at Antietam. (n.d.) Retrieved March 9, 2010 from http://www.nps.gov/anti/historyculture/clarabarton.htm Garrison, Nancy Scripture. (1999). With Courage and Delicacy. Mason City, Iowa: Savas Publishing Company. Markle, Donald E. (2004, August). Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War, http://www.civilwarhome.com/edmondsbio.htm Pletton, Leroy, J. (1999). Harriet Beecher Stowe: Religious Basis for Opposing Slavery, medicolegal.tripod.com/stowesummary.htm Relates Story of Woman Soldier. (1959, February 26). The Flint Journal, p. 24. Rose O’Neal Greenhow. (n.d.) Retrieved March 24, 2010 from http://www.civilwarhome.com/greenhowbio.htm ‘Send Sweetheart an Onion’ Was a Civil War Slogan. (January 6, 1945). The Milwaukee Journal” Victory Edition, page 1. Susan B. Anthony (n.d.) Retrieved March 24, 2010 from http://www.notablebiographies.com/An-Ba/Anthony-Susan-B.html Susan B. Anthony House (n.d.) RetrievedMarch 24, 2010 from http://www.susanbanthonyhouse.org/biography.shtml Wilson, Captain Barbara A. (1996-2006). Women Were There, http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/femvets2.html Woman Served in War as a Man. (1911, May 31). The Flint Daily Journal, page unknown.
