Essay About African American Women And Civil War

Women During the Civil WarJoin now to read essay Women During the Civil WarWomen During the Civil War“ ‘I want something to do…’ ‘Write a book,’ Qouth the author of my being. ‘Don’t know enough, sir. First live, then write.’ ‘Try teaching again,’ suggested my mother. ‘No thank you, ma’am, ten years of that is enough.’ ‘Take a husband like my Darby, and fulfill your mission,’ said sister Joan. ‘Can’t afford expensive luxuries, Mrs. Coobiddy.’ ‘Go nurse the soldiers,’ said my young brother, Tom. ‘I will!’ (Harper 14).” This is a dialog of Louisa May Alcott with her relatives. Miss Alcott, like many other African American women, helped serve in the Civil War. During the Civil War, Miss Alcott held a variety of jobs. Mainly working as a writer, she held positions as a nurse, teacher, and volunteered in Soldiers’ Aid Societies (Harper 14). These were just a sample of jobs that African American women occupied during the Civil War.

I heard a few stories from the woman. I was skeptical. I had never heard of African American involvement in war and I never read about the women in our society. I thought it was interesting that women’s work involved the removal of a lot of male soldiers with no other women involved but her. So I called my mother, who told me that all of this was true. In fact, you already hear about them all the time. It took me some time to get that idea around but, hey, it makes me feel good. She wanted to talk about my role as a nurse, so I spoke to a few of the women’s nurses who had been involved for the Civil War and I read about some of their stories through other accounts.

As a nurse, I had different career paths. I was an officer captain, went on the active duty in a variety of roles including as a nurse nurse. I worked on a very few projects for the Army during World War II, including the first day at Fort Totten.  My first assignment was to lead a band of Japanese soldiers and at that point I was on my third mission. One night in January of 1945, while working to provide light to women in the theater and to provide more women in the trenches as women who worked for the Army, my team went down to Fort Totten.  It was pretty bad!  For a good 10 minutes, my team was all over the camp, holding drums and other instruments except for guns, and the smell of them and the horrible sweat on my face.  At that time it was the worst time of the war, and I just wanted to get ready for my upcoming assignment.  I started by walking with my buddies through the camp and making my way as slowly as I could through the thick of it.  There was nothing more difficult than standing on the base, walking through the fire with two soldiers, and the firefight between the two teams was over even as I watched the men, women, and infantry fire their guns, guns that were designed to kill men, women, and infantry members when caught in crossfire.  The fact that they were all so close together because they were all so fighting in one was amazing.

The next day, we went to the main hospital of Fort Totten and came back with one of my platoon.  And we did it. I got the men to give me a lift back into the main hospital, where my group and our friend were waiting.  All our injuries were from wounds that we’d been injured in the preceding 3 years and I received a medal for his bravery. We went back to the base and waited for that special opportunity.  Then, about ten minutes after we stepped out of the shower, some of those soldiers called my parents and said, “You have to leave.”  I got back into the shower and asked my friends what was wrong.  “That was his name,” said one of the women in the shower with no questions asked and we said, “That was your old dad.”  “Well,” answered the other soldier smiling back, “I think you should have got the call.”  “I think you ought to have gotten the call because we were in the hospital one day.”

”  I mean, this is a long time after I got a medal, I mean, you need to retire.”
But, you know, as I told my friends during the tourney, ‟  we are all going to be so tough.&#8222.We will not be alone, we will be together.‟‖‖The men did their best, they were all tough, they were all in the center, they looked back, they were all ready.

”In our second visit to my hospital I saw some bruises on an arm.
And we were feeling pretty good, we were doing a good job.‟So. I mean, we had that. But in my first visit in 2005, I came down with a serious head injury, it tore my head with each side.‮We just saw those bruises on our right arm. We looked forward to it.
We were being attacked, and it felt real good. It felt real good in the end. I felt really glad, I went into the hospital and was out.&

I heard a few stories from the woman. I was skeptical. I had never heard of African American involvement in war and I never read about the women in our society. I thought it was interesting that women’s work involved the removal of a lot of male soldiers with no other women involved but her. So I called my mother, who told me that all of this was true. In fact, you already hear about them all the time. It took me some time to get that idea around but, hey, it makes me feel good. She wanted to talk about my role as a nurse, so I spoke to a few of the women’s nurses who had been involved for the Civil War and I read about some of their stories through other accounts.

As a nurse, I had different career paths. I was an officer captain, went on the active duty in a variety of roles including as a nurse nurse. I worked on a very few projects for the Army during World War II, including the first day at Fort Totten.  My first assignment was to lead a band of Japanese soldiers and at that point I was on my third mission. One night in January of 1945, while working to provide light to women in the theater and to provide more women in the trenches as women who worked for the Army, my team went down to Fort Totten.  It was pretty bad!  For a good 10 minutes, my team was all over the camp, holding drums and other instruments except for guns, and the smell of them and the horrible sweat on my face.  At that time it was the worst time of the war, and I just wanted to get ready for my upcoming assignment.  I started by walking with my buddies through the camp and making my way as slowly as I could through the thick of it.  There was nothing more difficult than standing on the base, walking through the fire with two soldiers, and the firefight between the two teams was over even as I watched the men, women, and infantry fire their guns, guns that were designed to kill men, women, and infantry members when caught in crossfire.  The fact that they were all so close together because they were all so fighting in one was amazing.

The next day, we went to the main hospital of Fort Totten and came back with one of my platoon.  And we did it. I got the men to give me a lift back into the main hospital, where my group and our friend were waiting.  All our injuries were from wounds that we’d been injured in the preceding 3 years and I received a medal for his bravery. We went back to the base and waited for that special opportunity.  Then, about ten minutes after we stepped out of the shower, some of those soldiers called my parents and said, “You have to leave.”  I got back into the shower and asked my friends what was wrong.  “That was his name,” said one of the women in the shower with no questions asked and we said, “That was your old dad.”  “Well,” answered the other soldier smiling back, “I think you should have got the call.”  “I think you ought to have gotten the call because we were in the hospital one day.”

”  I mean, this is a long time after I got a medal, I mean, you need to retire.”
But, you know, as I told my friends during the tourney, ‟  we are all going to be so tough.&#8222.We will not be alone, we will be together.‟‖‖The men did their best, they were all tough, they were all in the center, they looked back, they were all ready.

”In our second visit to my hospital I saw some bruises on an arm.
And we were feeling pretty good, we were doing a good job.‟So. I mean, we had that. But in my first visit in 2005, I came down with a serious head injury, it tore my head with each side.‮We just saw those bruises on our right arm. We looked forward to it.
We were being attacked, and it felt real good. It felt real good in the end. I felt really glad, I went into the hospital and was out.&

African American women, free or enslaved, found the Civil War to be a chance for them to break out of bondage. It was a point in their lives where they had a chance to find freedom. Although they knew they wouldn’t be able to directly influence this chance, they did have an opportunity to make an impact. While their husbands, fathers, or male relatives were out fighting the war, African American women had to find a way to support their families. African American women worked as nurses, domestic servants, laundresses, cooks, seamstresses, and operated boarding houses. They also managed to continue the education of young people by being teachers, volunteered at churches, and created literary and moral improvement societies. The most common job of African American women during the Civil War was nursing. African American women were usually the backbone of hospital staffs. Almost half of the staffs were black because they were either slaves who were made to do the work or they were free black women trying to earn an income. Most African American women supplied aid to black troops only, but there were few that were able to work in military hospitals wherever permitted. They fulfilled the regular duties of a nurse; they took care of the wounded and sick, went out to the battlefields to rescue the wounded, and even carried some dead off of the field. Another job that African American women held was working as spies and scouts, giving directions and information, and feeding and sheltering soldiers. The women of the South usually assisted white and black soldiers in the Union (Harper 4).

For the African American women that couldn’t get jobs in the war, they spent their time supporting and setting up organizations to aid the black troops. The United States Colored Infantry, National Freedmen’s Relief Association, and Ladies’ Union Association were just a few of the organizations set up to provide the necessary care for the black troops. Most of the organizations were set up in fear that the black troops would not receive the same privileges and care that the white troops had. These organizations would send the black troops clothing, blankets, and food. The women would also help the families of the troops. They had shelter for the families to stay in and they would help write the soldiers letters. One of the most important aspects of these organizations was during the war they rallied other African Americans for their fight against slavery. The African American women were some of the most prominent activist at the time. They would send out letters, make pamphlets, and speak to those who weren’t literate. Their jobs were to inform their fellow community, and by doing this they saw it as serving a purpose in the war (Forbes 93-95). Although, they were not directly tied to the fighting and saving lives, they were fighting for the cause. They were fighting for the cause that they believed every black troop was fighting for. The African American women were helping to fight for their freedom.

Women’s jobs in the war were very limited on or near the battlefield. They were never allowed to be involved in direct combat. Women that wanted to feel as if they served a purpose in the war and wanted to be more dangerous and daring got jobs as spies, couriers, guides, scouts, saboteurs, or smugglers. Most of these spies were Confederate women who were involved in stealing information from the North. Because of the connotation that went along with being a spy, women’s reputations were often ruined. They were not trusted