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== Louisa May Alcott, Hospital Sketches, 1862-1863 ==

A Union Nurse, shows the experience of Louisa May Alcott as a nurse in the Union Hotel Hospital in Washington, D.C. '''One thing that stood out to me was Dorthea Dix’s call for women nurses. She was specific in that she was looking for “women between 30 and 50 years old, single, sober, hard-working, moral, and plain looking.”''' At first I thought that the age of 30 was a little old to be a cut off considering there must have been so many single, sober, hard-working, moral, and plain looking girls that were between 20 and 30 that would not have families to worry about so they would have the ability to become nurses. But then I realized that perhaps the act of being a young woman and working in close proximity with men would be considered immoral in and of itself. I am curious if they sent any women away because they were too good looking! –Erin Sanderson

I also thought it was really interesting that Dorthea Dix wanted women between the age of 30-50. I agree with Erin that women probably had to be atleast 30 because it would be seen as inappropriate for a younger women to be working with men. I think that Dix extended the age to 50 because there were probably a lot of widows in their 40's. I thought the requirement that the women be plain looking was funny, but I guess it makes sense. If the nurse was too good looking, the patients would probably be hitting on her all day long. On the other hand, if the patients had not been able to pay for prostitutes, they probably would be hitting on their nurses even if they were "plain looking". -Katelyn Lease

Before reading about Louisa May Alcott, '''I never realized how hard it was for female nurses. Not only did they have to endure the casualties of war, taking care of gravely wounded soldiers, but they had to travel long distances to do their work.''' Louisa May Alcott originally lived in Concord but left to move to Georgetown to work as a nurse. At 30 years old, I wonder if she had other options she could have considered before becoming a nurse. '''Was becoming a nurse a last resort or was it something she had wanted to do forever?''' It was interesting to see how positive Alcott was, despite all the broken men she met through her job.''' She claimed to "find pleasure" in her job, working with the soldiers and "cheering these poor souls." It amazed me that someone could be so positive in the midst of such sad circumstances'''. I feel like the fact that many nurses became sick and sometimes died is ironic because they would give up everything they had to work as nurses, yet they ended up suffering more than being rewarded for what they did. --- Alex Mankarios

I enjoyed Louisa May Alcott’s piece as it verifies our lecture that nursing was viewed by some as an appropriate wartime occupation for women as an extension of motherhood. Her jobs include sewing bandages, reading to the soldiers, writing letters for them, and just generally seeing to the comforts of the wounded.  '''She even calls these men her big babies, secretly wishing the doctor would be gentler with them and regrets when she is sick''' that she cannot care for their needs. '''This was a very optimistic piece, I wonder though if her tone would have changed had she remained longer? Would she have been more overwhelmed and feeling like she was not making much of a difference as time wore on?''' -- Elyse Lawrence

I liked Louisa May Alcott's writing, it was a decent read. She did not write that much but based on what she did write she provided us with incredible insight to what it took to be a nurse in the Civil War. I loved the line '''"feeling as if I was the son of the house going to war," because becoming a nurse was the closest women would often get to the battles and showed the prestige that Alcott felt went with being a nurse.''' Once she made it to her post in Washington she described the wounded and sick men as "all were well behaved," as if she had not expected them to be. -Megan Mc

I thought that it was interesting in''' Louisa May Alcott's journal that she attributes 'womanly" qualities to several men at the hospital, "...a heart as warm and tender as a woman's" (the blacksmith) and "Dr. J. haunts the room, coming by day and nighto with wood, cologne, books, ad messes, like a motherly little man as he is."''' -Will Hechmer

== Mary Livermore, [Northern women on farm during war], 1890 -- Woloch and Major Problems readings. ==
I thought it was interesting that '''Mary Livermore's observation of the women working in the fields at first bothered her.  Livermore compared women’s devotion to their family life and maintaining their farms to men’s devotion to the war when she said, “the women had enlisted in the war.”'''  This gave women some gender equality and  these responsibilities were accepted because it was in the name of  family, home, and country.  -Marsha 

I really liked the quote "the women had enlisted in the war". '''While most women were not in battle or even serving as nurses, the Civil War changed their lives. They had to take on completely new responsiblities. I wonder if the women knew how much their lives would be changed by the war.''' I think they were caught up in the glory of the war. I bet if they knew how much their life would change, or in the instance of southern women that the war would be in their backyard, they would not have pushed the men to fight. I don't think that they realized what they were getting themselves into at all. -Katelyn Lease

I agree a lot with Katelyn. I wonder if women had any idea of what was in store for them over the next four years as they encouraged their husbands, brothers, and sweethearts to go off and fight and enlist. I definitely agree that they (and I think everybody) was caught up in the "glory" of the war and maybe even romanticized it some- as in the accounts of families and men and women taking picnic baskets and going to watch the First Battle of Bull Run in July 1861. I don't think they had any idea of how long the war would last nor how many lives would be lost. I thought it was really interesting how we talked in class of the men now being pressured to conform to the "ideal" expectations of manhood and masculinity- it is as if it is a complete turn around from the women being pressured. -Allison Godart 

In Modern Problems, Mary Livermore spoke of the work of women.  She set a strong and emotional tone that women set forth in the war.  I think she was saying that the men in the war were given hope through the inspiring women and “ministering angels.”  She also compares women’s “relief societies” to regiments in the war.  -Marsha


I liked the end of Mary Livermore's selection when she is comparing harvesting and domestic chores. She explains that harvesting is not any harder than "typical" women's work and so females should be able/allowed to do it. She also wants men to know that women are serving the country in the fields doing the harvest in the same way men are in the war serving. The examples she gives help prove her statement that "women had enlisted for the war." I feel '''she is also trying to make the point that men's opinions about women working in the field does not matter because under the circumstances the women are the only ones able to do the work that is necessary in keeping up the estate or home.''' -Amy Van Ness

It’s interesting that Mary Livermore was at first a little disgusted to see women working the fields, likely a reaction that most middle-class people would have felt. However, '''while others might have recognized the necessity of it on behalf of the Union war effort, it sounds like Mary might have realized that it was not only important to the war, and she does suggest that it’s only the war that puts women in the fields (though they would have been working them even without the war), but also that women were actually pretty good at the work.''' Of course, she qualifies it by '''saying that they didn’t work as fast as the men, but that they were more precise and artistic about it, which is a stereotype that persisted for a long time (and maybe continues today) regarding appropriate work for women.''' -- Taylor Brann

== Louticia Jackson’s letter in 1863 ==

Despite the fact Louticia is having a problem with slaves who are taking advantage of having no white man in charge of them I still find her letter interesting. 
She is clearly struggling with the fact that her "servants" are not helping her. I did not like how when Willes the slave yelled she took to her bed cause it "excited" her. Stop whining and yell back. I know women would never do that but I say desperate times call for desperate measures. LeAnn T.

I think '''this letter demonstrates how unprepared most southern women probably were when left to deal with the slaves on their own, especially male slaves.''' Since most of these women had been dominated by their husbands, it is not hard to understand that they would not be able to deal with a male slave who, essentially, was exhibiting the same type of behavior as their husbands had. '''When white masters left, did they give certain slaves more authority in making sure the plantation work continued on during their absence?''' Also, '''the relationship between Louticia and Willes seems interestin'''g, especially the part about her taking care of him while he was sick (even bathing and rubbing him with her own hands). Was it just that she thought he was that valuable of a slave to her or was something else going on? Was it common for white women to take this much interest in their slaves?--Nancy Lee

Women all over the south, like Louticia, had problems with slaves when their husbands left because in the slaves eyes their masters left, women were subservient to their husbands (masters) and so were slaves; so who were they going to listen to? In this case I do not agree with how Willes treated Louticia. I agree with LeAnn yell back, stick up for yourself, times had changed with their husbands at war so do whatever it takes to survive. '''I also wonder why her son could not protect her? Did he not want to or did he fear a slave uprising if he tried to give out orders? His actions appeared to contradict how white men acted in the Confederate south.''' -Megan W.

== Eva Jones to Mary Jones, her mother-in-law, 1865 ==

Evas letters to her mother in law were extremely poignant in their observations about Georgia during the reconstructive era. '''She seems to have been an ardent confederate which was surprising because it said that she had been educated in the north. I find it amazing that even someone who had been educated in northern society could still believe so firmly in the institution of slavery.''' Although the confederates lost the war it seems that the rules set forth by the union army during reconstruction and occupation made it almost impossible for them to succeed. So I can understand why her letters have such a tone of bitterness in them. I don't blame her and her husband for relocating to the north until after reconstruction ended. I wonder if they faced any sort of discrimination there.-Emma Peck

The line that struck me the most in Eva's letters was "Adeline, Grace, and Polly have all departed in search of freedom without bidding any affectionate adieu," this clearly shows the paternalist ideal the southerners still had. Eva obviously believed that she and her husband had been doing her slaves a favor performing the role of father and providing them with a home and food. She could not understand why her slaves were so eager for freedom and didn't even goodbye before leaving. -Megan Mc

Commenting on Emma's point about the bitter tone used by Eva Jones in her letters, its seems at least one source of her frustration stems from financial difficulties. While the war negatively effected the economies for both sides of the conflict, the Confederacy's economy was especially crippled. Through Eva Jones's experience, we see some specific economic woes for Southerners; Eva complains that her farm has "only a third-crop planted" and the "promising fields are now under water" (267). Additionally, she claims that "the Negroes and Yankees broke into our smokehouse and swept it of every piece of meat," which left her family starving. When comparing this source to Mary Livermore's experience with the successful, family-run farms in the North, I wonder if the roles among family members of southern farms changed in the same ways as northern farms. -Seth Mintzer

I thought it was interesting and a little humorous when Eva said: "And strange to say, the Yankees won't take our Confederate money!" In my opinion i think this represents the suddenness of the situation of defeat for this women given that she expects the Northerners to except the money of her now defunct "country." -Will Hechmer

== Accounts of former slaves, 1865-1937 ==

== VA woman, recorded by abolitionist Laura Haviland in 1866 ==

== Harriet Tubman, from her white female biographer, Sarah Bradford, 1886 ==

I can only imagine how much joy Harriet Tubman felt, as well as the joy she brought to the slaves during the Civil War. She was like the face of freedom for those slaves who had lost hope. During the Civil War when she worked for the Union army as a scout, she would show up in Southern territories with gun boats and the slaves probably saw this and were so ecstatic. I did find it interesting, however, that the slaves were at first terrified to see the gun boats coming. '''The best part about this story was when the slaves ran towards the gun boats, completely defying the slave drivers. The gunboats represented immediate emancipation for the slaves, and they knew then they were safe.''' --- Alex Mankarios

== Clara Burdett, to notary in Union camp in KY, March 1865 ==

I found it interesting that a fugitive slave managed to file a complaint on her former master.  '''I would have imagined they wouldn't even have taken that very seriously had she been a freed slave.'''  It is very courageous and heart-wrenching how she does try to retrieve her children and speak out against the master.  However, the treatment she describes isn't very shocking sadly.  -  Christine

== Fanny Berry, in Weevils in the Wheat, 1937 ==
'''I thought it was very interesting that Fanny didn't know that she was freed till a while after emancipation.''' I wonder how long her mistress thought she could get away with hiring out Fanny before she found out. I also thought it was really neat how Fanny went out to be hired help one day and learned that she was freed and lived with the woman who told her so. Now, I am curious though, was this typical? did random people just invite former slaves into their home to work for room and board? -Kristina.S.

== Tennessee Woman, 1929 [TN Nanny] ==

This account of slavery recollected by an ex-Mississippi house-servant '''exemplifies the violent resistance with which the slave-owning population of the Confederacy would use to intimidate their slaves during the war, especially women.''' When the nanny entertains ideas of freedom to others, another slave reminds her that "the white folks" would "kill" her if she was caught (275). Whether this was a hyperbolic statement or not, women such as Clarissa Burdett, who received "about three hundred lashes" for being married to a soldier, demonstrate that brutal violence was used (272). Because slave resistance carried such high risks, slaves who did resist their owners showed a lot of courage, no matter how subtly they may have done so. -Seth Mintzer

== Mary Anderson, NC ==

I thought Mary Andersons account was good as a contrast to the lives of most southern slaves. It seemed that Mary was a house servant and was well taken care of by her masters, which is probably why she was inclined to work on her masters plantation even after she had been granted freedom. I thought it was especially interesting that Marys mistress addressed her slaves as children. This is probably representative of her behavior towards her slaves, which seemed to be very maternalistic. However if she looked upon her slaves as her children they might have been subject to better treatment. '''I found it interesting that these particular plantation owners sought out there former slaves after freedom, I wonder if they did this as a kindness or if they did it because they knew they could be paid less then white laborers.''' -Emma Peck

To respond to Emma's post, I feel like a lot of slave mistresses treated slaves as children.  They often look down on the slaves and think of them as inferior, just as if they were children.  As for the fact that many slave owners sought to keep their slaves, I feel it was out of habit and necessity.  They didn't want anyone else to do the work and they still felt that it was the proper place for blacks to serve them.  I really don't feel it was out of kindness at all.  - Christine

'''Mary Anderson’s account raises some interesting questions about some freed slaves. How often did slaves return to their old masters? How did their relationships with their previous masters change if they did go back?''' For Mary Anderson, it seemed like the temperament of her masters played a role in her family’s return. Her family seemed to be favored, or at least she was, as she got something of an education. '''If they were treated with relative kindness from their masters, did that make it more likely for ex-slaves to return?''' -- Taylor Brann

== Katie Darling, in TX ==

== Sarah and Lucy Chase, Teaching the Freedmen, 1866-1868 ==


'''I enjoyed reading Sarah Chase and Lucy Chase’s letters because I did a lot of research on the topic of white northern women going south to teach newly freed blacks for my second paper and I was able to draw parallels between the Chase sisters and Mary Ames (who I focused on for my paper).''' The Chase sisters were from a wealthy family Massachusetts, and had been against slavery since before the war began, and went to Savannah after the war ended as teachers. In the letters, I can tell that becoming teachers in the south was not just about teaching the basics of reading and writing but it was about teaching new ways of life. '''These teachers thought that it was their responsibility to show the newly freed blacks how to be religious, self-sufficient, and how to be good people (by their standards). I have no doubt that the teachers had the best intentions, but I wonder if these rich white women were setting unattainable expectations and standards on black families and what this meant for them.''' --Erin Sanderson

'''I thought these letters really showed the complexity of life in the South after the Civil War. Sarah Chase stated that she could hardly see the possibility of the North and South united because the South had an “intensely bitter” feeling “against anything Northern.”''' White people of the South resented all that Northern educators were doing for freed blacks since many white Southerners were uneducated themselves. However, Southern white people would rather not attend school at all than go to desegregated schools. '''Sarah Chase is an excellent example of the common racist feelings among abolitionists. She stated that her purpose was not to make black people equal to white people; she wished that white people always have a higher social standing. Even those trying to help the freed slaves were racist!''' Given the completely pervasive racism, it is not hard for me to realize how difficult life would be for black people after the Civil War. I can see how the Civil War really required a later Civil Rights Movement.  -Allison Luthern

I agree that these letters really show the complexity of the South after the Civil War. These letters do a good job of showing just how bitter the South was over losing the war. I also think it was great the women like Sarah and Lucy went to the South to educate the freed slaves. If they hadn't, I'm sure these freed slaves would have remained uneducated because I highly doubt that the southerners would have helped them. At least, most of them would not have helped. I think it is easy for us to look back at these letters and think "wow, even the women that taught these freed slaves were racist". However, '''you have to remember that almost every white American, even abolitionists, considered themselves to be superior. For all of their lives, African-Americans had been held down and considered inferior. I do not think Lucy and Sarah would have considered themselves to be racist. I think that African-American inferiority is all they had known all of their lives. They probably thought that they were doing a great thing to help the freed slaves. I think the whole nation, even most Northerners, were pretty racist at this time following the Civil War.'''  -Katelyn Lease

Yes I agree with Katelyn. I did not mean to put Sarah Chase and other abolitionists out of context, which of course was an idea of "natural" white superiority. I think it is a common misunderstanding in history that abolitionists were trying to fight for equal rights. Complete equality was still far off in the future.  -Allison Luthern

I agree with what others have said about the racist attitudes of even those whites who were trying to help the former slaves. I think that racism of varying degrees was pretty much built in to US society at that time, and the poverty and lack of education of the black community probably helped reinforce a lot of the stereotypes about blacks being less intelligent or simple, etc. I do think the prejudice that appears in these letters is a distinctly different kind of racism- it's not exactly overt, more the attitude of blacks being like children. It reminds me of my great-aunt's attitude towards african americans- "they should be pitied and given charity because they can't help being ignorant and expecting handouts". I thought the comments about the children's definitions for various words (rational, irrational, etc.) were funny and very true to life; it reminded me of the time I spent tutoring Somali-Bantu refugees in English as a Second Language- they came up with some definitions like that as well. - Melissa Patterson

I really liked reading the letters that were given- I drew parallels between the experiences of Sarah and Lucy and the experiences of Sarah Jane Foster, who taught at a college for emancipated slaves in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia after the war. Sarah Jane, a Northerner, recounted how ill-treated she was by the people of the town for coming down to teach the freedmen. She was harassed for wanting to teach them- so much so that she was afaid she would not be able to stay in the town and would have to give up her board. I think her story presents another aspect or side of the story that is not commmonly thought of- how much the women who were coming down from the North, primarily, endured and went through in order to teach and educate. -Allison Godart

== Susie King Taylor, Reminiscences of My Life in Camp, 1902 ==

== Ada Bacot, Confederate Nurse, 1862 ==
I cannot imagine working with wounded men some of them enemies. Ada says she is not sure that she can treat Yankee soldiers the same as Confederate soldiers. At first my reaction was what kind of person wouldn't help out a wounded man he deserves treatment like everyone else. Then I thought about it. That soldier you are helping could have killed your father or brother or son. '''I would like to think I would treat everyone the same but I am not sure I could.''' I think Ada is a good person for at least making the effort to help humanity despite the fact they are the enemy. LeAnn T.

I was not as shocked to hear that Ada had issues with aiding the wounded Yankee soldiers.  As a nurse she was required to assist the wounded, however she also knows that these men have killed men on her own side and once recovered may very well continue to. ''' It does not say, and I would have liked to have known, whether she had family members fighting and if they lived or not, and how that might have affected her position on the subject.''' She continues to check on the men and sees to their needs, but she goes no farther, not even inquiring after their names. '''I do wonder how wide spread this feeling was among nurses both north and south as a general whole and how it affected the medical treatment and success of enemy soldiers in opposing hospitals as this is also a theme in Cornelia Hancock's essay.''' -- Elyse Lawrence

== Maria Daly, 1862, Northerner in the South (New Orleans) ==

== Sarah Morgan, 1863, Teen diary ==
'''This diary entry reminded me of the Abigail Adams letters we read earlier in the course because I think both are severely out of context. The editors chose the most radical thing Abigail Adams and Sarah Morgan ever said and placed only those quotes in this book. I researched Sarah Morgan’s diary for the second paper in this class. I discovered that Sarah Morgan expressed support and desire for traditional gender roles of domestic female dependence much more often than her imaginations of fighting as a soldier. Later in the diary, she even renounced women expressing strong patriotic emotions. She said that her brothers’ political thought and action spoke for her.'''  -Allison Luthern

This article really stuck out for a number of reasons.  '''First of all it seemed more like war time propaganda than a diary entry to me. ''' When I found out that it was a teen diary that changed things for me.  As Allison mentioned later in the diary she changed her views, which I don't feel is that uncommon for someone her age to do. ''' Still, what kind of impact did the war have on someone like Sarah who was just entering womanhood?'''  Sarah seems to dislike the fact that she can not fight for her country, but at the same time she seems delighted to be able to help out in a womanly way.  -John Rowley

I think the timing of the war just as she reached her maturity made Sarah Morgan more defensive of the old ways, including traditional female gender roles. She had been trained for the role of a white, wealthy Southern woman, and saw the Civil War as a threat to the Southern way of life.  -Allison Luthern

I agree with John, finding out that Sarah Morgan was a teenager seemed to make this source make a lot more sense to me.  It's also really interesting to hear a little bit more about her diary and what a deviation of character this is.  The fact that she is a teenager forces me to read her pride in the destruction of her family's home a little differently.  -erinb.

== Cornelia Hancock, Union Nurse, 1863 ==
'''In Cornelia's letters I found it interesting how she exposed the care of soldiers for their fallen comrades, "Help my neighbor first he is worse."''' (206). With the shortage of surgeons and even fewer nurses soldiers waited five days before a surgeon even passed by them or they gained something to eat besides tack. Cornelia glorified her work and said when she was sick she was treated like a "princess" and awarded a medal for her work. This makes me wonder if the romantic ideals of war stemmed from letters like hers? -Megan W.

Well, first of all, I wouldn't think that the newly-amputated should drink wine because of its blood-thinning properties, but maybe i'm underestimating the abilities of civil war dr.s to prevent blood loss. Amid devastating carnage, Cornelia Hancock writes back with so much excitement, encouraging more women to come.  "Women are needed here very badly."(205)  Later, in the letter to her mother, Cornelia admits that her work is "more superintending that real work."(207)  This, to me, expresses the societal significance of the symbol of woman.  She served the soldiers in a fairly minor way, but the importance of her presence was elevated by the nurturing, virtuous and caring qualities she represented. -erin b

== Caroline Kirkland, 1863, defends Northern women’s support of Northern men ==

I thought it was interesting to read about a women who was defending the involvement Northern women had during the Civil War. She seemed very passionate about explaining the good they were doing and how they were helping in a positive way. Caroline Kirkland believed in her view so much as to say that if Southern women acted more like Northern women, the war may not have taken place.I thought that was a bold statement.   -Amy Van Ness

== Ella Gertrude Clanton Thomas, January 1865 ==