Civil War Amazons?

[Doc_Ralph]

I knew that there were some … but so widespread?

They fought like demons: Women soldiers in the American Civil War
DeAnne Blanton, Lauren Cook Wike

LSU Press, 2002
"Popular images of women during the American Civil War include self-sacrificing nurses, romantic spies, and brave ladies maintaining hearth and home in the absence of their men. However, as DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook show in their remarkable new study, that conventional picture does not tell the entire story. Hundreds of women assumed male aliases, disguised themselves in men's uniforms, and charged into battle as Union and Confederate soldiers—facing down not only the guns of the adversary but also the gender prejudices of society. They Fought Like Demons is the first book to fully explore and explain these women, their experiences as combatants, and the controversial issues surrounding their military service. Relying on more than a decade of research in primary sources, Blanton and Cook document over 240 women in uniform and find that their reasons for fighting mirrored those of men—-patriotism, honor, heritage, and a desire for excitement. Some enlisted to remain with husbands or brothers, while others had dressed as men before the war. Some so enjoyed being freed from traditional women's roles that they continued their masquerade well after 1865. The authors describe how Yankee and Rebel women soldiers eluded detection, some for many years, and even merited promotion. Their comrades often did not discover the deception until the "young boy" in their company was wounded, killed, or gave birth. In addition to examining the details of everyday military life and the harsh challenges of-warfare for these women—which included injury, capture, and imprisonment—Blanton and Cook discuss the female warrior as an icon in nineteenth-century popular culture and why twentieth-century historians and society ignored women soldiers' contributions. Shattering the negative assumptions long held about Civil War distaff soldiers, this sophisticated and dynamic work sheds much-needed light on an unusual and overlooked facet of the Civil War experience."

 

[Nathan Stuart]

Hundreds of women assumed male aliases, disguised themselves in men's uniforms, and charged into battle as Union and Confederate soldiers

Thought the assertion that hundreds of women (assuming male aliases and disguises) fought in the ranks is not only a feasible proposition but was indeed inevitable.

However, would question the claim of elevating these female combatants to 'Amazon status' during the war.

Am unaware from readings of any reported specific field incidents that singled out and detailed female participation in Civil War combat.

Would think if these women blended in to fight, often undetected among the troops, then cannot determine how they could have been separately assessed to have 'fought like demons' , over and above their comrades in arms, as is highlighted by these authors in the title of their work.

 

[LoyaltyOfDogs]

Would think if these women blended in to fight, often undetected among the troops, then cannot determine how they could have been separately assessed to have 'fought like demons' , over and above their comrades in arms, as is highlighted by these authors in the title of their work.

Good point. I wonder, though, if the phrase might come from an historical account that described an action later found to have involved a female soldier. (The book has been on my reading list for years, so now I should hurry up and finally read it to see where the title comes from!) I wonder, too, whether society's strict gender roles in the 19th Century might have led anyone to assume that for a woman to do anything so unladylike as engage in combat, she'd have to be demonically possessed, or nearly so.

 

[Cavalier]

I wonder how many of these women disguised themselves as men in order to engage in the practise of the oldest profession?

Seems like a logical motive for some of them anyway.

John

 

[Pollaco]

That part of the title that stated that "they fought like demons". I would have thought trying to disguise themselves as men or ordinary soldiers would be so they could blend in and NOT draw attention to themselves. Fighting like a demon would certainly have been noticed. Fighting like a demon would have gotten you some form of recognition, maybe even the Medal of Honor. As far as I know only one woman ever got the MOH and it was not her Fighting Skill that earned that.

 

[East Tennessee Roots]

Keith and Malinda Blalock Union Partisans or Yankee Bushwhackers ???? | Researching Civil War Records & Ancestry

No, this notorious man and wife duo are not my ancestors but they may have tormented the devil out of some of my Rebel kin in the mountains of Western NC. and hailed as heroes by some of my " home-grown yanks " across the Blue Ridge in East Tennessee. A great read about them is " Rebels in Blue...

civilwartalk.com

 

[Doc_Ralph]

I wonder how many of these women disguised themselves as men in order to engage in the practise of the oldest profession?

Seems like a logical motive for some of them anyway.

John

I have come across some of that when I was researching CW war crimes. Camp cooks and camp followers. I did not read about cross dressing per se but sounds like it could have happened.

 

[Doc_Ralph]

Thought the assertion that hundreds of women (assuming male aliases and disguises) fought in the ranks is not only a feasible proposition but was indeed inevitable.

However, would question the claim of elevating these female combatants to 'Amazon status' during the war.

Am unaware from readings of any reported specific field incidents that singled out and detailed female participation in Civil War combat.

Would think if these women blended in to fight, often undetected among the troops, then cannot determine how they could have been separately assessed to have 'fought like demons' , over and above their comrades in arms, as is highlighted by these authors in the title of their work.

Yeah - it was a bit tongue in cheek with the title - I wanted to attract attention to this. Fought like demons appears to me that they pitched in with the fighting.

This is something that is brand new to me and it boggles my mind that they successfully pulled it off. As a CW reenactor I know how close these camps are living in one pockets.

 

[A. Roy]

I had women soldiers in mind because of having read some of Laura S. Haviland's memoir of doing hospital work along the Mississippi in 1864. She included this brief account:

"In one hospital in Memphis I found in one corner a female soldier, Charlie. She was in both Bull Run battles, and four others she named; besides, she had endured long marches. Here she was taken violently ill with typhoid fever, and for the first time her sex became known. She was large and rather coarse-featured, and of indomitable will. She said the cause of her enlistment did not now exist, and she wanted to go home as soon as able. She intimated that her betrothed had recently died, and she had no desire to remain in the army."

(A Woman's Life-Work — Labors and Experiences of Laura S. Haviland. Page 262.)

ARB

 

[Library Lady]

Thought the assertion that hundreds of women (assuming male aliases and disguises) fought in the ranks is not only a feasible proposition but was indeed inevitable.

However, would question the claim of elevating these female combatants to 'Amazon status' during the war.

Am unaware from readings of any reported specific field incidents that singled out and detailed female participation in Civil War combat.

Would think if these women blended in to fight, often undetected among the troops, then cannot determine how they could have been separately assessed to have 'fought like demons' , over and above their comrades in arms, as is highlighted by these authors in the title of their work.

And yet, I suspect there are any number of fights you could name where you would consider that the men fought like demons. Places like the Crater, the Cornfield, the Wheatfield, the Peach Orchard and the Mule Shoe come readily to mind. If there was a woman there and the men were fighting like demons, then likely so was she. I see nothing in the original post that says outright or "between the lines" that the women were better than the men, but rather, contrary to popular belief at the time (and apparently now, too), they could hold their own.

 

[Library Lady]

Here is a book by one of the women who served as a man and went back to being a woman after she left the service.

Nurse and Spy in the Union Army by S. Emma E. Edmonds

Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, by S. Emma E. Edmonds—A Project Gutenberg eBook

Here is the American Battlefield Trust page on her.

Sarah Emma Edmonds

Biography of Sarah Emma Edmonds Union soldier

www.battlefields.org

On the other hand, Albert Cashier (birth name Jennie Hodgers) never willingly returned to being a woman after leaving the service. As the American Battlefield Trust page says, he may be considered a transgender male. The treatment he received in a state mental hospital (admitted for dementia in old age) in the last years of his life is heartbreaking.

Albert Cashier aka Jennie Hodgers

www.battlefields.org