Vivandier, Sharing The March Until Appomattox

JPK Huson 1863

Brev. Brig. Gen'l
Joined
Feb 14, 2012
Location
Central Pennsylvania
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A Crimean War illustration ' Vivandier ' and how it all began.

It never pays to assume This is especially true pursuing topics relating to the American Civil War.

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Quite a few ' Spunk Girl ' variety articles from early in the war

As Sumter disappeared behind and beneath that blinding artillery barrage, ' Patriotism ' swept a red, white and Bonnie Blue tidal wave, North and South. Enlistments soared, bands trilled and thrilled, banners fluttered behind ponderous cheeked politicians and jaunty Zouaves stepped off, rank by rank. To war. 1861. In their wake equally jaunty, waving, much celebrated, vested, canteen-ed and putt-eed, Viviandier.

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I've never been able to track her down. She seems the genuine, real, honest to goodness article.


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Lavina Williams, another Louisiana Tiger. This regiment's women marched with them- how in heck else did one Vivandier become arrested in Virginia?

Vivandier, as other threads explain, were women and girls of many feathers. As with their male counterparts, Zouave combatants, the uniforms were holdovers from the Crimean War. This uniform and romantic take on both soldier-wear and a woman's role in one took strong hold in the American psyche. Despite few stories of fame, it appears quite a few women did indeed march off to war in this guise. Our most famous are of course French Mary Tepe followed by Louisiana Tiger Helen Voskius ( arrested in Virginia for dressing like a man ) followed by Kady Brownell. Despite some notion 'glamour' attached to Vivandiere, these women could and did function as front line nurses to shattered soldiers and experienced battle in all its gruesome ' glory '.

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AKA ' Daughter of the Regiment ', she would have been one of these. It all got a little fuzzy in places. No canteen or puttees, for that matter.

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Crimea again. Our women ditched the aprons.


Some went home; others became nurses post-1861, supposedly except for our famous exceptions ' Vivandier ' no longer made the news except as heroines in increasingly popular plays. BUT. Wrong again. Letters and newspaper articles show us Tepe had company. Vivandier hung around.

1864, Ohio newspaper
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It was pretty cool, dolls for little girls were produced which allowed them to see these women as heroines

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Eliza Wilson was the daughter of a wealthy merchant- she's seen elsewhere marching, having traveled with the regiment. No idea if she went on campaign. That is more than romance regardless.

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Envelopes, to use during the war featured our Vivandier aiding soldiers. This was at least a glimpse of what their world could be. Not romantic. And as shown, it seems quite a few committed to this life for as long as soldiers needed them.
 

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A Crimean War illustration ' Vivandier ' and how it all began.
Thanks for posting this!
I have 'studied' the Civil War most of my life, but don't recall hearing about Vivandieres until @Ruth posted her beautifully crafted Vivian the Vivandiere!
Never too late to learn something new....
 
The North African "Mameluke " pattern sword is a nice touch, and goes with the Algerian Zouave styling.


* sigh * Love to say I knew that, Andy. I just thought she looked kind of cute in a terrifying sort of way. And how, if one picked that sword up in public in 2017 folks would get awfully excited and maybe misunderstand. :angel:
 
I think doing a Living History as a Vivandier would be quite interesting..hmm....


Yes! That would be awesome. For some reason Mary Tepe has become a little separated from the role but she was one. Continually popping up through the war in newspaper accounts written by reporters and in published soldier letters, pretty cool being able to track her activities. And it's funny. For whatever reason that darn canteen seems destined to limit these. Vivandier, be sure, did not only bring water to wounded. Gee whiz. Front line nurses, frequently.

If you're interested in the role, best ever image is Tepe at Gettysburg, a teeny woman who just survived that, on Cemetery Hill.

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Gettysburg College Special Collections

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Rats- forget which reference for the 114th PA this is from. Snipped it thinking the description of what was worn by a vivandier would be useful.

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* sigh * Love to say I knew that, Andy. I just thought she looked kind of cute in a terrifying sort of way. And how, if one picked that sword up in public in 2017 folks would get awfully excited and maybe misunderstand. :angel:
Except for the CW period, Marine Corps officers have carried that sword pattern from the 1820s right down to today. It's all about the context.
 
Thanks for posting this!
I have 'studied' the Civil War most of my life, but don't recall hearing about Vivandieres until @Ruth posted her beautifully crafted Vivian the Vivandiere!
Never too late to learn something new....


Missed Ruth's contribution, how awful! Must correct that. Anyone paying tribute this way deserves a ton of encouragemen, goodness!

It did seem to me, anyway ( and no historian here ) Vivandier were mentioned mostly in 1861 accounts and perhaps had become uncommon as war progressed- with Tepe a rarity. Seem to have remained just either overlooked or ' reclassified ', for want of a better word.
 
Missed Ruth's contribution, how awful! Must correct that. Anyone paying tribute this way deserves a ton of encouragemen, goodness!

It did seem to me, anyway ( and no historian here ) Vivandier were mentioned mostly in 1861 accounts and perhaps had become uncommon as war progressed- with Tepe a rarity. Seem to have remained just either overlooked or ' reclassified ', for want of a better word.
Thanks for your response.
It certainly is a story that needs to be told. Other than a couple of exceptions, little seems readily available on the internet, even where one would expect some mention, like https://www.army.mil/women/history/.
One source lists eight, and goes on to say "Vivandieres saw most of their service during the early years of the war. By September 1864, General Ulysses S. Grant ordered that all women be removed from military camps in his theater."<https://www.gilderlehrman.org/collections/treasures-from-the-collection/women-civil-war-vivandieres>
I've not yet found that order: perhaps you or one of our colleagues here has it?
 
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