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Women's History
The Civil War
(1861-1865)

Women in the Civil War

Women in the Civil War
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   high interest, readability grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.38

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    amputations, pneumonia, exam, medical, wounded, based, enlist, actually, pension, typhoid, role, jobs, army, author, battle, allow
     content words:    Civil War, Shiloh National Military Park, Florena Budwin, Andersonville Prison, Florence Stockade, Louisa May Alcott, Little Women, Mary Ann Bickerdyke, Mother Bickerdyke

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Women in the Civil War
By Cathy Pearl 		  
1     Men weren't the only people to play a large role in the Civil War. Women also did a lot to help. Some became nurses and helped those who were fighting. Others dressed as men and did some of the fighting themselves.
 
2     Both the Northern and the Southern armies did not allow women to enlist. Any woman who wanted to fight had to dress as a man. The women would also change their names. Because of this, it is hard to say exactly how many women joined an army and fought in the Civil War.
 
3     When anyone, man or woman, enlisted in the army, he or she had a very simple medical exam. Also, proof of who they claimed to be was not asked for. Most women were not discovered until they were injured or killed.
 
4     After the battle of Gettysburg, one woman was found dead on the field. It was July 17, 1863. Based on where her body was found, she probably took part in Pickett's Charge. In 1934, a grave was found outside Shiloh National Military Park. There were nine skeletons in the grave, and one of them was female. The identities of these two women will probably never be known.
 
5     Florena Budwin was a woman who disguised herself as a man. She wanted to go to war with her husband. They were both captured and sent to Andersonville Prison. He was either killed or died there. She was sent to the Florence Stockade. While there, a doctor discovered she was actually a woman. She was removed from the Stockade but died from pneumonia. She was only twenty. She is known as the first woman buried in a national cemetery.

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