During the Civil War, nurses showed bravery and dedication to their side on the battlefield. Women in the South took the responsibility of giving medical treatment during the war. The South was caught unprepared, and the hospitals were overwhelmed with wounded soldiers. The only nurses were recuperating soldiers whose injury and illness prevented them from working. Also, many of the men resented nurse work. Before the war, many Southern women had experience nursing for their family, children, and slaves. Nursing was even considered a woman’s job. However, many people thought that women could not handle nursing on the battlefield during war. Eventually, because of the growing number of casualties, women were permitted to serve as nurses for …show more content…
Like the South, the North was also experiencing an increase in casualties. The word “nurse” was rather vague, as their job descriptions varied. (“Nursing During the Civil War: A Movement Towards the Professionalization of Nursing”). The profession was dominated by men. At first women were banned from this work on the battlefield. Since many men were sick and wounded, women were eventually allowed to be nurses (“Civil War Nurses”). Dorthea Dix, a woman who dedicated her life to the service of the mentally ill, formed a group of nurses. She set very high standards that had to be met. Women had to dress plainly, have good health, have good morals, and they could not be too attractive (“Women Nurses in the Civil War”). Many women who desired to be nurses were turned down because they did not meet her high standards. Dix ‘s nurses were paid $0.40 a day. They also received rations, housing, and transportation. However, men were paid $20.50 a month, and they received better benefits (“Civil War Nurses”). African-American nurses were allowed to serve, usually they treated dangerously ill patients, or African-American soldiers. Catholic nuns also served in the war. All nurses that served had to have physical and emotional strength (“Women Nurses in the Civil
There is very little written record of their service though a few of the more famous names left accounts. At the beginning of the war, nurses were merely volunteers who showed up at military hospitals. But after Battle of Bull Run, Clara Barton and Dorethea Dix organized a nursing corps to help care for the wounded soldiers. http://www.historynet.com/civil-war-nurses Most of the women valorized for their contributions to the war effort were white. Yet African American women, for whom the outcome was of the greatest importance, found their own way to the battlefields.
The Great War was a long and dangerous journey in which there was a lot of death and sadness. Many people contributed in different ways, whether they fought, nursed, volunteered or took over the jobs of those who had gone to fight. Since all the men went to fight in the war, they needed women to start taking over their jobs. Women started working in factories and jutting out of domestic roles. One of the many women who had significantly contributed towards the Great War included a nurse named Laura Adelaide Gamble, who will be further explored throughout this report.
The Civil War, fought mostly by men, is often referred to as the war of brother against brother. Although there were a few women who engaged in the battles alongside the men, the number was very small and their direct contribution to battle was probably not very significant. This is not to say that women were not important to the Civil War. Women were very influential in the national crisis and their contributions were arguably just as important as the male soldier’s on the battlefield. On both sides of the war, women employed their strength, intelligence, and compassion in the critical roles of abolitionists, civil right’s advocates, nurses and spies.
When the North appointed Hammond, Letterman and allowed women to play larger roles in the hospitals, they were able to tip the balance in their favor and help them win the war. One of the changes that the North
Many women made direct contributions to the American Civil War efforts as nurses, spies, government employees, factory workers, and members of aid societies. Women’s responsibilities during the Civil War increased enormously. Women also contributed to the war effort, collecting supplies for the troops and working as nurses, spies, and scouts. White Georgia women took an active and educated part in the movement to separate the South from the North. Some formed aid societies, which were groups that raised money and collected food, clothing, medicine, and other supplies for the troops or for wounded soldiers and their families.
Whether it be serving on the battle field, cleansing and healing wounds, or dealing with the war on the home front, running families and supporting the soldiers, Australian women have stood by the soldiers of World War One, serving their country in different ways. The war had greatly impacted and affected the women in Australia and the ones who were away to serve. Since everything in their lives at the time revolved around the war, their lives had changed drastically to cope to this new way of life. These women provided comfort, support and help, where ever they were located, to the men who were fighting at in the front lines. Nurse and medical attendees played a very important part in World War One.
Due to the heroic inspiration from Florence Nightingale after the Crimean War, military nurses become a crucial part for the nation as she was a positive influence towards other women. Nurses started to become a popular profession for young individuals as well as middle and upper-class citizens. This duty requires bloodshed, labor, as well as emotional strength. She describes the gruesome injuries as “intertwined, so you could not tell whose arms and legs were whose” (79). Zakharova also mentions that this was very disturbing because the men were sitting in positions that made them look lively.
At this time, nursing was seen as a job only men could do. Women were seen as weak, and people assumed they would pass out at the sight of blood, or cry when they saw people in pain. Dorothea knew that there would be a great need for nurses and planned to start a female Army Nursing Corps. These women would all be volunteers. However, when she presented this to the Surgeon General, she was refused, partly because she was a woman and wanted a female staff, and partly because everyone thought the war would last three months or less, and the General didn’t believe they would need that many
However, around 2000 women served in the Australian Army Nursing Service (AANS), 23 of these women died from illnesses or wounds during their time serving. Since many of the men in Australia were fighting, the women had to take charge; caring for their children and family alone without the help of husbands, brothers or fathers, all while suffering with the fear that their loved ones might not make it home. Women had to fill the shoes of men in the workforce, taking up jobs that women wouldn't typically do. Some of these jobs included being in the police force, railway work, farming, textiles work, bus conducting, postal working, engineering, working in the coal industry, ship building, ammunition factory work, nursing, tailoring, metal trades, food trades, and many other
During the time of the American Revolution, women were given a large number of economic opportunities to help support and aid men throughout the war. One of the larger ways women contributed was by becoming battlefield nurses and suppliers to provide for the soldiers. An example of one of these nurses is Margaret Corbin. Corbin was the wife of a soldier in the Continental Army and accompanied her husband to the battlefield. During the Battle of Fort Washington in 1776, Corbin's husband was killed, and she took over his position operating a cannon, her actions throughout the war led her to be the first woman to be paid a military pension.
Although the Australian Army Nursing Service was a viable occupation for women prior to WWII, few women were engaged in this service, as women needed a sufficient education and there was a strong push from the government for women to stay out of the workforce (State Library of Victoria, 2015). These sentiments underwent dramatic change during the war, with an increasing number of women contributing to the war and enjoying it. Sister Jane Tivey, a nurse on board the ship ‘Destroyer’ in WWII described this liberation, “On the Destroyer it was the most marvellous feeling… [even though] I hadn’t had a bath for five days and slept in my clothing” (Australian War Memorial, 2015). This was a common attitude for women of all ages as corroborated by sixteen year old Grace Wallace, a volunteer for the Women’s Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) in WWII. Wallace denoted that times were tough, work was hard but the girls got on quite well together (Green Net, 2015).
Despite the denouncing of a woman’s abilities, the French general, a political soldier of war has enhanced the status of women by stating “If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the allies would lose the war.” Most commonly, women’s roles in the armed services were clerical, meaning most women worked in office-based services. These services involved traditional men’s roles such as truck and ambulance drivers and intelligence officers. But the most crucial occupation of them all is the nursing of severely wounded soldiers in the battlefield. “I've been a soldier now for nearly three years, and please God I will go right to the end ...
This began the first military draft, advances in war via ships, and newer forms of guns. The war divided the North (Union) and the South (Confederate) by states and the war ultimately ended with the victory of the North. Another unexpected addition to this war was that women were involved in many different facets. Some women secretly fought in the war, but others played parts as spies, nurses, abolitionists, and feminists. Women did not generally have a place in the days before the civil war, except as home makers so with the diversity
In the mid-1800s, as America was growing, socially, and economically, there was a higher demand for nurses due to people getting hurt more often. During the Civil War of 1861 many soldiers, from both the Union and the south, were traumatically injured. An Abundance of nurses were needed to compensate the massive number of patients. One African American woman had a passion for people and the drive to make a difference. Mary Eliza Mahoney was born May 7, 1845.
In the article it says that women entered jobs like engineering, other professions, and manufacturing jobs that many people believed that those jobs were too dangerous for women and women were too weak. In their jobs, women made airplanes, warships, munitions, and tanks working in technical and scientific fields. Also, after the war, women were still employed as secretaries, waitresses, or in other clerical jobs. This was often called the “pink collar” force. This article shows how sometimes women are given clerical jobs that show people underestimate the abilities of women.