Transcript File

Hooker’s Girls, and the Idahoe
Sex in the Civil War
Really…?
• Most of this information is drawn from
a well written and researched
monograph titled
– “The Story the Soldiers Wouldn’t Tell –
Sex in the Civil War”
– Author – Thomas P. Lowry, M.D.
Sex was common…
• Sex was common in the 19h
Century.
–Families had larger numbers of
children than they do now,
which by way of reason tells you
that sex was common.
But, how gross…?
Average Age?
• The average Civil War soldier was 18-29
years old.
Prime of Life, not some old man…
• Sex, either the act alone, or thinking/
writing/ drawing about it occupied the time
of soldiers when they weren’t fighting.
Proof?
• Letters and diaries home that include
information about sex are rare.
– Why?
–Probably were not rare then.
–Edited by descendants who were
embarrassed.
–“Lost”…
Code?
• Soldiers also wrote using euphemisms or
doublespeak that concealed the meaning
of their real message.
Butter?
• Sam Watkins, “Company Aytch”, 1st
Tennessee (C.S.)
• Chapter 8 (Please Pass the Butter)
3:20:00 in Book 1 of 5
“The Oldest Profession”
• Prostitution is often called the
Oldest Profession
• “camp followers” have been with
armies since Biblical times.
• Main physical outlet for soldiers to
have sexual relations was through
visiting a prostitute.
Common Myth…
• You’ve heard the term
“Hooker”…
• Meet Union General Joseph
Hooker…
• “Hooker’s Divisions” was a
term applied to the women
who followed his military
camps.
Prostitutes
Average age of a
prostitute was 23
years old.
Records exist of
prostitutes being as
young as 14-15 years
old.
Where?
• Prostitutes didn’t often
follow armies around
while they were
fighting.
• Large cities had many.
– Washington D.C.
– Nashville TN
– Memphis TN
When?
• While soldiers
were on “leave”
• or “Detached
Duty”
• or stationed in
the city
• or AWOL
How Much (often)?
• One record shows
one soldier owed a
“girl of the night”
$40.00 for
“services
rendered”
• He earned $13 per
month for being a
soldier.
The Problem?
• Venereal Disease.
• Gonorrhea and Syphilis were
the main diseases.
• 73,368 Union Soldiers were
diagnosed with syphilis.
Secondary Syphilis
• Union Soldier
with symptoms
of Stage Two
syphilis.
• That is not a
beard.
Another Unhappy VD Victim
The Cure?
• No “cure” until 1908
• “French Envelopes” – Condoms
– Rare
• Army tried to control prostitutes
–Two different methods
Controlling Prostitution – The East
• Washington D.C.
• Rows and rows of brothels
appeared across the street from
the unfinished Capitol building.
• Prostitutes were everywhere.
• So were soldiers.
The Unfinished Capitol Dome
Call the Provost!
• Military Police (The Provost)
would capture “Hooker’s Girls”
and put them in jail.
• They would buy their way out of
jail (Pay Bail)
• Be “back in business” later the
same day.
Controlling Prostitution – The West
• Nashville, TN.
• When the Union occupied Nashville,
they followed the D.C. plan for
controlling the Oldest Profession.
• Then they tried shipping the girls out
of town.
• This did not work!
A New Plan…Legalize it!
• Nashville and Memphis TN
• Union Medical Authorities set up a
system of Medical Regulation of
prostitution which required that a
prostitute get a medical examination
every 14 days.
A License…for WHAT?
• If they passed inspection, they were given a
Certificate of health which allowed them to be
“open for business”.
But, What if they Failed?
• They were sent to the Hospital set up
to deal with venereal disease,
• Hospital Number 11 was the Women’s
Venereal Disease Hospital.
Hospital Number Eleven
The Results?
• Reduced the number of disease
cases for both prostitutes and soldiers
• Allowed the “trade in flesh” to
continue.
• Nashville, followed by Memphis, was
America’s first attempt at legalized
prostitution.
Nevada, you say?
• The second attempt, and only
current attempt, is the legalized
trade in Nevada.
• Currently in the legalized
prostitution in Nevada, NOT ONE
SINGLE case of AIDS has been
found.
Homosexuality?
• The term “homosexual” appeared
in 1895
• The term “gay” began to mean
“homosexual” around 1950.
• Few terms then meant what we
mean by “homosexual”
Numbers…math.
• Modern Doctors say the rate of
homosexuality is between 1 and 10
percent.
– between 1 and 10 people in every 100 are
attracted to the same sex.
– with 1 percent as a number, it seems that
25,000 soldiers on the Union side could have
been attracted to men.
Conclusions?
Image –John Billings – Titled
“Spooning”
“In the Navy…”
• Homosexuality was not allowed in
the military then (or now)
• 3 pairs of Union Sailors were tried
by courts martial for intercourse
with the other, and sentenced to
prison.
• There’s more…
Racism, even in this…
• The military forms for this crime
(homosexuality) state that white
men charged with the crime shall
be held for examination.
• Blacks charged with the crime
shall be held for trial.
Conclusion of this PowerPoint…
• Soldiers in the 1860s were human, and
experienced life as all other humans do.
• Do not forget that the people who fought this
conflict felt the same pain as you, the same
sorrow, the same fear, and, apparently, the
same “urges”…
• That in mind, soldier life can be understood a
bit better.