Transcript Slide 1

Southern Women
in the Civil War
An Online Professional Development
Seminar
Laura Edwards
National Humanities Center Fellow
Professor of History
Duke University
SOUTHERN WOMEN
Elite slaveholding women
White Unionist women
White working class women
Enslaved women
Part I
How did women Southern shape the course and
outcome of the Civil War?
Support
Subversion
Pressure
Protest
Elite Slaveholding Women:
Support
Discussion Questions
According to this passage, what
roles do elite women play in
occupied Murfreesboro?
How do these roles enable them
to shape the conduct of the War
in Murfreesboro?
Kate Carney’s Journal, 1862
She [Ma] also took some clothes up to Tom
Morgan [a prisoner of war] , as she understood he
was in need of some. She carried Bettie's & my
bouquets up to some of the boys. When old Capt.
Frost (who by the way comes out quite frequently
since Pa’s arrest which was three weeks last
Tuesday). He is ever a welcome visitor as he is
better than any newspaper and seems so
disturbed about Pa. He brought a message from
Mr. Crossman (who is a Union man, though we
think a very clever one and is staying for
protection, which we are very glad to have him do,
as he carries letters to Pa, or any thing else, or
getting a pass for Ma, to have hauled wood from
the Quarter to have sold. It is a mutual
accommodation, & satisfies all parties. Bettie & I
give him some hard cuts though, about people
taking the oath).
Elite Slaveholding Women:
Support
Discussion Questions
According to these passages,
what roles do elite women play in
occupied Murfreesboro?
How do these roles enable them
to shape the conduct of the War
in Murfreesboro?
Kate Carney’s Journal, 1862
Cousin Ann & I rode up to see Mrs. Winship this
morning, while up town heard good news that a
hundred Yankees went out to Readyville & were all
either captured, or killed except eleven. We came
by the store, they had heard the same story. Aunt
Nancy seeing the buggy had to come, & tell us the
good news. Every body is rejoicing. Called by to
see Belle Boles & her mother, they told us a good
deal of news, had a pleasant little visit.
. . .
No news in the paper. Bettie & I ran over a few
minutes to see Mrs. Maney to hear the news. She
said a letter had been received in Nashville saying
we had gained three grand victories in Va. & for us
not to believe anything that Yankees had to say,
for it was impossible for us to hear any good news
from our army through them.
Elite Slaveholding Women:
Support
Discussion Questions
How does this passage illuminate
the propaganda war that was
going on for hearts and minds in
Murfreesboro?
Kate Carney’s Journal
Ma & Cousin Ann . . . went up to the College to
see our prisoners, and to their astonishment found
that one had taken the oath and gone home. Just
to think he was one of Morgan's men too. I felt so
badly about it, but heard his wife was at the point
of death, & like it was that, that forced him to take
it. The Yankees no doubt will publish that not less
than a dozen took the oath in place of Mr. Handley.
Oh! I hope the other poor fellow will not [do] such a
thing. I felt so wretched when I have placed
confidence in any one, & it is betrayed by taking
that awful oath. Bettie & I went to see Finie Burton,
but she was not at home, talked a while to her
mother. She spoke of trying to get a pass to go
out, but old Rounds said he had charged the
pickets to let no one out, but to permit the country
people to come & go. We think it is a Yankee trick,
to get them in to take the oath
Elite Slaveholding Women:
Support
Discussion Questions
How does this passage illuminate
the propaganda war that was
going on in Murfreesboro?
How does it illuminate the role
that elite women played in the
War?
What does it suggest about the
relations between the occupiers
and the occupied?
Kate Carney’s Journal
This afternoon we were lying down, when we saw Ma come
tipping upstairs with mysterious air which I could not make out. I
rushed out on the back porch, (as I was undressed) and saw Ma
pass through with a (what proved afterwards a confederate)
soldier. She seemed greatly excited. He was one of our soldiers
that had escaped jail, just half an hour ago & Ma was trying to
disguise him so as to let him escape. He changed his clothes
[and] shaved off his whiskers, (Ma giving him some of Pa's
clothes) making him look like quite a different man. Ma carried
him up something to eat, he would not eat much said he had
been to dinner, & would not take any more money, he had plenty.
I hope he will get safely back to Starn's Cavalry. He said we had
5,000 men just above here, had had a fight, & we killed 30 or 40
Yankees, & it was that night he was taken prisoner. That was the
first time we had heard of the engagement. They always keep a
defeat such a secret. This soldier came very near being
discovered. There were three Yanks in the front hall who said
they had come up to make Ma's acquaintance, as they heard Ma
fed their prisoners when Morgan captured them, & when our
escaped prisoner asked for the master of the house, the servant
asked him in to the front hall, & lo! & behold there sat the man
that had captured him a few nights before, and not having any
suspicions, they took no notice of him, & he asked Ma for some
water and then told his story, so Ma had to play a double game,
make herself agreeable to the Yankees whilst getting our soldier
off, & I felt vastly relieved when he got off safe.
Kate Carney’s Journal
Elite Slaveholding Women:
Support
Discussion Questions
How does this passage illuminate
the propaganda war going on in
Murfreesboro?
What does it suggest about the
role of elite women on the home
front?
How does class shape Carney’s
response to Northern
sympathizers?
Mr. Duffer went over to the train with them, & while we were in Mr.
Stevenson's parlor he came in dressed as fine as any dandy, &
did not look at all like a widower of few weeks standing. He is in
for marrying, to judge from his looks, & I must say was not at all
favorably impressed. It might have been the conversation he
struck up about taking the oath. I said very little, but my remarks
were pointed. He had too much Yankee about him for me. When I
began to denounce old Capt. Rounds, Mr. Duffer said I must not
say a word against him, as he had taken several out riding
yesterday (he among the number). I told him I would consider it a
great disgrace to be seen with him. I can't bear to see men so
willing to knuckle to such low down scoundrels after being
insulted & trampled upon as they have been. It seems that the
last drop of courage with the men of Rutherford Co. has died out,
or else left for parts unknown, or taken up its abode in women
kind. Sallie Lytle, Kate & Mattie Avent came out & spent the
evening & Rosa returned & spent the night. Capt. Frost was out
this evening & brought the paper, no news, only their defeat at
Richmond. (the Yankees) How thankful we should be for that
victory. Mrs. Wilson thinks if Dr. Black & Mr. L. Black were
arrested they would take the oath before leaving their families. If I
was a wife, I would say go & die before taking that vile oath.
Sister Amanda was telling me about Mary Spence telling Mary
Turner to persuade her Pa to take the oath, so that she could ride
around & have fun like she did, I guess she wants everybody to
put themselves on equality with herself. She was bragging about
having a Yankee Officer been & showed a handsome diamond
ring she said he gave her. Poor goose, I wish I had never been
intimate with her, but I will never be so again.
General Orders, No. 28
O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME XV [S# 21]
Union Correspondence, Orders, And Returns Relating To
Operations In West Florida, Southern Alabama, Southern
Mississippi, And Louisiana From May 12, 1862, To May
14, 1863: And In Texas, New Mexico, And Arizona From
September 20, 1862, To May 14, 1863.--#1
Discussion Questions
What does General Butler’s order
say about Southern women’s role
in the War?
Why would Butler choose this
particular response to the
resistance of Confederate
women?
HDQRS. DEPARTMENT OF THE GULF,
New Orleans, May 15, 1862.
As the officers and soldiers of the United States have
been subject to repeated insults from the women (calling
themselves ladies) of New Orleans in return for the most
scrupulous non-interference and courtesy on our part, it
is ordered that hereafter when any female shall by word,
gesture, or movement insult or show contempt for any
officer or soldier of the United States she shall be
regarded and held liable to be treated as a woman of the
town plying her avocation.
By command of Major-General Butler:
GEO. C. STRONG,
Assistant Adjutant-General and Chief of Staff.
Elizabeth Alvis, Walker County, Alabama, 2337,
Southern Claims Commission, Allowed Claims,
White Unionist Women:
Subversion
Discussion Questions
Compare Alvis’s actions with the
actions of the Confederate
women described in Kate
Carney’s journal.
RG 217, National Archives.
Testimony of J.L. Romain: “I heard claimant say
frequently that she had two sons in the Union
army, and that she wished she had a dozen sons
to put in the Union Army. . . . While I was out in
woods to keep away from the rebels, and she
knew where I was, she had a signal, which was a
white cloth, that she hung out if there was any
danger, and if the cloth was not at a certain place I
could venture to the house and get something to
eat and all the information she had to give me, and
she done the same thing with many others. She
done all she could to get young men to enlist in the
union army. There was two men from the first Ala
cavalry came into the county here to enlist some
union boys that were in this section of the county.
She done all to help them. They had to keep
themselves hid in the woods, and she would go
and see the union boys and tell them where to go
there to enlist."
Sarah F. Keeton, Walker County, Alabama,
11,636, Southern Claims Commission, Allowed
White Unionist Women:
Subversion
Discussion Questions
Compare Keeton’s actions with
the actions of the Confederate
women described in Kate
Carney’s journal.
Claims, RG 217, National Archives.
Testimony of P. P. Pile: I know that she aided all men when called
upon as far as she was able in getting through to the Union Army.
I know she was at various times with and in presence of Union
soldiers for several of her neighbors belonged to the Union Army
and when at home on scouts she would bear any earand [sic] for
them they required her to do, she being a woman would not be
molested by the rebel cavalry. If her action had been known to
the rebels she could not remained hire [sic] under southern
independence.
Testimony of George H. McDade: At the time of the war, she
lived in a “settlement where there were a great many men laying
out to evade the conscript also near several families whose
husbands were in the Union Army and I am satisfied that cliament
[sic] could with ease [have] made the report to the cavalry and
had them all captured immediately. She had all opportunities to
have done so, but she was too faithful to the Union cause, and
too much opposed to the operations of the rebel to do so, any of
the Union boys who belonged to the Union Army [were] in no fear
about being interrupted on her account but would call on her for
assistance. . . . ”
General Order, Number 2, John Morgan Hunt, Confederate
Army, Arlington, Virginia, against deserters
HD. QRS. DEPT. W. VA. & EAST TENN.,
ABINGDON, VA., June 25th, 1864.
GENERAL ORDER,
Discussion Questions
What does Morgan’s say about
the morale of Confederate
troops?
Compare Morgan’s view of
insubordinate soldier with those
of white Unionist women.
How did the actions of white
Unionist women contribute to the
kind of situation that Morgan
describes?
II. The soldier who will not remain at his post, and who is not
obedient to the orders of his superiors, is a worthless
encumbrance, and where such men have committed larcenies
and outrages upon the private property of citizens--the Brig. Gen.
Commanding desires, when it is practicable, to turn them over for
proper disposition, to the civil authorities--believing that they can
render more service to the country in the workshops of our
prisons, than it is possible to derive from them as soldiers in the
field--and he calls upon all good citizens to aid and assist him in
bringing these malefactors to justice. Whenever the name and
command of one of these lawless marauders can be ascertained,
and the citizen will forward a statement of the offence committed,
with a report of the witnesses, the General Commanding will use
every endeavor to have them brought to a speedy trial.
Enslaved Unionist
Women: Subversion
Discussion Questions
Compare the actions of these
African American women to
those of white Unionist women
and Confederate women such as
Kate Carney.
How did the actions of these
African American women
undermine the Confederacy?
How did they support the Union?
Former Superintendent of the Poor in the
Department of North Carolina to the Chairman
of the American Freedmen's Inquiry
Commission
“The women and children supported
themselves with but little aid from the
government by washing, ironing. cooking,
making pies, cakes &c. for the troops The
few women that were employed by the
government in the hospitals received 4$ a
month, clothes and one ration.”
Enslaved Unionist
Women: Subversion
Discussion Questions
The Louisiana planter sees this
situation as anarchy. How might
the slaves describe it?
What is the relationship of such
actions to the war effort?
Louisiana Planters to the Commander of the
Department of the Gulf
[Terrebonne Parish, La.] Jany 14th 1862 [1863]–
That–many of the negroes led astray by designing
persons, believe that the plantations & everything
on them belong to them, the negroes– They quit
work, go & come when they see fit–Ride off at
night the mules that have been at work all day–
Fences are pulled down gates & bars are left
open– Cattle, & sheep hogs & poultry are killed or
carried off & sold– Negroes in numbers from one
plantation to an other at all hours night & day–They
travel on the rail road– They congregate in large
numbers on deserted plantations– All these things
are done against the will & in defiance of the
orders of their masters.– In Some instances negro
Soldiers partially armed have been allowed to visit
the plantations from which they inlisted– In a word
we are in a State of anarchy.– The time has come
when preperations for planting & cultivating the
crops of 1863 should be made.– But without
teams, & the ability to command the labour of our
negroes, nothing can be done.–
White Working
Class Women:
Pressure
Discussion Questions
What does Mancy Mangum and
women like her expect of male
authority?
Compare Nancy Mangum’s
expectations to those of Kate
Carney.
What does this letter suggest
about the relationship of class to
Confederate patriotism?
What implications does this letter
hold for the conduct of the War?
Nancy Mangum to Gov. Zebulon Vance, April 9,
1863
Mcleanesville NC Aprile 9th 1863
Gov Vance
I have threatend for some time to write you a
letter-a crowd of we Poor wemen went to
Greenesborough yesterday for something to eat
as we had not a mouthful meet nor bread in my
house what did they do but put us in gail Jim
Slone, Linsey Hilleshemer and several others I will
not mention-these are the ones that put us to gail
in plase of giveing us aney thing to eat and I had
to com hom without aneything-I have 6 little
children and my husband in the armey and what
am I to do. . . . if you dont take thes yankys a way
from greenesborough we wemen will write for our
husbans to come . . . home and help us. . . .
Yours very
Respectfuly
Nancy Mangum
White Working
Class Women:
Pressure
Discussion Questions
The letter is written by men, but
what does it reveal about white
working class women’s
patriotism?
Compare the situation of these
families with that of Kate Carney.
What role does class have in
Confederate patriotism?
What implications does this letter
hold for the conduct of the war?
North Carolina Soldiers of Lee's Army to Governor
Zebulon B. Vance, 24 January 1865
Very many of our wives were dependent on our labor for support
before the war, and when articles of food and clothing could be
obtained easier than now. At this time they are alone, without a
protector, and cannot by hard and honest labor, obtain enough
money to purchase the necessaries of life. We had hoped that
something would be done to render the currency better, but it
seems to get worse. Many of us have left our wives and children
at home in the country upon little tracts of land, and who are now
suffering for want of help to raise bread and meat.
It is not in the power of Yankee armies to cause us to wish
ourselves at home--we can face them, and can hear their shot
and shell without being moved; but, Sir, we cannot hear the cries
of our little ones, and stand. We must say something, must make
an effort to relieve them, and would do it through you, believing it
to be the best way. . . .
But it is not of ourselves that we would complain, it is of our wives
and little ones at home, who are necessitous.
Do something for them and there will be less desertion, and men
will go into battle with heartier good will. But it is impossible for
us to bear up under our many troubles, the greatest of which is,
the suffering of our wives and little ones at home.
We beg your pardon for bothering you with this, but something
must be done, speedily.
White Working
Class Women:
Pressure
Discussion Questions
What does this letter it reveal
about white working class
women’s patriotism?
Compare the situation of Eliza
Evans with that of Kate Carney.
What role does class have in
Confederate patriotism?
What implications does this letter
hold for the conduct of the war?
Eliza Evans to North Carolina Governor
Zebulon.B. Vance, 18 October 1864
“I wish to no of you whether Mr Moore
can throw me out of dose or not i hav bin living on
his land for the last six years and my husband has
paid the rent u to the presant year and if he has
the good luck not get killed he sill pay the rent as
long as I stay governor I think it is a hard case
that my husband is fiting for other folks property
and my self and five little children is to be throwed
out of dose Governor sir this man Silas Moore has
a son just as able boded man as my husband he is
left at home to work for his father because he is
paralized and he has aplenty to suptt on and
because my pore husband had the misfortun not
to have land in his absence I am to be thrown out
of dose governor sir I hav tried every where in the
neighborhood to get a house and there aint any
one that I can get or here of and sir I dont no what
to do if you sufer him to thow me out unless my
husband can get to come home.”
White Working
Class Women:
Protest
Discussion Questions
What does this passage suggest
about the War’s effect on the
political consciousness of
working class women?
What does this passage reveal
about the difference between
working class white women and
elite white women such as Kate
Carney?
Why might the meeting have
been held in an African church?
What do the passages suggest
about support for the War?
“The Food Question,” The New York Herald,
April 11, 1863
On the morning of the 2d inst. a large meeting, composed
principally of the wives and daughters of the working classes,
was held in the African church, and a committee appointed to
wait upon the Governor to request that articles of food should be
sold at government rates. After the passage of sundry resolutions
the meeting adjourned, and the committee proceeded to wait
upon Governor Letcher. The functionary declined to take any
steps in the matter, and upon urging the case the ladies were
peremptorily ordered to withdraw. The result of the interview was
soon made public, when a body of females, numbering about
three hundred, collected together and commenced helping
themselves to bread, flour, meat, articles of clothing, &c. The
entire city was at once thrown into consternation.
. . .
The effect of this riot upon the troops about Richmond was very
demoralizing. The authorities are much exercised over it, and the
greatest vigilance is enjoined upon the police force. The leading
men of the city attempted to circulate the report that the women
were "Irish and Yankee hags," endeavoring to mislead the public
concerning the amount of loyal sentiment in the city, miserably
failed. The fact of their destitution and respectability was too
palpable, and the authorities are forced to admit the conclusion
that starvation alone incited the movement.
Part II
How did the Civil War affect Southern women?
Social upheaval
New possibilities
Elite Slaveholding Women:
Social Upheaval
Discussion Questions
How does this passage illustrate
social upheaval?
How does this passage illustrate
a new relationship between
former masters and former
slaves?
How does this passage suggest
new possibilities?
The Diary of Gertrude Clanton Thomas
Monday, May 29, 1865: “Out of all our old house
servants not one remains except Patsy and a little boy
Frank. We have one of our servants Uncle Jim to take
Daniel’s place as driver and butler and a much more
efficient person he proves to be. Nancy has been
cooking since Tamah left. On last Wednesday I hired a
woman to do the washing. Thursday I expected Nancy
to iron but she was sick. In the same way she was sick
the week before when there was ironing to do. I said
nothing but told Patsey to get breakfast. After it was over
I assisted her in wiping the breakfast dishes, a thing I
never remember to have done more than once or twice
in my life.... Immediately after breakfast as I was writing
by the window Turner [her son] directed my attention to
Nancy with her two children, Hannah and Jessy, going
out of the gate. I told him to enquire, ‘where she was
going.’ She had expected to leave with flying colours but
was compelled to tell a falsehood for she replied, ‘I will
be back directly.’ I knew at once that she was taking
‘french leave’ [leaving without permission or without
announcing one’s departure] and was not surprised
when I went into her room sometime afterwards to find
that all her things had been removed. I was again
engaged in housework most of the morning....”
White Unionist Women:
Social Upheaval
Sarah Guttery’s testimony on how
she supported herself:
Question: “Prior to his [her
son’s] enlistment and at the time he
entered the service how did you gain a
living?”
Discussion Questions
How does this passage illustrate
social upheaval?
Answer: He supported me
for four years before he entered the
war by his labor. He worked on my
father’s farm and he received no pay
for his labor only our support. My
father was a poor man and was my son
was able to work for my living he had
him do it. . . . .”
Question: “How have you
gained a living since Henry went
away?”
Answer: “Just by hard labor.
I have hired out a heap, hoeing, picking
cotton, weaving and coloring blue
[perhaps bleaching laundry] for people,
nursing the sick and spinning.”
Enslaved Women: New
Possibilities
Discussion Questions
How does this passage illustrate
social upheaval?
How does it illustrate new
possibilities?
What does this passage tell us
about family life among the
enslaved?
How does it illustrate the role
enslaved men and women
played in the War?
Henry Guy, 55th Reg., Co. A, United States Colored Troops,
Records of the Pension Bureau, RG 15, National Archives.
Hannah Guy, statement, 9 December 1903
[S]he was born in North Carolina, was told that her father's name was
Rickson Harris, although she never saw him "from the time I was a
little girl"; her maiden name was Ricks; "I lived with Henry as his wife
while we both belonged to Lorenzo Bug. I don't know whether you
would say we were married. We were permitted by our master to live
together. We had 2 or 3 children when we left Lorenzo Guy. No I
had never lived with any man before I took up with Henry. Henry had
had a slave wife before he had me. Her name was Nancy Pride.
She was sold and went to Mississippi, some time before Henry and I
commenced to live together. Henry never saw her after he and I
commenced living together. When the U.S. Army came through
Alabama Henry and I left Mr. Lorenzo Guy and went with the army to
Corinth Miss. and Henry enlisted there. I lived in the contraband
camp there with the regiment and worked and cooked for the
soldiers. After we had been at Corinth 2 or 3 months orders came
that everybody had to be married under the new laws, and a whole lot
of us, including Henry and I were married by Mr. Peirson. I don't
know whether he was a preacher, but I suppose he was. He stood a
whole lot of us up in line and married us. . . . he gave Henry and me a
certificate that we were married, and Henry took it with him when he
left Corinth with the regiment, and he told me that when he was
captured by the rebels he tore it up, and we never got [an]other
certificate. . . .
Enslaved Women: New
Possibilities
Discussion Questions
How does this passage illustrate
social upheaval?
How does it illustrate new
possibilities?
What does this passage tell us
about family life among the
enslaved?
How does it illustrate the role
enslaved men and women
played in the War?
Taylor Reddick, 33rd Reg., Co. D, United States Colored
Troops, Records of the Pension Bureau, RG 15, National
Archives.
Edith Matilda Reddick, statement, 13 March 1889
[W]as born in Effingham County in the state of Georgia. I lived
on a Plantation in said county and my owners received their
mail from the post office at Springfield Georgia to the best of
my recollection. I left the Plantation and followed the United
States Army to Savannah Georgia where I remained three or
four months, then went by a U.S. steamer to St. Simon's Island,
Gerogia to live with an aunt and there for the first time met
Taylor Reddick who was then a soldier in Co. D 22 Regiment
United States Troops and married him there. We were married
by the Rev. Mr. Eaden who was also a Government official for
the issuing of Rations to the People. The Regiment being
under marching orders we were married on Sunday morning
and left same day at 11 o'clock for Augusta, Georgia. My
Husband going with his Regiment and I with him. . . . I moved
with my Husband in the Army from August Georgia to Edgefield
So. Carolina thence to Andersonville, thence to Walhalla and
thence to Charleston S. Carolina where we remained until he
was taken sick and where he died at the Governemnt Hospital.
I remained with his Company at Charleston living with and
assisting the Company's Cook Mrs. Doc Williams until the
Company was mustered out of service on Morris Island.
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