Civilians

Civilian contact:  Sheree Watson 

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 All civilian involvement will center around the goal of allowing visitors to see, touch, hear, smell, learn about and understand the experience of civilians in the Civil War.

      To that end, our blueprint: 

1. We welcome U.S. Sanitary Commission and U.S. Christian Commission impressions and will provide space between the visitor arrival area and the Union camps for those activities. We could, if there is interest, establish a sanitary fair selling items that would raise money, in this case, not for support of the soldiery but for support of the Quiet Valley Living Historical Farm. Again, first-class impressions involved in direct contact with the modern public are the desired presentation.

2. We have use of the Quiet Valley barn for a hospital.  Civilian help with demonstrations during the day is appropriate; civilians entering combat zones after the shooting stops, to help treat and remove the wounded, would be appropriate as well. 

4. Expect to engage the public,  not just about the specific activity you are engaged in, but about civilian life in the 1860s in general, ranging from the changes brought by the war to clearing up those annoying, longstanding misperceptions like "everyone was dirty and smelled" to “they bit bullets during amputations because they had no anesthesia”. Pick your pet peeve of misinformation and replace it with history. Here's a primer on changes to women's lives as affected by the war:

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Women’s roles in the Civil War

(Our event-specific, tailored extract from a lecture by historian Juanita Leisch) (Underlined is a link to the lecture on You tube).

Women participated as individuals, as members of organizations, and in war production industries.

1. Individually, they contributed by writing letters to or on behalf of soldiers, providing clothing to friends and family members, and sending home-produced food to soldiers they knew, and in other ways.

2. Women participated in fundraising/material gathering/spiritual/food/health organizations like the Christian Commission and the U.S. Sanitary Commission, including “sanitary fairs” to raise funds to buy material needed by soldiers. These were women who could afford to spend their time doing such things, that is, higher social strata.

3. The greatest number of women were found in wartime production roles.  This could be anything from simply keeping the farm operating while the men were away to working in ammunition factories and uniform production.

They met five critical needs for the war effort:

1. Soldiers:  Often social pressure on men to join the military, that is, “Don’t come calling unless you’re wearing a uniform.”  Very common early in the war. And moral and physical support on an ongoing basis.

2.  Ammunition:  Women were the majority of hands-on workers in the arsenals that produced ammunition for both small arms and artillery. This was done in large production facilities and involved females of all ages, including some pre-teens.

3. Food  In addition to keeping the farms producing food, some of which was bought by government contractors to supply the troops, there are two noteworthy additional roles.  First, military regulations allow the hire of women at the company level to serve as camp cooks and laundresses.  Second, organizations sprang up around train stations in larger cities that worked to feed and care for soldiers in transit – hot meals, a place to rest, etc.  These were called ‘refreshment saloons’.

4. Clothing, uniforms, tentage:  While some work was done in factories, it was also common for women to pick up kits produced by government tailors that had all the parts for a uniform already cut out.  These could then be taken home and sewn, and returned for payment (per items produced).  And yes, they had some sewing machines for the simple seams but not for buttonholing and other detail work.  Tents were usually produced in factories where women made up 60 percent or more of the workforce.  Another item produced in great numbers by women were socks, which wore out with great regularity when armies were on the move.

5. Health and medical care:  Female doctors and surgeons, with medical degrees, did serve in military hospitals.  More common were female nurses, with and without prior training.  This involved acute care, care during long periods of recuperation, in both field hospitals, larger hospitals more distant from the front, and in private homes.  Nurses were often the people who wrote letters to the families of men who died, sending along information about how they died and their belongings.

More:  Women also did whatever needed to be done when men went off to war, including working as grave diggers, lighthouse tenders, editors, writers, telegraph operators. Some also served as spies and scouts and there is reason to believe some served, undetected or otherwise, in the military itself.

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5. Site layout: We will have guard posts during spectator hours for the military camp. Period civilians will be issued passes at registration to allow entrance to the military camp.