Reference Reviews

Lawrence Looks at Books

Women in the American Civil War, edited by Lisa Tendrich Frank. 2 vols. 672p. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2008. 978-1-85109-6-00-8; 2007-25822. $195.

Women in the American Civil War By the time General William T. Sherman took total warfare to the South in late 1864, thousands of American women had already had their lives transformed by three and a half years of war. In both the North and the South, women had disguised themselves as men and followed love ones into battle. Others acted as spies, collecting information on enemy movements and plans. Hundreds more followed armies as nurses, cooks, laundresses and camp followers. Thousands contributed time caring for sick and wounded behind the lines or raising money for war efforts, widows and orphaned children. Many took jobs in industry, trade, education and government offices as millions of men left the workforce to fight. In the absence of their husbands, literally millions found themselves assuming direction of farms, plantations, businesses and families. For southern women especially, these pressures were aggravated by proximity to military campaigns, the presence of occupying armies, the constant foraging of armies on both sides, and the confiscation or desertion of slaves. This new encyclopedia explores the part that women played in this nation's bloodiest conflict. Selected overview articles introduce and describe the chief roles that women assumed at home and on the front. Also examined are racial and regional differences of experience. Most of the 340 articles present the wartime experiences of particular women. The selection includes slaves, combatants, spies, doctors, nurses, teachers, abolitionists, editors, writers and trades women. Most are singled out not only for the distinct roles they played during the conflict, but also for the documentation they left behind in the form of letters, diaries, memoirs, lectures, books, and articles. From bazaars and gunboat societies to sewing bees and farm work, numerous topical articles examine the economic and social activities of women during the war. Others explore their forms of protest and resistance or impact of death, disease, and destruction of property on home life. The varying experiences of distinct religious, immigrant and racial groups are also presented. The expert written articles are well illustrated and documented. Selected excerpts from 24 primary sources support the text. With its heavy representation of first-hand accounts, the general bibliography would prove a valuable tool for collection assessment. The index, though repeated in both volumes, is somewhat weak. It would be nice to be able to identify discussions of women from particular places, but the index does not include entries for states. Nonetheless, this otherwise excellent guide to the Civil War should prove a welcome addition to school, public and academic libraries.

— John Lawrence