Army at Home: Women and the Civil War on
“To the victor go the spoils.” “History is written by the victors.” While these quotations explain quite a bit of our military history, they do not apply to Northern women during and after the American Civil War. Many books describe the hardships and deprivations Southern women encountered. Countless statues were erected as memorials to the plight of Southern women. Yet very little has been written about women in the Northern states and, proportionately, very few statues memorializing the efforts of Northern women exist. Judith Giesberg, Assistant Professor of History at Villanova University, provides a concise and in-depth study that addresses this shortcoming in Army at Home: Women and the Civil War on the Northern Home Front. It is neatly divided into six easy to read and insightful sections, which explore gender and race relations, socio-economic status, women entering the workforce, women entering political arenas and the social/political perceptions of the time. Many of the discussions are filtered through the underlying theme of how society reacted toward the fact that more women were forced into roles previously held by men. Perhaps the following statement from the introduction sums it up best: “This book unsettles the wartime imagery of women standing still in anticipation of their sons’ and husbands’ return.” Some individuals think that since the vast majority of Civil War battles were fought in the Southern states, that the women of the North felt very little impact from the demands of war. Giesberg dispels this misconception by focusing her research on rural agrarian and middle class manufacturing communities and communities with large concentrations of African American women. Many women became heads of household, farmers, textile or munitions workers, while still performing the socially expected roles of mother and nurturer of children. Women of the North were frequently forced to enter the workforce at very young ages. Many antebellum women were not prepared socially or politically for the rigorous workload that was required in order to save their families. Others were forced to manage farms. Still others relied on the support of kinfolk or neighbors. Giesberg’s book accomplishes two very important goals. The first is to provide readers with a solid account of the hardships, sacrifices and deprivations endured on the Northern home front. The second goal is to explore some of the reasons why Northern women did not get the same amount of recognition as their Southern counterparts. Her analysis is based on first-hand accounts, using the case studies of various women from different demographics and areas. Northern women did not sit back and wait for their men to return. Instead, many went to the government for financial aid or jobs. Some of these women found that the obstacles in obtaining aid were overwhelming. Others simply decided to become involved and made significant changes in the system and the dynamics of government operations. As a result of this changing environment, women became involved in roles previously dominated by men. This caused many Northerners to regard what women did as purely support that helped the war effort. They weren’t seen as enduring the same types of hardships that the men had, worrying about the war and the families they left behind. Upon their return, many of these men were surprised to see the changes that had occurred and their coping mechanism was to downplay the contributions their womenfolk had made. First-hand case studies, detailed endnotes, a sound bibliography and a well-organized index made this book easy to read. The illustrations provide a good depiction of both the women involved and the obstacles encountered. At $35, the book is reasonably priced based on the research involved. Giesberg has done an excellent job addressing a topic not discussed in adequate detail previously. This book deserves a place in local libraries and on the bookshelves of anyone interested in the contributions women made during the American Civil War. Reviewer: Richard J. Blumberg has a master’s degree with honors in Civil War studies. He is past president of the Houston Civil War Round Table and is a speaker for that group and the Society of Women in the Civil War. He also reviews books for the Blue and Gray Education Society.
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