Women of the War-Torn South

The women of the South displayed resiliency and proved themselves as indispensable resources of the South through their compassion, intelligence and resourcefulness. During the war, there were Southern women who worked as nurses treating the wounded soldiers. The nurses nursed the wounded soldiers back to health. They also supported them emotionally through talking about their home, which allowed the soldiers to remember why they were fighting for their cause.[1] The image below exemplifies the bond nurses made with their patients. The nurse is simply sitting outside with several of the wounded Confederate soldiers.

The Southern nurses did not only help their own Confederate soldiers but they extended aid to injured Union soldiers. A woman named Evalina Dulaney along with her sisters cared for two Union soldiers who were left behind.[2]  The two eventually died in “Medical Grove” where they were being treated. Despite accusations that Dulaney and her sisters killed the soldiers, the place was spared from destruction.[3]

Women were not only nurses but they were mothers as well. As the South was suffering from lack of food, it became an even bigger issue for women in the South. Some resorted to somewhat barbaric acts in order to feed their families. The figure below depicts barbarism in order to acquire food from a bakery in the South.

The South was the land in which the war was fought since the Union armies were the ones who traveled down there to fight. Devastation could have been so much worse if women were not there to tend to their families.

Not all women and not at all times did they act like barbarians. They were able to make the most out of what they had. They did their best to provide for their families for their resources were meager down in the war-torn South.[4] The women exemplified their intelligence and resourcefulness through the use of substitutions for items they were accustomed to using. For instance, grease from cooking meat was saved to provide lighting.[5] Again, the role of women was essential in helping the South not suffer as much from the war.