Teaching with Primary Sources—MTSU
PRIMARY SOURCE SET
WOMEN IN THE CIVIL WAR
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Women played an active role in the Civil War. A
handful disguised themselves as men and served as
soldiers; some went to the front as nurses, relief
workers, and “daughters of the regiment”; and
countless women contributed from the home
front. North and South, women kept farms and
families together, provided supplies to the men in
the field, and conveyed information as spies.
Women and their families made great sacrifices
during the grueling war. As mothers, daughters,
sisters, and wives, women prayed for the safe return of their loved ones. Most women (and men)
were shocked by the war’s terrible death and destruction. Mourning became commonplace.
Home guard. [Pictorial envelope] [n.d., detail]
FROM THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS:
 Drawings (Documentary) (search on “Civil
War drawings women”)
 Civil War Sheet Music Collection (search on
“women”)
 Abraham Lincoln Papers (search on “women”)
 Civil War Treasures from the New-York Historical Society (search on “women”)
 Primary Source Investigation—Civil War—
Harriet Beecher Stowe
 Women in the Civil War: Ladies, Contraband
and Spies (lesson plan)
 Meet Amazing Americans: Harriet Tubman
ALSO SEE:
 Shades of Gray and Blue: Reflections on Life in
Civil War Tennessee (search on “women”)
 Civil War and Reconstruction: Women’s Lives
(Tn4me from the Tennessee State Museum)
 Help is on the Way: Civil War Women and
Relief Work (lesson plan from TPS-MTSU)
 Occupied Home Front; Witnesses to Battle:
Part I and Part II (lesson ideas from the Tennessee Civil War National Heritage Area)
Within the Confederacy, many women’s worlds
turned upside down. Some families struggled to
get enough to eat after soldiers took what they
needed from farms. Enslaved women sought their
freedom behind Union lines and created new lives
for themselves. Many white women became refugees, fleeing the fighting or Union occupation.
SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHERS
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Review these sources (or a selection) with students and create a list of all the women’s roles
that are portrayed. Which roles are the most
prevalent among the sources? The least?
Ask students to identify the source that surprised them the most and explain why.
Among the famous women portrayed, whom
do students know the most about? Whom
would they like to know more about?
Assign students a textual source and a visual
source; ask them to explain which one taught
them more about Civil War women.
1
[Private Edward A.
Cary of Company
I, 44th Virginia
Infantry Regiment,
in uniform and his
sister, Emma J.
Garland née Cary]
[between 1861 and
1862]
Harriet Beecher Stowe, 18111896 [ca. 1880]
An appeal for
peace. Sent to
Lieut. Gen.
Scott. [July
4,1861]
John H. Morgan & wife, C.S.A.
[between 1860 and 1870]
[Unidentified soldier in Union uniform with wife and
daughters holding saxhorn] [between 1861 and 1865]
2
Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman and staff with their
families at Robert E. Lee’s home, Arlington
House, Virginia [1861]
[Harriet Tubman, full-length
portrait, standing with hands on
back of a chair] [between ca.
1860 and 1875]
The Woman
in Battle
[1876]
Antonia Ford
Willard (1838
-1871), Lace
cap, ca. 1863
Greenhow, Mrs. & Daughter
(imprisoned in old Capitol Prison in
Wash. D.C.) Confederate spy
[between 1865 and 1880]
3
Clara Barton,
Carte-devisite album,
Tintype, ca.
1862
[Fredericksburg, Va. Nurses and
officers of the U.S. Sanitary Commission] [1864 May [20]]
[Cedar Mountain, Va. Family group
before the house in which Gen.
Charles S. Winder (C.S.A.) died].
[1862 August]
The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft,
1861-1865. Volume 3, January 1,
1864-May 30,
1865.
May 24, 1865
[description of
Clara Barton].
[Transcription;
see final paragraph]
TEXTS:
 He has gone, and I have sent him [sheet music] [1863]
 Helen M. Linscott to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, November 14, 1864 (Seeks office) [1864]
(transcription)
 J. Andrews Harris to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, January 23, 1865 (Poor treatment of women employed by military contractors) [1865] (transcription)
 Extracts from documents in the office of the General Superintendent of Refugees and Freedmen:
headquarters, Memphis, Tennessee, March 1865 [1865] (See pp. 11-24 by Mrs. Canfield)
 Women of the war; their heroism and self-sacrifice. By Frank Moore. [1866]
 Woman’s work in the civil war: a record of heroism, patriotism and patience. By L.P. Brockett and
Mrs. Mary C. Vaughn. With an introduction, by Henry W. Bellows. [1867]
 Dixie after the War [1906]
4
Print # 11, Making clothes for the boys in the
army [Etching] [1863, detail]
Pray, maiden, pray! [sheet music] [1864]
A floral and fruit festival will be held
at the Roxborough Lyceum Hall by the
Roxborough Ladies' Aid Society!
[Poster] [Sept. 23, 1863]
[Sojourner Truth, three-quarter length
portrait, standing, wearing spectacles,
shawl, and peaked cap, right hand resting
on cane] [Detroit], [1864]
5
East Tennessee
Citizens to Abraham Lincoln,
July 1863
(Petition regarding affairs in East
Tennessee) [July
1863]
[Transcription]
James Hopkinson’s Plantation. [Image] [ca.
1862-1863]
[Woman at
the helm of a
boat]
[between
1860 and
1865]
[Cumberland Landing, Va. Group of
“contrabands” at Foller’s house] [1862 May 14]
My only support.
[Pictorial envelope] [n.d., detail]
6
[Freedmen’s school?, possibly in South Carolina] /
Sam A. Cooley, photographer, Tenth Army Corps,
Beaufort, S.C. [between 1865 and 1870]
Lizzie B. Bruce to Abraham Lincoln, Sunday,
January 29, 1865 (Requests pass; endorsed by
Francis P. Blair Sr.) [January 29, 1865]
[Transcription]
Glimpses at the Freedmen – Ther Freedmen’s Union
Industrial School, Richmond, Va. / from a sketch by
Jas E. Taylor. [1866]
7
[Unidentified girl in mourning dress holding framed photograph of her father as a
cavalryman with sword and Hardee hat]
[between 1861 and 1870]
CITATIONS: Women in the Civil War
Teachers: Providing these primary source replicas without source clues may enhance the inquiry experience for students. This list of
citations is supplied for reference purposes to you and your students. We have followed the Chicago Manual of Style format, one of
the formats recommended by the Library of Congress, for each entry below, minus the access date. The access date for each of these
entries is 11/9/12.
“Home guard. [Pictorial envelope].” Pictorial envelope. Joseph R. Hawley. From New-York Historical
Society, Graphic Arts File-Civil War Envelopes. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/
cwnyhs:@field(DOCID+@lit(aj88001))
“Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1811-1896.” Photograph. [Ca. 1880]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004672776/
“[Private Edward A. Cary of Company I, 44th Virginia Infantry Regiment, in uniform and his sister, Emma
J. Garland nee Cary].” Photograph. Charles R. Rees, [between 1861 and 1862]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2012645976/
“An appeal for peace. Sent to Lieut. Gen. Scott.” Broadside. The Women of Maryland, July 4, 1861.
From Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
query/r?ammem/scsmbib:@field(DOCID+@lit(scsm000227))
“John H. Morgan & wife, C.S.A.” Photograph. [Between 1860 and 1870]. From Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/cwp2003004433/PP/
“[Unidentified soldier in Union uniform with wife and daughters holding saxhorn].” Photograph. [Between
1861 and 1865]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/
pictures/collection/lilj/item/2011661674/
Lindsley, H.B. “[Harriet Tubman, full-length portrait, standing with hands on back of a chair].” Photograph. Between ca. 1860 and 1875. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2003674596/
“Gen. Samuel P. Heintzelman and staff with their families at Robert E. Lee’s home, Arlington House, Virginia.” Photograph. [1861]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/96508005/
“Woman in Battle.” Broadside. 1876. From Duke University, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections
Library. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/eaa:@field(DOCID+@lit(eaa000033))
“Greenhow, Mrs. & Daughter (imprisoned in old Capitol Prison in Wash. D.C.) Confederate spy.” Photograph. [Between 1865 and 1880]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://
www.loc.gov/pictures/item/brh2003002195/PP/
“Antoinia Ford Willard (1838-1871), Lace cap, ca. 1863.” Lace cap. Ca. 1863. From Library of Congress,
American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Memory. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm160.html
“[Fredericksburg, Va. Nurses and officers of the U.S. Sanitary Commission].” Photograph. James B. Gardner, 1864 May [20]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://memory.loc.gov/
cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cwar:@field(NUMBER+@band(cwp+4a39585))
“Clara Barton, Carte-de-visite album, Tintype, Ca., 1862.” Photograph. Ca. 1862. From Library of Congress, American Treasures of the Library of Congress: Memory. http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/
trm072.html
8
“The Diary of Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865. Volume 3, January 1, 1864-May 30, 1865. May 25,
1865.” Diary entry. May 25, 1865. From Library of Congress, Washington During the Civil War: The Diary of
Horatio Nelson Taft, 1861-1865. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?
collId=mtaft&fileName=mtaft3/mtaftmtaft3.db&recNum=122
“[Cedar Mountain, Va. Family group before the house in which Gen. Charles S. Winder (C.S.A.) died].”
Photograph. Timothy H. O’Sullivan, 1862 August. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cwar:@field(NUMBER+@band
(cwp+4a39506))
Rive, C., composer. He has gone, and I have sent him. Sheet music. Cincinnati: John Church, Jr., 1863.
From Library of Congress, Performing Arts Encyclopedia. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/
loc.natlib.ihas.200001292/default.html
Linscott, Helen M., to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, November 14, 1864 (Seeks office) (transcription).
From Library of Congress, The Abraham Lincoln Papers. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?
ammem/mal:@field(DOCID+@lit(d3829600))
Harris, J. Andrews, to Abraham Lincoln, Monday, January 23, 1865 (Poor treatment of women employed by military contractors) (transcription). From Library of Congress, The Abraham Lincoln Papers.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mal:@field(DOCID+@lit(d4017900))
Extracts from Documents in the Office of the General Superintendent of Refugees and Freedmen: Headquarters, Memphis, Tennessee, March, 1865. Memphis, Tenn.: Freedmen Press Print., 1865 From Library of Congress,
African American Pamphlet Collection. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/rbaapcbib:@field
(NUMBER+@band(rbaapc+31500))
Moore, Frank. Women of the War; Their Heroism and Self-sacrifice. Hartford, Conn.: S.S. Scranton & Co.;
Chicago: R.C. Treat [etc., etc.], 1866. From Library of Congress, The Nineteenth Century in Print: Books.
http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/ncpm:@field(DOCID+@lit(ULA17059228))
Brockett, L.P., and Mrs. Mary C. Vaughan. Woman’s Work in the Civil War: A Record of Heroism, Patriotism
and Patience. Philadelphia: Zeigler, McCurdy & Co.; Boston [etc.]: R.H. Curran, 1867. From Library of
Congress, The Nineteenth Century in Print: Books. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/
ncpm:@field(DOCID+@lit(ULA17059228))
Avary, Myrta (Lockett). Dixie After the War. Book. New York: Doubleday, Page & company, 1906. From
Library of Congress. http://lccn.loc.gov/06029042.
“Pray, maiden, pray! [sheet music].” Sheet music. A.J. Turner, 1864. From Library of Congress, Performing Arts Encyclopedia. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/diglib/ihas/loc.natlib.ihas.200002612/default.html
“Print # 11, Making clothes for the boys in the army [Etching].” Etching. Adalbert John Volck, 1863.
From New-York Historical Society, Confederate War Etchings. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?
ammem/cwnyhs:@field(DOCID+@lit(ab01013))
“[Sojourner Truth, three-quarter length portrait, standing, wearing spectacles, shawl, and peaked cap,
right hand resting on cane].” Photograph. [1864]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.
http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/97513239/
9
“A floral and fruit festival will be held at the Roxborough Lyceum Hall by the Roxborough Ladies’ Aid
Society! [Poster].” Poster. King & Baird, Sept. 23, 1863. From New-York Historical Society, Civil War
Posters Collection. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cwnyhs:@field(DOCID+@lit
(ac03249))
“James Hopkinson’s Plantation. [Image].” Photograph. Henry P. Moore, ca. 1862-1863. From New-York
Historical Society, War of the Rebellion, Edisto Album. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/
cwnyhs:@field(DOCID+@lit(aa02036))
“East Tennessee Citizens to Abraham Lincoln, July 1863 (Petition regarding affairs in East Tennessee).”
Letter. 1863. From Library of Congress, The Abraham Lincoln Papers. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/
ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/252/2522700/malpage.db&recNum=0
“[Cumberland Landing, Va. Group of “contrabands” at Foller’s house].” Photograph. James F. Gibson,
1862 May 14. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/
item/cwp2003000055/PP/
“[Woman at the helm of a boat].” Drawing. Alfred R. Waud, [between 1860 and 1865]. From Library of
Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2004660962/
“My only support. [Pictorial envelope].” Pictorial envelope. From the New-York Historical Society,
Graphic Arts File-Civil War Envelopes. http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/cwnyhs:@field
(DOCID+@lit(aj88005))
“Lizzie B. Bruce to Abraham Lincoln, Sunday, January 29, 1865 (Requests pass; endorsed by Francis P.
Blair Sr.).” Jan. 29, 1865. From Library of Congress, The Abraham Lincoln Papers. http://memory.loc.gov/
cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mal&fileName=mal1/403/4032900/malpage.db&recNum=0
“[Freedmen’s school?, possibly in South Carolina] / Sam A. Cooley, photographer, Tenth Army Corps,
Beaufort, S.C.” Photograph. Samuel A. Cooley, [between 1865 and 1870]. From Library of Congress,
Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/gld/item/2010647795/
“Glimpses at the Freedmen – The Freedmen’s Union Industrial School, Richmond, Va. / from a sketch by
Jas E. Taylor.” Print: wood engraving. James E. Taylor, 1866. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/98501491/
“[Unidentified girl in mourning dress holding framed photograph of her father as a cavalryman with sward
and Hardee hat].” Photograph. [Between 1861 and 1870]. From Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. http://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2010648759/
10