The Angels Of The Battlefield

The Angels of the Battlefield
Cristina Giraldo Marin

“Five hundred miles from home, alone among strangers, doing painful duties all day long, and leading a life of constant excitement….”
-Louisa May Alcott (Chang 33)

Many people say that the Civil War was a men’s war. They are wrong. They are showing an uncompletedpicture. About three thousand women served as nurses, many as spies and some even disguised as soldiers. This was not only a man’s war! Women fought equally as hard as men did. Becoming a nurse was a way women could serve in the war. Many took the chance, to finally do something and became nurses. Nurses were also called the angels of the battlefield. Imagine not having the nurses be a part of theCivil War picture. If they had not been there then, they would also have to paint in more deaths. Without nurses, many soldier’s lives would have not been saved. Through their training and work and despite the many obstacles, many women made a huge difference by becoming nurses. If the “angels” weren’t there, the war’s outcome might have been very different.

There were different kinds of womenat that time period. There were women who were strong and wanted to fight against the image of the “perfect” woman. They were fighting against this image of women. That they have to stay home, cook and clean, take care of the family, and not work hard since they are to “fragile.”Many women hated this idea about women and wanted to change it. Then there were women like Sophie Hammer, who believedshe had to be a lady, clean and pretty. Here is Sophie’s reaction when Anna Etheridge told her she was enlisting with the volunteers to become a nurse. Sophie grew pale and covered her mouth with both hands. “Annie, you can’t mean that. You can’t! You could be killed. We’re ladies. Ladies don’t do laundry, not even for the army. ” (Francis Shura 46) Annie’s parents had already died and she wasstaying with family friends. Sophie was her best friend. Sophie Hammer was devastated when she was told Annie was leaving for the army. Not only was she afraid that Annie could die but she also says, “We’re ladies.” She believed that men are suppose to do all the work, and women, ladies are suppose to stay home. Sophie is telling Annie that she’s a lady and cannot go and get her hands dirty. She hasto be proper and elegant. Which is not what Annie wanted to do. She believed differently than Sophie and wanted to be a nurse, to serve during the Civil War. Many other women, wanting to serve as nurses probably also endured the same thing as Annie. Some women had to fight hard to try and become nurses. But it was something they thought was worth fighting for as Annie Etheridge says to Sophie“And I will never forgive you if you stood in my way” (Francis Shura 46).

But the will of wanting to be a nurse was not all women needed to become Civil War nurses. There were also restrictions. Dorothea Dix, also known as “Dragon Dix,” was the Union’s superintendent of female nurses. She made the rules. To become a nurse, you had to be at least thirty years old and plain in appearance. Plain inappearance meant no hoop skirts, no jewelry, and no popular fashion. This was coming from a fifty-nine year old woman who dressed in only brown or black. It may sound like a bit too much, but it really is not. Imagine wearing one of those big hoops skirts, it would just get in the way of trying to rescue wounded soldiers. Having the popular fashion of the time, many women might have gotten mad whenit got stained with blood. What Dorothea meant by all this “plain in appearance,” is that nursing was no fun and games, nursing was serious work. Dragon Dix could not afford having women who wanted to join the army, in search of romance. Which explains why she would reject very able women simply because they looked to stylish (Chang 36). Despite these restrictions, many women made choices to...