During the Civil War, men and women in the North and South contributed their best to help their divided country. Most of the men were involved in fighting battles. Women remained at home and took on various new jobs. Both men and women of the North and South agreed on one thing. They had to help their divided country.

The population of the North was 22 million, and a good part of that 22 million was men. The North would need men to fight the war to keep the country united. Since the population of the North was more than double the population of the South, not all men were needed in the war.

While the men were fighting, the Northern women remained at home. The women maintained their regular lifestyle (cooking, cleaning, mending, schooling, socializing, and raising the children). Except, now when they had free time they chose to make uniforms and bandages and send food baskets to their soldiers. While the men were at war, few women were needed to replace their husbands at work in the North because of the large population.

Things started to change after the first battle in Richmond, Virginia (1861). During this attack, l,600 Northern men were wounded. Any person willing to help the wounded was accepted by the hospitals and the doctors. The doctors were few. They worked long, hard, hours until they passed out. After that attack, all Northern men were called to war. Young, single, or widowed women were allowed to work because they had no husband or children to care for. Mothers were to stay at home to care for their children. They also had to maintain the household. Most women worked at textile companies (making clothes), munitions plants (making weapons), hospitals, post offices, or as clerks for the U.S. Treasury. Women’s wages were low and barely enough to buy clothes and food. The little income these Northern women made did not matter. What mattered was helping in the war.

The women of the North were experiencing some harder times, but they still found time to raise money for the war. Fundraisers included raffles, bake sales, and fairs. These fundraisers were for medical supplies, food, ammunition, clothes, and shelter. Many fundraisers brought live cattle, pigs, chickens, and large sums of money! These fundraisers were very helpful to the war.                                                    

Women had an even harder time in hospitals. In the beginning of the war, women were not supposed to be nurses. They were not able to assist with operations. Some fainted with the sight or smell of blood. Also women would have to see men undressed to tend to their wounds. The few doctors of the North had a very difficult time during the war. There were only two ambulances in all of the North and medical supplies were limited. Although women were not supposed to help, some doctors began to let them because they were desperately needed. This allowed more women to become involved in the war. How? Florence Nightingale, a British nurse, gave doctors a thought to let women help. During the Civil War, 3,000 women became nurses. They wanted to help their country. Women from the North could become a nurse by joining a regiment.

Another important woman of the North was Clara Barton. She was a nurse who did not care whether a person was black, white, man, or woman. She just wanted to help. She worked in a hospital that accepted both Northerners and Southerners. Since the country was in a state of "disunion" (the country was separated in two), Clara Barton became important to the war because she did not segregate the wounded or dying. It would be some time before the North and South would accept each other and this way of thinking (equality).

While the war continued, food was in demand for the soldiers. The North created the "Homestead Act." This act would provide food for soldiers and jobs for slaves who had escaped or were free. The act allowed 160 acres of land to be given free to anyone who would live and farm it. These new farms were run by free slaves who provided the North with more food. The food was then used for soldiers at the war front.

Before the war, the Southern way of life was simple. Southerners were farmers who depended on their major crop, King Cotton. There was no use for industries. Factories and businesses had little impact on the South. Cotton and other products were sent to the North for manufacturing. Southerners only bought what they needed.

When the war started, things changed in the South. This was because most of the major battles occurred in the South, making a dramatic change for Southerners. The population of the South was 9 million, including 3.5 million slaves. Almost all slaves and slave owners (l million) went to war. Women were needed everywhere. Most jobs were in small industries and farming. In addition, a few women of the South chose to become spies. Women worked in the textile mills and munitions factories. These women soon would lose their jobs because Union soldiers burned factories, farms, and buildings during the war. Also women became afraid to go to work because of the common explosions in the munitions factories. Women were having a very hard time supporting themselves and their families. Some women looked to the government for help. Others asked their husbands to stay home, plant crops, and go hunting.                                                           

With the shortage of food and clothing, women had to improvise. Old sheets and curtains were used for clothing. Coffee was not available. They made teas out of roots, herbs, and barks. When meat became scarce, they ate fish, peanuts, and other items for protein. The women of the South worked in the hospitals like the women of the North. However, the women of the South took wounded soldiers into their homes even though they had little to offer them.

Near the end of the war, Southern women were ready to give up. They were tired, starving, ill, and sick of the blood and death. They wanted peace even if it meant to surrender. Women wrote to the government pleading to surrender or at least plant crops, as the food supply was extremely low. Still the Confederate government did not listen. The women did not need to wait too long for soon the war would come to an end.

The Civil War separated the North and the South. While the men of the North and South were fighting, the women on both home fronts were also fighting. These women fought to survive. They took on jobs never before done by women (nursing, working in munition factories, etc.). Also these jobs helped their men at war (making ammunition, raising funds, and food). Although the war divided the country, it did not stop the North and South from helping their country.

Borrit, Gabor S. "Home Front." World Book Encyclopedia, 200l.

Flato, Clark. "The Home Front." The Golden Book of The Civil War. New York: Golden Press, l974.

Sandler, Martin W. "Civil War." The Civil War Book. New York: Eagle Productions, l996.