Women at the Front: Hospital Workers in Civil War America [Paperback]

Jane E. Schultz (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807858196 | ISBN-13: 978-0807858196 | Publication Date: February 26, 2007

Schultz provides a complete history of female relief workers in the Civil War era--around 20,000 women of diverse regional, race, and class backgrounds who worked as nurses, cooks, and laundresses in Union and Confederate hospitals.

Editorial Reviews

From The New England Journal of Medicine

Jane Schultz has written a well-researched book that tells a compelling story. First-person accounts interspersed throughout the book lend immediacy to the war that took place nearly 150 years ago. The author transports the reader through time so effectively that the sights and smells of Civil War hospitals become real. On the basis of this book's depiction of women's fight to serve patients despite the hostility of Civil War-era surgeons, it seems clear that the problems of contemporary nurses have a long history. Throughout history, female nurses have dealt with being invisible, discounted, and devalued. During the Civil War, when nursing was viewed as domestic work, nurses did not seem threatening, which eased their entrance into the "military medical arena." Paradoxically, this move hampered their autonomy and virtually eliminated any claim to authority they might have desired. Whether black or white, Southern or Northern, nurse or laundress, the women who toiled in hospitals -- there were 20,000 of them -- had to deal with the hubris and not-uncommon state of intoxication of surgeons, the contempt of generals, and the challenge of working with others from different backgrounds. This was on top of dealing with the filth, lack of supplies (including food), mosquitoes, bad weather, floods, driving accidents, and, for most, lack of any formal nursing education. Social norms during the Civil War era were not kind to women who exposed themselves to the horrors of war by working in hospitals. Southern women, especially, were criticized for jeopardizing their reputations. However, women did the challenging work for many reasons. Some were left with no means of support when their husbands went to war, so they worked for undependable wages. Women of higher social classes felt that it was demeaning to accept pay for their work, so many worked as volunteers. After the war, soldiers and the widows, fathers, and brothers of fallen soldiers were included in pension legislation. The Army Nurses Pension Act of 1892 broke with tradition in that it supported the independence of women by authorizing pensions to women who earned them. Even so, it was difficult for many nurses to prove their service during the war. Many did not have the means to hire a lawyer to plead their cases, whereas others were illiterate or ignorant of the law. Widows of dead soldiers had a much easier time collecting pensions than did nurses who served. Black women had the hardest time proving their service. White nurses often used their supervision of black workers to buttress their claims, but the white nurses were much less likely to assist black nurses in claiming their pensions. Much has been written about the Civil War, but this book is unique in that it scrutinizes the war through the "lens of gender." Schultz's treatment of the subject of women who worked in the hospitals of the Civil War is neither sentimental nor lacking in appreciation of their heroism. Loretta P. Higgins, R.N., Ed.D.
Copyright © 2005 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved. The New England Journal of Medicine is a registered trademark of the MMS. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"[Schultz] alone has assiduously mined a treasure trove of . . . information. . . . [This] superlative book is invaluable and should be read and considered by everyone interested in the Civil War."
— Historian

"This absorbing book recovers a largely unknown history of the twenty thousand women who served Confederate and Union hospitals during the Civil War. . . . [A] compelling . . . account that is both empathic and unsentimental toward [the] subjects. The result is a nuanced and thoughtful interpretation of women at the front."
— Journal of Southern History

"[A] thorough, insightful, and carefully written history. . . . Engrossing and enlightening."
— American Historical Review

"[An] absorbing and meticulously researched history, and a useful introduction to Civil War histories written in the early postwar period."
— Metascience

"Schultz has enriched the historiography on women's war experiences in general and on the formative role of gender . . . in this particular war."
— Military History of the West

Jane Schultz has written a well-researched book that tells a compelling story.

New England Journal of Medicine

An example of the best aspects of modern Civil War scholarship.

Civil War Times

Breaks new ground. . . . Highly recommended.

Choice

Schultz gives us the most complete picture that we have of the women who broke with convention to become military relief workers.

Journal of Illinois History

Women at the Front is a significant achievement.

Darlene Clark Hine, author of Black Women in White: Racial Conflict and Cooperation in the Nursing Profession, 1890-1950

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press (February 26, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807858196
• ISBN-13: 978-0807858196
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.8 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #720,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Definitive Research Study, July 9, 2009

By 

Linda L. Estupinan "civil war nut" (Mifflinburg, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women at the Front: Hospital Workers in Civil War America (Paperback)

What a book! Dr Schultz has spent much time and effort and the resulting book is wonderful. The resources quoted and listed contain a wealth of information and her new perspective is thought-provoking even if you don't agree! Great resource for the true researcher. Wish I had written this one. Linda Estupinan Snook

2 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Women at the Front, August 14, 2006

By 

Jennifer K. Thompson "graduate student" (Indianapolis, IN) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Women at the Front: Hospital Workers in Civil War America (Hardcover)

Book adequately covers the life of Civil War nurses, problems they faced while nurses and the fight for pensions after the war.
Very interesting book.