Wisconsin Women in the War between the States

By Ethel Alice Hurn

Reviewed by Jim Gallen

“Wisconsin Women in the War between the States” a facsimile of a 1911 edition by Ethel Alice Hurn published by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press.   It has the advantage of having been written when the War was still within living memory, but after time for reflection had elapsed.  War History Network members appreciate that interpretations of the War have evolved over time.  The record of the 1911 perspective on the War makes this work history itself.  Focusing on Wisconsin women, it relates the stories of the home front and brings to the readers’ minds aspects of the War overlooked in other volumes.

This book is organized by chapters devoted to movements by the girls left behind.  It begins with the departure of the regiments during which the mothers, sisters and sweethearts, encouraged, teased and feted their men folk, all while trying to conceal their own fears.  “I would almost despise my husband and would think him a sneak, if he hadn’t gone” but “God bless and protect you, my husband.”

Women played major roles in Soldiers’ Aid Societies, that supplemented government issues with items such as extra socks, warmer blankets, bandages and mittens with thumbs and index fingers.  Well supplied Wisconsin regiments often shared food shipments with fighters from other states.

This book highlights the ordeals of the women who maintained the farms and the businesses, raise the families and keep the economy on which the Army depended going.  I have often read of units mutinying because their pay was delayed and I generally thought “so much for patriotism”, but this tome puts that in a different light.  It points out that the soldiers were relying on their pay to send back to their families.  Those who enlisted for a limited time may have received letters telling of the hardships that only their return could alleviate.  Chapter V is devoted to the crucial role letters played in maintaining connections between the warriors and those they fought to defend.  An interesting comment is that the letters from home often told more of the overall war than the letters from the battle lines. 

Although the focus of this volume is on the ladies, the men with whom they cooperated are not overlooked.  The tragic death of Governor Louis Harvey shows that suffering was not limited to men in uniform and their families.  During an inspection tour in the spring of 1862, Governor Harvey visited Wisconsin troops at Cairo, Mound City and Paducah.  “At Savannah, Tennessee, as he was about to pass from one boat to another, his foot slipped and he fell into the water and was drowned, before help could be secured.” 

One particular concern of the ladies was care for the wounded.  Many Wisconsin women directed their attention to the field hospitals, and their preeminent figure was Mrs. Cordelia Harvey, widow of Governor Harvey.   She took his mission to improve medical care for the wounded warriors right to President Lincoln whom she convinced to overrule his prior decision and set up hospitals where the wounded could recover in the cool, healthy Northern air.  As I read this I was reminded that after my remote uncle was wounded south of Chattanooga he was sent to a hospital in Indiana to recuperate.

Being over a century old, the writing style is different than that found in more modern works, but sometimes what is said and the how it is phrased opens our minds to new ways of envisioning the War.  Consider the title.  Current practice is to refer to the Civil War, except for Southern sympathizers who prefer the “War Between The States” to emphasize that two nation states, United and Confederate, that fought each other.  When the War was still a life experience for some, a Northern Woman referred to the “War between the States.”  We often read of the initial enthusiasm for what was expected to be a quick war, but consider an April 22, 1861 quote from Governor Randall to the Patriotic Women of Wisconsin warning of “the long war likely to follow”.  Perhaps some foresaw.  Savor Mrs. Harvey’s description of her meetings with Lincoln.  Picture in your mind’s eye his objections and resentments, his facial expressions and, finally, his acquiescence to her ardent and logically supported request.  This can only be obtained through the testimony of an eyewitness.  Look elsewhere for tales of martial glory but delve into “Wisconsin Women in the War Between the States” to appreciate the roles these heroines, some famous but most unknown, played in our great national tragedy. 

Wisconsin Women in the War between the States by Ethel Alice Hurn, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, Madison, Wisconsin, 2013, Originally published by State Historical Society of Wisconsin, 1913,  ISBN 978-0-87020-611-5

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