The lessons of the war were not lost on the women of this nation; through varied forms of suffering and humiliation, they learned that they had an equal interest with man in the administration of the Government, enjoying or suffering alike its blessings or its miseries.
When in the enfranchis.e.m.e.nt of the black man they saw another ignorant cla.s.s of voters placed above their heads, and with anointed eyes beheld the danger of a distinctively "male" government, forever involving the nations of the earth in war and violence; a lesson taught on every page of history, alike in every century of human experience; and demanded for the protection of themselves and children, that woman"s voice should be heard, and her opinions in public affairs be expressed by the ballot, they were coolly told that the black man had earned the right to vote, that he had fought and bled and died for his country!
Did the negro"s rough services in camp and battle outweigh the humanitarian labors of woman in all departments of government? Did his loyalty in the army count for more than her educational work in teaching the people sound principles of government? Can it be that statesmen in the nineteenth century believe that they who sacrifice human lives in b.l.o.o.d.y wars do more for the sum of human happiness and development than they who try to save the mult.i.tude and teach them how to live? But if on the battle-field woman must prove her right to justice and equality, history abundantly sets forth her claims; the records of her brave deeds mark every page of fact and fiction, of poetry and prose.
In all the great battles of the past woman as warrior in disguise has verified her right to fight and die for her country by the side of man. In camp and hospital as surgeon, physician, nurse, ministering to the sick and dying, she has shown equal skill and capacity with him.
There is no position woman has not filled, no danger she has not encountered, no emergency in all life"s tangled trials and temptations she has not shared with man, and with him conquered. If moral power has any value in the balance with physical force, surely the women of this republic, by their self-sacrifice and patriotism, their courage "mid danger, their endurance "mid suffering, have rightly earned a voice in the laws they are compelled to obey, in the Government they are taxed to support; some personal consideration as citizens as well as the black man in the "Union blue."
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Before one man was slain the lint and bandages were so piled up in Washington, that the hospital surgeons in self-defence cried out, enough!
[2] Feb. 24, 1862.
[3] In a conversation with Miss Carroll, in February, 1876, Mr. Wade said: "I have sometimes reproached myself that I had not made known the author when they were discussing the resolution in Congress to find out, _but Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Stanton were_ opposed to its being known that the armies were moving under the plan of a civilian, directed by the President as Commander-in-Chief. Mr. Lincoln said it was that which made him hesitate to inaugurate the movement against the opinion of the military commanders, and he did not wish to risk the effect it might have upon the armies if they found out some outside party had originated the campaign; that he wanted the armies to believe they were doing the whole business of saving the country."
[4] See Appendix.
[5] The ninth, known to the world as the battle of Orleans, fought in 1439, which brought the hundred years" war between France and England to an end, securing the independent existence of France, possessed for its organizer and leader, Joan of Arc, then but eighteen, at which time she acquired her cognomen, "Maid of Orleans."
[6] It has been well said: "That a.s.sumption of man that as feud is the origin of all laws; that as woman does not fight she shall not vote, that her rights are to be forever held in abeyance to his wishes, was forever silenced by the military genius of Anna Ella Carroll in planning this brilliant campaign. Proving, too, that as right is of no s.e.x, so genius is of no s.e.x."
[7] Hon. L. D. Evans said: "Nothing is more certain than that the rebel power was able to resist all the forces of the Union, and keep her armies from striking their resources and interior lines of communication, upon any of the plans or lines of operation on which the Union arms were operating. Geographically considered, there was but one line which the National armies could take and maintain, and that was _unthought_ of and _unknown_, and could not have been found out, in all human probability, in time to have prevented a collapse, or warded off recognition and intervention, but for Miss Carroll. The failure to reduce Vicksburg from the water, after a tremendous sacrifice of life and treasure, and the time it took to take Richmond, furnish irrefragable proof of the inability of the Union to subdue the rebellion on the plan of our ablest generals.... England and France had resolved that duty to their suffering operatives required the raising of the blockade for the supply of cotton, and nothing prevented that intervention but the progress of the National arms up the Tennessee.... This campaign must, therefore, take rank with those few remarkable strategic movements in the world"s history, which have decided the fate of empires and nations."
[8] See Appendix.
[9] But as early as she was thus engaged, one woman had already preceded her. When the first blood of the war was shed by the attack upon the Ma.s.sachusetts troops pa.s.sing through Baltimore that memorable April 19, 1861, but one person in the whole city was found to offer them shelter and aid. Ann Manley, a woman belonging to what is called the outcast cla.s.s, with a pity as divine as that of the woman who anointed the feet of our Lord and wiped them with the hair of her head--took the disabled soldiers into her own house, and at the hazard of her life, bound up their wounds. In making up His jewels at the last great day, will not the Lord say of her as of one of old, "She has loved much, and much is forgiven her?"
[10] There was no penalty for disobedience, and persons disaffected, forgetful, or idle, might refuse or neglect to obey with impunity. It indeed seems most wonderful--almost miraculous--that under such circ.u.mstances, such a vast amount of good was done. Had she not accomplished half so much, she still would richly have deserved that highest of plaudits, "Well done, good and faithful servant!"--_Woman"s Work in the Civil War._
[11] When the Spanish minister, Senor Don Francis...o...b..rca, was presented to the President, he spoke of America as the "splendid and fortunate land dreamed of, for the service of G.o.d and of human progress, by the greatest of all Spanish women, before others conceived of it."
[12] On a pair of socks sent to the Central a.s.sociation of Relief, was pinned a paper, saying: "These socks were knit by a little girl five years old, and she is going to knit some more, for mother said it would help some poor soldier."
[13] The Christian Commission, an organization of later date, never succeeded in so fully gaining the affection of the soldiers, who, in tent or hospital, hailed the approach of medicine or delicacy, with an affectionate "How are you, Sanitary?"
[14] Organized seven years previously by Dr. Blackwell as an inst.i.tution where women might be treated by their own s.e.x, and for co-ordinate purposes, and out of which the New York Medical College for Women finally grew.
[15] Women in many other parts of the country were active at as early a date as those of New York. A Soldiers" Aid Society was formed in Cleveland, Ohio, April 20, 1861, five days after the President"s proclamation calling for troops. This a.s.sociation, with a slight change in organization, remained in existence a long time after the close of the war, actively employed in securing pensions and back pay to crippled and disabled soldiers. At two points in Ma.s.sachusetts, meetings to form aid societies were called immediately upon the departure of the Sixth Militia of that State for Washington.
[16] Women as loyal as these were to be found in the South, where an expression of love for the Union was held as a death offence. Among the affecting incidents of the war, was that of a woman who, standing upon the Pedee River bank, waved her handkerchief for joy at seeing her country"s flag upon a boat pa.s.sing up the stream, and who for this exhibition of patriotism was shot dead by rebels on the sh.o.r.e. During the bread riots in Mobile a woman was shot. As she was dying she took a small National flag from her bosom, where she had kept it hidden, wrapped it outside a cross, kissed it, and fell forward dead.
"Indeed, we may safely say that there is scarcely a loyal woman in the North who did not do something in aid of the cause--who did not contribute time, labor, and money, to the comfort of our soldiers and the success of our arms. The story of the war will never be fully or fairly written if the achievements of woman in it are left untold.
They do not figure in the official reports; they are not gazetted for deeds as gallant as ever were done; the names of thousands are unknown beyond the neighborhood where they live, or the hospitals where they loved to labor; yet there is no feature in our war more creditable to us as a nation, none from its positive newness so well worthy of record."--_Women of the War._
[17] The distinctive features in woman"s work in that war, were magnitude, system, thorough co-operation with the other s.e.x, distinctness of purpose, business-like thoroughness in details, st.u.r.dy persistency to the close. There was no more general rising among the men than among the women, and for every a.s.sembly where men met for mutual exertion in the service of the country, there was some corresponding gathering of women to stir each other"s hearts and fingers in the same sacred cause.... And of the two, the women were clearer and more united than the men, because their moral feelings and political instincts were not so much affected by selfishness, or business, or party considerations.... It is impossible to over-estimate the amount of consecrated work done by the loyal women of the North for the army. Hundreds of thousands of women probably gave all the leisure they could command, and all the money they could save and spare, to the soldiers for the whole four years and more of the war.... No words are adequate to describe the systematic, persistent faithfulness of the women who organized and led the Branches of the United States Sanitary Commission. Their voluntary labor had all the regularity of paid service, and a heartiness and earnestness which no paid service can ever have.... Men were ashamed to doubt where women trusted, or to murmur where they submitted, or to do little where they did so much.--_Woman"s Work in the Civil War_.
L. P. BRACKETT.
[18] Julia Ward Howe. See Appendix.
[19] See Appendix.
[20] During all periods of the war instances occurred of women being found in the ranks fighting as common soldiers, their s.e.x remaining unsuspected.--_Women of the War._
[21] After the close of the war a bill was pa.s.sed by Congress authorizing the payment of salary due Mrs. Ella F. Hobart, for services as chaplain in the Union army. Mrs. Hobart was chaplain in the First Wisconsin Volunteer Artillery. The Governor of Wisconsin declined to commission her until the War Department should consent to recognize the validity of the commission. This Secretary Stanton refused to do on account of her s.e.x, though her application was endorsed by President Lincoln, though not by the Government. Mrs.
Hobart continued in her position as religious counselor, Congress at last making payment for her services.
[22] There are many and interesting records of women who served in Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, New York, and Pennsylvania Regiments, in the armies of the Potomac, the c.u.mberland, the Tennessee, with the Indian Rangers, in cavalry, artillery, on foot. A woman was one of the eighteen soldiers sent as a scout at Lookout Mountain--whose capture was deemed impossible--to ascertain the position of General Bragg"s forces; and a woman performed one of the most daring naval exploits of the war. It was a woman of Brooklyn, N. Y., who, inspired with the idea that she was to be the country"s savior, joined the army in spite of parental opposition, and, during the b.l.o.o.d.y battle of Lookout Mountain, fell pierced in the side, a mortal wound, by a minie ball. Elizabeth Compton served over a year in the 25th Michigan cavalry; was wounded at the engagement of Greenbrier Bridge, Tennessee, her s.e.x being discovered upon her removal to the hospital, at Lebanon, Kentucky, where, upon recovery, she was discharged from the service. Ellen Goodridge, although not an enlisted soldier, was in every great battle fought in Virginia, receiving a painful wound in the arm from a minie ball. Sophia Thompson served three years in the 59th O. V. I. Another woman soldier, under the name of Joseph Davidson, also served three years in the same company. Her father was killed fighting by her side at Chickamauga. A soldier belonging to the 14th Iowa regiment was discovered, by the Provost-Marshal of Cairo, to be a woman. An investigation being ordered, "Charlie" placed the muzzle of her revolver to her head, fired, and fell dead on open parade-ground. No clue was obtained to her name, home, or family.
Frances Hook, of Illinois, enlisted with her brother in the 65th Home Guards, a.s.suming the name of "Frank Miller." She served three months, and was mustered out without her s.e.x being discovered. She then enlisted in the 90th Illinois, and was taken prisoner in a battle near Chattanooga. Attempting to escape she was shot through one of her limbs. The rebels in searching her person for papers, discovered her s.e.x. They respected her as a woman, giving her a separate room while she was in prison at Atlanta, Ga. During her captivity, Jeff. Davis wrote her a letter, offering her a lieutenant"s commission if she would enlist in the rebel army, but she preferred to fight as a private soldier for the stars and stripes, rather than accept a commission from the rebels. This young lady was educated in a superior manner, possessing all the modern accomplishments. After her release from the rebel prison, she again enlisted in the 2d East Tennessee Cavalry. She was in the thickest of the fight at Murfreesboro, and was severely wounded in the shoulder, but fought gallantly and waded the Stone River into Murfreesboro on that memorable Sunday when the Union forces were driven back. Her s.e.x was again disclosed upon the dressing of her wound, and General Rosecrans was informed, who caused her to be mustered out of the service, notwithstanding her earnest entreaty to be allowed to serve the cause she loved so well. The General was favorably impressed with her daring bravery, and himself superintended the arrangements for her transmission home. She left the army of the c.u.mberland, resolved to enlist again in the first regiment she met.
The _Louisville Journal_ gave the following account of her under the head of
"MUSTERED OUT.--"Frank Miller," the young lady soldier, now at Barracks No. 1, will be mustered out of the service in accordance with the army regulations which prohibit the enlistment of females in the army, and sent to her parents in Pennsylvania. This will be sad news to Frances, who has cherished the fond hope that she would be permitted to serve the Union cause during the war. She has been of great service as a scout to the army of the c.u.mberland, and her place will not be easily filled. She is a true patriot and a gallant soldier."
"Frank," found the 8th Michigan at Bowling Green, in which she again enlisted, remaining connected with this company. She said she had discovered a great many women in the army, one of them holding a lieutenant"s commission, and had at different times a.s.sisted in burying three women soldiers, whose s.e.x was unknown to any but herself.
The _St. Louis Times_, sometime after the war, referring to a girl called as a witness before the Police Court of that city, says:
"This lady is a historical character, having served over two years in the Federal army during the war; fifteen months as a private in the Illinois cavalry, and over nine months as a teamster in the noted Lead mine regiment, which was raised in Washburne district from the counties of Jo Daviess and Carrol. She was at the siege of Corinth, and was on duty during most of the campaign against Vicksburg. At Lookout Mountain she formed one of the party of eighteen selected to make a scout and report the position of General Bragg"s forces. She was an _attache_ of General Blair"s seventeenth corps during most of the campaign of the Tennessee, and did good service in the reconnoitering operations around the Chattahochie River, at which time she was connected with General Davis" fourteenth corps. She went through her army life under the cognomen of "Soldier Tom.""
The name of Miss Brownlow, of Tennessee, was familiar during the war for her daring exploits; also that of Miss Richmond, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who handled a musket, rifle, or shot-gun with precision and skill, fully equal to any sharp-shooter, and who was at any time ready to join the clan of which her father, a devoted Unionist, was leader, in an expedition against the rebels, or on horseback, alone in the night, to thread the wild pa.s.ses of the mountains as a bearer of information.
Major Pauline Cushman and Dr. Mary Walker were also noted for their devotion to the Union. No woman suffered more or rendered more service to the national cause than Major Cushman, who was employed in the secret service of the Government as scout and spy. She carried letters between Louisville and Nashville, and was for many months with the army of the c.u.mberland, employed by General Rosecrans, rendering the army invaluable service. She was three times taken prisoner, once by John Morgan, and advertised to be hung in Nashville as a Federal spy, but she escaped by singular daring and courage. The third time she was tried and condemned, but her execution was postponed on account of her illness. After lying in prison three months, she had an interview with General Bragg, who a.s.sured her that he would make an example of her and hang her as soon as she got well enough to be hung decently.
While she remained in this condition of suspense, the grand army of Rosecrans commenced its forward march, and one fine day the rebel town in which she was imprisoned was surprised and captured by the Union troops under General Gordon Granger, and she was released. After hearing an account of the sufferings she had undergone for the Union cause, General Granger determined to bestow upon her a testimonial of appreciation for her services, and she was accordingly formally proclaimed a Major of cavalry. The ladies of Nashville, hearing of this promotion, prepared a costly riding habit trimmed in military style, with dainty shoulder-straps, etc., and presented the dress to Miss Cushman.
Dr. Mary Walker gave her services on the field as surgeon, winning an acknowledged reputation in the Second corps, army of the Potomac, for professional superiority. She applied for a commission as a.s.sistant surgeon, but was refused by Surgeon-General Hammond because of her s.e.x. Dr. Walker suffered imprisonment in Castle Thunder, Richmond, having been taken prisoner.
The special correspondent of the _N. Y. Tribune_, Headquarters Army of the Potomac, Sept. 15, 1863, said: "She applied to both Surgeon-Generals Finlay and Hammond for a commission as a.s.sistant surgeon. Her competence was attested and approved, yet as the Army Regulations did not authorize the employment of women as surgeons, her pet.i.tion was denied. A Senator from New York, with an enlightenment which did him honor, urged her appointment to the Secretary of War, but without success."
[23] Gilbert Hay, shortly before released from Fort La Fayette.
[24] LEE AT ARLINGTON.--Visitors to this noted place are so frequent that his appearance attracted no attention. He walked through the dreary hall, and looked in on the wide, vacant rooms, and pa.s.sing to the front, stood for some time gazing out over the beautiful panorama, with its one great feature, the new dome of the old capitol, surmounted by a bronze statue of Liberty armed, and with her back to him, gazing seaward.
From this he pa.s.sed to the garden, and looked over the line of the officers" graves that bound its sides, saw the dying flowers and wilted borders and leaf strewn walks, and continuing after a slight pause, he stopped on the edge of the field where the sixteen thousand Union soldiers lie buried in lines, as if they had lain down after a review to be interred in their places. Some negroes were at work here raking up the falling leaves, and one old man stopped suddenly and stared at the visitor as if struck mute with astonishment. He continued to gaze in this way until the stranger, walking slowly, regained his horse and rode away, when he dropped his rake and said to his companions: "Shuah as de Lord, men, dat was ole Ma.s.sa Lee!"
One hastens to imagine the thoughts and feelings that must have agitated this fallen chief as he stood thus, like Marius amid the ruins of Carthage, on the one spot of all others, to realize the fact of the Lost Cause and its eventful history. About him were the scenes of his youth, the home of his honored manhood, the scenery that gave beauty to the peaceful joys of domestic life. They were nearly all the same, and yet between then and now, came the fierce war, the huge campaigns and hundred battles loud with the roar of mouthing cannons and rattling musketry, and stained into history by the blood of thousands, the smoke of burning houses, the devastation of wide States, and the desolation of the households, and all in vain. He stood there, old before his time, the nationality so fiercely struggled for, unrecognized; the great confederacy a dream, his home a grave-yard, and the capitol he sought to destroy grown to twice its size, with the bronze G.o.ddess gazing calmly to the East.--_Correspondence of the Cincinnati Commercial_, 1866.
[25] Peter Waldo, a merchant of Lyon, of the 12th century, was less the founder of a sect, than the representative and leader of a wide-spread struggle against the corruptions of the clergy. The church would have tolerated him, had he not trenched upon ground dangerous to the hierarchy. But he had the four Gospels translated and (like Wicklyffe) maintained that laymen had the right to read them to the people. He exposed thus the ignorance and the immorality of the clergy, and brought down their wrath upon himself. His opinions were condemned by a General Council, and he retired to the valleys of the Cottian Alps. Long persecutions followed, but his disciples could not be forced to yield their opinions. The protest of the Waldenses related to practical questions.--_Encyc._
[26] It was almost as thrilling a sight to me to see these earnest women together at work with their needles, as it was to see the first colored soldier in the Union blue. He was from Camp Reed, near Boston.
I met him in the church of Rev. Mr. Grimes, and could not have known before how much such a vision would stir me. It was with great satisfaction that I took him by the hand and rejoiced with him in the progress of the Government toward equality.
[27] Mrs. Briggs ("Olivia") writing to the _Sunday Morning Chronicle_ after Mrs. Griffing had departed this life, said in this connection: "Altogether $166,000 were given by Congress to the helpless who had been so long held in bondage, and for the great good accomplished, the sufferers were more indebted to Mrs. Griffing than to all the women of the country combined, for the larger proportion of the supplies purchased with this money, was distributed by her own hands."
[28] This would at first thought seem to conflict with the knowledge of "the North Star" and "Canada," but, as elsewhere, we must draw the line between the ignorant and the intelligent.
[29] See Appendix.