women civil war reenactors

[tleve]

ok i am starting one here and in the union area as well , I know a few of you have been asking about women in reenacting . well we will start here and go form here . We are going to need a topic ... any ideas?

[Lady Heather]

Hi Trish,

This will be great. let's hope more women join us here.

Heather

[Lady Heather]

 how women dealt with the war

[tleve]

Hey Heather !!

I hope so too.

women and the war ( Great Topic ):

well i count myslef lucky our family has a journal type book where (mostly the women) wrote down what was happening on the farm during the years. One big thing i have found is that during the war my Great - great (? i can never remember how many greats ) grandmother and her sister "took over " the running of the farm .

I think that this was what would have been one of the hardest things for women during the war , they now had to have an active role out side of the house . I know that that is not the right way to put it , but they had to work the farm now on their own . with the Beatty women , my GG Grandmother had a small child when her husband went to war , her sister was the only other relative near by. They had a few " Farm Boys " that stayed and helped for a whaile but they were either needed at home or went off to war also.

Like during any war , it showed that this women were more then just fragile things , they did what they had to do to servive .

[Miss Elodie]

Good morning,

First off, let me say that I am a librarian by profession and a historian by training and seem to always shove books at people. That being said, I have a couple of titles that may be of interest to women reenacting the Civil War era.  There are so many first-hand accounts by women in the Civil War that it is hard to choose and so I'll share my favorites.

One fascinating account of the fall and occupation of Baton Rouge is by teenaged Sarah Morgan. In it she lists her activities including reading lists and support for the war effort.


The Civil War diary of Sarah Morgan
by Sarah Morgan Dawson;  Charles East
Language: English  Type:  Book
Publisher: Athens : University of Georgia Press, ?1991.  | Other Editions ...
ISBN: 0820313572 9780820313573 | OCLC: 23144535 
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/23144535


Kate Stone's diary describes the family's experiences of war in Northeast Louisiana and their subsequent flight as refugees to East Texas.

Brokenburn; the journal of Kate Stone, 1861-1868.
by Kate Stone;  John Q Anderson
Language: English  Type:  Book
Publisher: Baton Rouge, Louisiana State University Press [1955] 
ISBN: 0807102318
http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/oclc/727974


My third, and favorite, recommendation is not a diary but a series of letters sent home to Massachusetts by a young woman who had gone to Louisiana in the 1850s to be a schoolteacher for a plantation family. She ended up marrying and staying and her accounts of the war and invasion of Louisiana by Union troops are a fascinating glimpse into the strength of regional loyalties and family ties.

A northern woman in the plantation South : letters of Tryphena Blanche Holder Fox, 1856-1876
by Tryphena Blanche Holder Fox;  Wilma King
Language: English  Type:  Book
Publisher: Columbia : University of South Carolina Press, ?1993.  | Other Editions ...
ISBN: 0872498506 9780872498501 | OCLC: 26932836 


I have many other resources listed on my websites including a spreadsheet with 1800+ article citations, links to papers and  primary sources, and, of course, event photographs. 

http://www.geocities.com/jenpayne10/index.html
http://www.geocities.com/jenpayne10/bibliography_of_articles_in_social_history.xls

I look forward to hearing about what other people are working on and how they are incorporating their research into their impressions.

Thanks,

Jennifer

[tleve]

well thank you . I love to read so these sound great. That said ...... Come on Ladies , we have said that a women's section would be great so post , post , post.

[Miss Melly]

Hello,
I am new to this site and have been reenacting for 5 years. My son does Civil War infantry, and has been a powder monkey and on artillery crew. I am a civilian. We have portrayed both Union and CSA persons.
 I would like to see some discussion on the authenticity of the dress and camp at events. I have seen some horrendous "getups" at recent events. I won't call them impressions because they were not even close! One man on an artillery crew had on brown jeans, modern belt, modern vest, sunglasses and rubber soled tennis shoes. This was a fairly large event. The ladies were even worse. Very age inappropriate. Modern fabrics, ball gowns strolling along in mid-day, modern hairstyles all over.
It is expensive to get your gear together. We did ours gradually, and borrowed whatever we didn't have. Our unit offers loans for up to three events to help out. I really hate to see such poor impressions. I would be upset to pay for an event, then not have accurate portrayal.
Ladies, I think we notice so much more than the men. They are busy on the field!
Post some of the "worst" you have seen!
Good Day,
Miss Melly