5
CHILDRENGENDER ROLES DURING THE CIVIL WAR
Subject
ChildrenGender Roles During the Civil War
Skimin,Robert, and Nacho Garcia. 2006. JohnnyClem.Las Cruces, NM: Barbed Wire Pub.
TheAmerican Civil War was a 19th-century conflict that happened intoday’s United States of America. It took place from 1861 to 1865.There were various key players in the war, but as illustrated bySkimin,Robert, and Nacho,childrenalso did play a huge role. This book talks about the greatest hero ofthem all, a 10 year old boy called Johnny Clem.1He had run away from home and joined the second Michigan Regiment asa soldier. He is credited for shooting a Confederate colonel. Clemrepresents the role that children played as soldiers.
Hall,Dennis. "Civil War reenactors and the postmodern sense ofhistory." TheJournal of American Culture17, no. 3 (1994): 7-11.
Inthe history of America, camp followers played a huge role. These werethe children and wives of soldiers who followed them. In the CivilWar, children who were camp followers serviced and supplied the army.Girls would help their mothers and serve as nurses while the boyscarried the weapons.2
Isserman,Maurice, and Michael Kazin. Americadivided: The civil war of the 1960s. Oxford University Press, 1999
Bothboys and girls played an important role of being spies during theCivil War. Some of the children recognized to have spied for theirrespective armies include Nathan Hale, Benjamin Tallmadge, Austin Roeand Anna Strong.3
Stover,Allan C. 2014. Underageand under fire: accounts of the youngest Americans in militaryservice.
Thenumbers of the children who participated in the war as soldiers isaccounted for in this document. According to it, there were at least100,000 union fighter under 15 years. About 20% of the total CivilWar soldiers were below 18 years.4
Johnson,Karen A. "Topsy-Turvy: How the Civil War Turned the World UpsideDown for Southern Children." TheJournal of African American History100, no. 2 (2015): 321- 322.
Inher accounts, Anya Jabour, just like James Marten, illustrates thesame vigor and zeal that children, especially boys, had for havingfront row seats in the war. They wanted to experience the warup-close.5This account illustrates how the children went to see the soldiers atSudley Ford as they made their war to the Battle of Bull Run. Here,the children take on the role of witnesses in the war.
Haris,Joel Chandler, Eric Metaxas, and Henrik Drescher. Thestory of Brer Rabbit and the wonderful tar baby.Saxonville, Mass: Rabbit Ears Books, 1990.
Thisaccount by Joel Chandler Harris is a major force that shapes theracial imagery in literature during the American Civil War. The storyis about the ordeals of Brer Rabbit regarding the separatistphilosophy during America’s slavery and reconstruction in the CivilWar. It focuses on Uncle Remus and a white slave boy. The story givesthe plight of children who had been turned into survivors by thewar.6
DukeUniversity. AliceWilliamson Diary: an on-line archival collection.[Durham, NC]: Duke University,1996.
Thisis a 36-page diary written by a 16-year-old girl during thisparticular period of the American Civil War. Alice Williamson, theyoung girl, gives an account of how the war affected her life. Shewas forced to quit education as the war led to the closure of herschool. However, the school reopened after the war, and she graduatedin 1866.7 The story explains the plight of young girls when the Union armiesof General Eleazer A. Paine occupied Gallatin.
Hays,Will. S. Thedrummer boy of Shiloh: a beautiful ballad.Louisville, Ky: D.P. Faulds, 1865.
Duringthe war, some young boys seeking the glory of battle enlisted assoldiers. One of these boys was Robert Hendershot. After the fall ofFort Sumter in 1861, Robert was gripped by war fever. His soldierlysacrifice and selfless virtue in battle are well documented in thisaccount. The ‘drummer boy of Shiloh’ is a good representation ofthe role of children as soldiers in the American Civil War.8
Burwell,Letitia M. Girl`sLife in Virginia before the War – The Original Classic Edition.Emereo Publishing, 2013.
Inthis primary document, Letita M. Burwell gives a personal account oflife before and during the war. She gives an account of her familyand their relationship to their slaves. Her family was wealthy andlived on a plantation in rural Virginia.9In her document, she talks about how life in the south was good foreven the slaves. However, in this aspect, she details the role ofchildren in rich slave-owning families. After the war, however, thegood life ended, and even rich people were negatively impacted by thewar.
Marten,James. "Review of Union Heartland: The Midwestern Home Frontduring the Civil War." IndianaMagazine of History(2014).
JamesMarten gives a detailed account of how the American Civil Warimpacted the lives of the American children, especially thesoutherners. He illustrates this by telling the story from theperspective of a mother and her two oldest sons. The children hadbeen begging their mother to allow them to go on an adventure towitness the war beforehand. They wanted to investigate a battle thatwas happening near their home.10However, the mother later regretted allowing her children to witnessthe war because when they returned home, they were not the same youngboys who had left in the morning. This document is proof that the warchanged the children’s lives as they took on different roles.
Burton,Annie L. Memoriesof childhood`s slavery days.Hardpress Publishing,2012.
Thisis another primary document that illustrates the role of youngAmerican girls as slaves during the American Civil War. Annie Burtongives a personal account of her life in slavery on a plantation. Thesetting is in Alabama. She worked as a nanny for her owner, Mrs. E.M. Williams.11It was during her time as a slave that she was taught how to read andwrite. Annie also took care of her three siblings after theirmother’s death in the war. In this perspective, she depicts herselfin her role as the family’s caretaker.
Douglas,Frederick, and Houston A. Jr Baker. FrederickDouglas: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an AmericanSlave.New York, NY: Penguin Books,1900.
Anotherclear illustration of the role of boys as slaves in America isdepicted by the personal account of Frederick Douglas. As a youngblack slave, he was considered the property of his master. Duringthis time, even seeing family members required permission from themasters. This was the role that slaves were resigned to.12
Pennington,James W. C. TheFugitive Blacksmith or, Events in the History of James W.C. Pennington.Project Gutenberg, 2005.
JamesW. C. Pennington details his life in slavery during the AmericanCivil War. He was a former blacksmith in Maryland.13His account details the role of slave boys in making metallic weaponsthat would be used in the war.
Peterborough,NH: Childrenin the Civil War.CobblestonePub. Co,1999.
Accordingto Peterborough, children played a role in the war, both on the homefront and on the battleground. Since they made up nearly half thepopulation, some served as soldiers and others as regimentalmusicians. This secondary document states that around 48 soldiersunder the age of 18 won the congressional medal of honor for theirbravery and exceptional services in the war.14
Wroble,Lisa A. Kidsduring the American Civil War.New York: PowerKids Press,1997.
Thisdocument highlights another role of children in the war. They alsoacted as messengers and informers to support the war. Others servedin army camps as cleaners and cooks. 15Others,mostly girls, took care of their homes when the males were awayfighting.
Murphy,Jim. Theboys of war. NewYork: Clarion Books, 1990.
Murphyclaims that the number of children killed is unknown. Thousands arethought to have died as a result of their role as soldiers in thewar.16
Werner,Emmy E. Reluctantwitnesses: Children`s voices from the civil war.Basic Books (AZ), 1998.
Accordingto this document, the youngest soldier killed during the Americancivil war was thirteen year old Charles King17.He was enlisted in the 49thvolunteer infantry of Pennsylvania.
Bibliography
Primarydocuments
Burton,Annie L. Memoriesof childhood`s slavery days.[Place of publication not identified]: Hardpress Publishing, 2012.
Burwell,Letitia M. Girl`sLife in Virginia before the War – The Original Classic Edition. Emereo Publishing, 2013. http://www.myilibrary.com?id=467086
Douglas,Frederick, and Houston A. Jr Baker. Frederick Douglas: Narrativeof the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1900.
DukeUniversity. Alice Williamson Diary: an on-line archival collection.[Durham, NC]: Duke University, 1996.
Haris,Joel Chandler, Eric Metaxas, and Henrik Drescher. The story of BrerRabbit and the wonderful tar baby. Saxonville, Mass: Rabbit EarsBooks, 1990.
Hays,Will. S. The drummer boy of Shiloh: a beautiful ballad. Louisville,Ky: D.P. Faulds, 1865.
Johnson,Karen A. "Topsy-Turvy: How the Civil War Turned the World UpsideDown for Southern Children." TheJournal of African American History100, no. 2 (2015): 321- 322.
Marten,James. "Review of Union Heartland: The Midwestern Home Frontduring the Civil War."IndianaMagazine of History(2014).
Pennington,James W. C. TheFugitive Blacksmith or, Events in the History of James W.C. Pennington.Project Gutenberg, 2005. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15130.
Stover,Allan C. 2014. Underageand under fire: accounts of the youngest Americans in militaryservice.
Secondarydocuments
Hall,Dennis. "Civil War reenactors and the postmodern sense ofhistory." TheJournal of American Culture17, no. 3 (1994): 7-11.
Isserman,Maurice, and Michael Kazin. Americadivided: The civil war of the 1960s.Oxford University Press, 1999.18
Murphy,Jim. Theboys of war.New York: Clarion Books, 1990.
Peterborough,NH.Children in the Civil War:Cobblestone Pub. Co, 1999.
Skimin,Robert, and Nacho Garcia. 2006. JohnnyClem.Las Cruces, NM: Barbed Wire Pub.
Werner,Emmy E. Reluctantwitnesses: Children`s voices from the civil war.Basic Books (AZ), 1998.
Wroble,Lisa A. Kidsduring the American Civil War.New York: PowerKids Press, 1997.
1 Skimin, Robert, and Nacho Garcia. 2006. Johnny Clem. Las Cruces, NM: Barbed Wire Pub.
2 Hall, Dennis. "Civil War reenactors and the postmodern sense of history." The Journal of American Culture 17, no. 3 (1994): 7-11.
3 Isserman, Maurice, and Michael Kazin. America divided: The civil war of the 1960s. Oxford University Press, 1999.
4Stover, Allan C. 2014. Underage and under fire: accounts of the youngest Americans in military service
55 Johnson, Karen A. "Topsy-Turvy: How the Civil War Turned the World Upside Down for Southern Children." The Journal of African American History 100, no. 2 (2015): 321-322.
6 Haris, Joel Chandler, Eric Metaxas, and Henrik Drescher. The story of Brer Rabbit and the wonderful tar baby. Saxonville, Mass: Rabbit Ears Books, 1990.
7 Duke University. Alice Williamson Diary: an on-line archival collection. [Durham, NC]: Duke University, 1996.
8 Hays, Will. S. The drummer boy of Shiloh: a beautiful ballad. Louisville, Ky: D.P. Faulds, 1865.
9 Burwell, Letitia M. Girl`s Life in Virginia before the War – The Original Classic Edition. Emereo Publishing, 2013. http://www.myilibrary.com?id=467086
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10Marten, James. "Review of Union Heartland: The Midwestern Home Front during theCivil War." Indiana Magazine of History (2014).
11 Burton, Annie L. Memories of childhood`s slavery days. Hardpress Publishing, 2012.
12 Douglas, Frederick, and Houston A. Jr Baker. Frederick Douglas: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave. New York, NY: Penguin Books, 1900.
13 Pennington, James W. C. The Fugitive Blacksmith or, Events in the History of James W.C. Pennington. Project Gutenberg, 2005. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/15130.
14 Peterborough, NH: Children in the Civil War. Cobblestone Pub. Co, 1999.
15 Wroble, Lisa A. Kids during the American Civil War. New York: PowerKids Press, 1997.
16 Murphy, Jim. The boys of war. New York: Clarion Books, 1990.
17 Werner, Emmy E. Reluctant witnesses: Children`s voices from the civil war. Basic Books (AZ), 1998.
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