Women Close Combat Warriors of America’s Civil War
Very often people incorrectly assume that women aren’t strong enough or aggressive enough for close combat, but time after time women have proven they have what it takes to survive in combat. In fact, during one of America’s most brutal conflicts several women stood out as heroes.
During the American Civil War (1861–1865) the saying war is hell was first spoken, and with good reason. Every battle was a meat grinder and even the winner would take high casualties. Despite advances in technology, every fight boiled down to close combat and only the well-trained and unbelievably brave survived. However, not all those who fought were men. There were women who were motivated by patriotism and a sense of adventure that dressed as men and joined the fight. These women would fight, and serve bravely.
The war was a mix of new weapons, old strategies, and fanatical patriotism and the results were devastating. Almost all generals on both sides were trained the exactly the same and used strategies and tactics created by General Napoleon Bonaparte. The problem was his ideas were difficult to understand, and it was easy to make mistakes. To make matters worse they were created for another time. Soldiers fought in tightly packed groups and were ravaged by new and deadlier weapons. If you did manage to get past all of the different weapons you still had to take on the enemy in close combat.
Politics aside it took an awesome amount of courage to enlist and fight. While a number of women helped out by becoming nurses and spies, others took frontline positions. There are at least 400 cases in the Union Army of women dressing up as men to fight. There were also a number of Southern women who joined the fight for the Confederacy. Some were caught right away and sent home, but more than a few saw their share of combat. The men they served with often times kept their secret, and treated them as comrades.
Pennsylvania native Mrs. Francis L. Clayton enlisted with her husband in 1861 and fought together in 18 battles. She was wounded three times, captured once and saw her husband die at Stone River. After that she told her commanding officer who she was and she was discharged with full honors and went home to bury her husband. Another married couple served at Antietam where the wife was recognized for bravery and promoted during her two years of service. One officer reported that a corporal under his command who had been promoted to sergeant and had served gallantly at Fredericksburg returned home after giving birth.
Those who survived the shot and the shell of a Civil War battlefield still had to engage in hand to hand combat with the enemy under the worst conditions. It took everything a soldier had to survive on the battlefield, and both men and women gave it everything they had. Today women serve in many positions in the United States military and are police officers and martial arts instructors. Women have come a long way, but still many don’t think they belong in combat. Some seem to think women can’t be aggressive enough or worse – that a life of a woman is worth more then the life of a man. Maybe not all women are fit to serve, but not all men are either and we should never forget those who served bravely before.
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