An African American soldier and an African American aid worker conversing. (Lutheran Seminary Museum in Gettysburg National Cemetery)

Field Commission

Soldiers were not the only ones who found war to be difficult.  Blacks, women, and children also discovered the horrors or war.  Many free black men as well as slaves enlisted to help the Union fight.  The greatest black regiment was the 54th Massachusetts.  Colonel Robert Gould Shaw and his troops led an attack on July 18, 1863 on a Rebel fort near Charleston, South Carolina.  The troops battled their way to the top of the fort only to be drove back by heavy fire.  Nearly half of the 54th was killed, wounded, or captured.  They fought for a cause to free others in slavery, and their bravery won respect for black troops.    The movie trailer of Glory (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTyyvQA_5h4) depicts the story of the 54th Massachusetts.  (Disclaimer:  Rated R)

Also, women and children did not sit idly at home waiting for husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons to return home.  Women acted as spies, nurses, managed the home by themselves, took over men's jobs, established foundations like the American Red Cross, and even enlisted as soldiers by pretending to be men.  

Some children were known as "boy soldiers", while others carried messages or were drummer boys.  Many children were left orphaned and found themselves subjected to life without their parents.  Some children were subjected to severe treatment in orphanages like that of Soldier's Orphan Homestead in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.  

Needless to say, the Civil War impacted the lives of all people.  Everyone had to learn the hardships of war through firsthand experience whether that be on the battlefield, at camp, behind the lines providing medical care, at home taking on what was necessary, and in orphanages.  These brave individuals did what needed to be done to help the cause.  

Mary Edwards Walker
Mary Edwards Walker was the only woman in the Civil War to work as a doctor.  During the war, she crossed enemy lines to help serve civilians while simultaneously acting as a spy.  Walker was captured in 1864 and imprisoned in Richmond for four months before being exchanged.  Walker became the first woman to earn the Congressional Medal of Honor. 

Johnny Clem
Johnny Clem tried to join the Union Army at the age of 9, but was rejected due to his size and age.  Even though he was rejected, he followed the 22nd Michigan regiment.  Eventually, the 22nd Michigan adopted him as a drummer.  At 13, he officially joined the Union Army.  Clem became famous after he shot a Confederate officer and escaped a battle at Chickamauga, Georgia.  He continued life as a soldier and rose to the rank of Brigadier General. 


Johnny Clem (Civil War Trust)

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Jennie Hodgers
Jennie Hodgers enlisted in the 95th Illinois Infantry as a man under the name of Albert Cashier.  Hodgers was the smallest in the regiment but was a good soldier.  The 95th Illinois fought in 40 engagements including at Vicksburg and Kennesaw Mountain.  She served for a three year enlistment before her regiment was released.  After the war, she continued to masquerade as a man and even voted in elections.  (Women at the time did not have the right to vote.)   She also collected a soldier's pension.  It was not until she was hit by a car in 1910 that her true identity as a woman was discovered.  However, her true identity was not released to the public until 1913 after being sent to a state hospital due to her suffering of dementia.  Her former comrades, while shocked, championed her and protested her treatment at the state hospital.  In 1915, she was buried in full uniform and given a tombstone inscribed with her military service and her identity as Albert Cashier.  She was given a second tombstone, placed next to the original, with the inscription of Jennie Hodgers in the 1970s.  

Mary Edwards Walker (Saint Lawrence County Women of Courage)

Jennie Hodgers (Albert Cashier) (Civil War Trust)