Ethel Hurn

“Wisconsin Women in the War between the States” is a history book that is history itself. This new publication by the Wisconsin Historical Society Press is a facsimile of a 1911 edition by Ether Alice Hurn. It relates the stories of the home front from a time when the War was a living memory. It brings to the readers’ minds aspects of the war overlooked in volumes devoted to battles and generals.

This book is organized by chapters devoted to movements by the girls left behind. It begins with the departure of the regiments during which the mothers, sisters and sweethearts, encouraged, teased and feted their men folk, all while trying to conceal their own fears. “John, if you do not enlist, I’ll never let you kiss me again as long as I live!”

Although the government was responsible for outfitting the troops, Soldiers’ Aid Societies, with much participation by women, supplemented the issue with things such as extra socks, warmer blankets, bandages and mittens with thumbs and index fingers. Food collected and distributed for Wisconsin’s regiments was sent to the field where it was often shared with fighters from other states.

We often read of the hardships of the fighting men, but this book highlights the ordeals of the women who had to maintain the farms and the businesses, raise the families and keep the economy on which the Army depended going. I have often read of units mutinying because their pay was delayed and I generally thought “so much for patriotism”, but this tome puts that in a different light. It points out that the soldiers were relying on their pay to send back to their families. Those who enlisted for a limited time may have received letters telling of the hardships that only their return could alleviate. One chapter is devoted to the crucial role letters played in maintaining connections between the warriors and those they fought to defend. An interesting comment is that the letters from home often told more of the overall war than the letters from the battle lines.

One particular concern of the ladies was care for the wounded. Many Wisconsin women directed their attention to the field hospitals, and none so than Mrs. Cordelia Harvey. Widow of Wisconsin Governor Louis Harvey, who drowned on a tour of Wisconsin regiments at Pittsburg Landing (Shiloh), she took his mission to improve medical care for the wounded warriors right to President Lincoln whom she convinced to overrule his prior decision and set up hospitals where the wounded could recover in the cool, healthy Northern air. As I read this I was reminded that after my uncle was wounded south of Chattanooga he was sent to a hospital in Indiana to recuperate.

I mentioned that the writing is a century old. The style is different than that found in contemporary works, but sometimes what is said and the hoe it is phrased opens our minds to new ways of envisioning the War. Start with the title. Current practice is to refer to the Civil War, except for Southern sympathizers who prefer the “War Between The States” to emphasize that two nation states, United and Confederate, fought each other. When the War was still a life experience for some here was a Northern Woman referring to the “War between the States.” Surprising isn’t it? We often read of the initial enthusiasm for what was expected to be a quick war, but consider an April 22, 1861 quote from Governor Randall to the Patriotic Women of Wisconsin warning of “the long war likely to follow”. Perhaps some knew. Savor Mrs. Harvey’s description of her meetings with Lincoln. Picture in your mind’s eye his objections and resentments, his facial expressions and, finally, his acquiescence to her request. This you can only get through the testimony of an eyewitness. Look elsewhere for tales of martial glory but delve into “Wisconsin Women in the War Between the States” to appreciate the roles these heroines, some famous but most unknown, played in our great national tragedy.

I did receive a free copy of this book for review.… (mehr)