Review of "Women in the Civil War: Warriors, Patriots, Nurses and Spies," by Phyliss Raybin Emert

 Review of

Women in the Civil War: Warriors, Patriots, Nurses and Spies, by Phyliss Raybin Emert ISBN 9781932663198

Five out of five stars

A small portion of the female contribution

 Since women were officially forbidden from combat roles in the American Civil War, there is little mentioned regarding their contribution to the war effort. Unlike later wars when women moved into the factory jobs vacated by the men in combat and most nurses were women, most of what appears in the history books consists of their sitting at home and worrying.

 This book is an attempt to right some of those wrongs. Some of the most effective spies on both sides were female and there were a few women that posed as men and engaged in combat. At a time when most medical caregivers were male, a few women helped the wounded ease their suffering, or in the worst cases, aided their passing.

 While nearly all of the direct war effort was performed by men, there were some women that contributed. These 21 short biographies of women in the civil war demonstrate that there was a small, but significant contribution from women.