Sandy A. -
The Civil War Era is a time period in American history about which great quantities of information have been written, recorded, and preserved. The accounts of the valiant contributions of brave men on both sides of the conflict are the ever-present mainstay of Civil War history books. Conversely, little attention has been given to the equally remarkable and heroic contributions made by American women and children during this bloodiest conflict in American history. As a high school U.S. History teacher, I am always looking for resources that fill that gender gap. Tanya Anderson (no relation to myself) has provided just that type of resource with her well-researched and compelling young adult non-fiction book, Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories of Three Civil War Tragedies.
Indeed, there are other accounts available about the activities and struggles of females in the roles of nurses, spies, soldiers, abolitionists, civil rights advocates, and promoters of women's suffrage during the mid 19th century. However, the quality of women named are so few as to leave the student of Civil War history with the faulty impression that only these scant few women--usually women of relative wealth and influence--made up the sum total of the female contribution to the war. Not true. What about the untold numbers of poor, working-class, and immigrant women and young girls who were thrust into the roles of family-providers and wartime-suppliers, as husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons went off to war? In many cases, these women and girls looked in desperation to the war industry as a source of employment, providing the means of keeping a roof over the heads of their families and keeping starvation at bay.
In Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories of Three Civil War Tragedies, author Tanya Anderson adeptly sheds light on the struggles and sacrifices made by women and girls, some as young as 10 years old, who were propelled into the workforce by wartime conditions. Anderson recounts the extreme dangers and arduous labor--often 12-hour a day, 6 days a week--which these women endured while producing the ammunition necessary to wage war. During this time period before labor reform and child labor restrictions, Anderson chronicles the contributions, and often the ultimate sacrifices, made by females in ammunition factories in both the Union and the Confederacy sides of the conflict. When tallying up the horrific casualty tolls of the Civil War, the deaths and disablement of these poor, often-illiterate females in government arsenals should rightfully to be including alongside of the battlefield and hospital deaths of the war's slain men.
I highly recommend this book, with its informational vignettes that add depth of knowledge and context to its compelling account of some of the here-to-for unknown of "ordinary" heroes of the Civil War. The book has earned a permanent slot in my classroom bookcase.
I received a free advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This review was originally written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. October 22, 2016.
Indeed, there are other accounts available about the activities and struggles of females in the roles of nurses, spies, soldiers, abolitionists, civil rights advocates, and promoters of women's suffrage during the mid 19th century. However, the quality of women named are so few as to leave the student of Civil War history with the faulty impression that only these scant few women--usually women of relative wealth and influence--made up the sum total of the female contribution to the war. Not true. What about the untold numbers of poor, working-class, and immigrant women and young girls who were thrust into the roles of family-providers and wartime-suppliers, as husbands, fathers, brothers, and sons went off to war? In many cases, these women and girls looked in desperation to the war industry as a source of employment, providing the means of keeping a roof over the heads of their families and keeping starvation at bay.
In Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories of Three Civil War Tragedies, author Tanya Anderson adeptly sheds light on the struggles and sacrifices made by women and girls, some as young as 10 years old, who were propelled into the workforce by wartime conditions. Anderson recounts the extreme dangers and arduous labor--often 12-hour a day, 6 days a week--which these women endured while producing the ammunition necessary to wage war. During this time period before labor reform and child labor restrictions, Anderson chronicles the contributions, and often the ultimate sacrifices, made by females in ammunition factories in both the Union and the Confederacy sides of the conflict. When tallying up the horrific casualty tolls of the Civil War, the deaths and disablement of these poor, often-illiterate females in government arsenals should rightfully to be including alongside of the battlefield and hospital deaths of the war's slain men.
I highly recommend this book, with its informational vignettes that add depth of knowledge and context to its compelling account of some of the here-to-for unknown of "ordinary" heroes of the Civil War. The book has earned a permanent slot in my classroom bookcase.
I received a free advanced copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This review was originally written for LibraryThing Early Reviewers. October 22, 2016.
