March is Women's History Month, commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history - and March 8th is International Women's Day.
Therefore, I have a book by Cokie Roberts on the docket for this month.
Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868
When the Civil War began, Washington, D.C. was a small Southern town that was quickly transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospita. Many Southern women chose to leave the city for safer (and more sanitary locations.
But many women stayed and joined the Union cause. And many women moved to Washington to work as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers and journalists - and also as munitions workers in highly flammable arsenals. Somoe put their sewing skills into service at The Navy Yard - which was traditionally "Men Only" - to sew vancas gundpowder bags for the troops.
Cokie Roberts tells the stories of these women and their increasing independence, their political empowerment, and their indispensible role in keeing the Union unified through the war. The war not only changed Washington; it also changed the place of women in America.
Also by Cokie Roberts and worth reading:
- Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation
- Ladies of Liverty: The Women Who Shaped our Nation
