DOC Army at Home: Women and the Civil War on the Northern Home Front (Civil War America) by Judith Giesberg in History

Review

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. A lot of information in an itty bitty spaceBy MaggieTrue or false: “It may well have been because of its women that the South lost the Civil War.” It is often a statement; often a question; and always conjecture; for Judith Giesberg this question rests at the heart of her book; Army at Home - Women and the Civil War on the Northern Home Front. In less than two hundred pages; Giesberg attempts to quickly illustrate that Northern women were instrumental in national social reform; and that women were instrumental in the war effort. Arguably; Giesberg would disagree with the opening line of this paper. Giesberg’s attempt to reconcile the aforementioned question; while addressing the seriously marginalized working-class; immigrant; and African American women of the Civil War; is a noble task; one she accomplishes fairly well. Despite the book being one of war; how women responded in various ways to war; Giesberg employs a thematic; not a chronologic; outline for her narrative. While the war was literally in the backyards of Southern women; Northern women faced issues of their own. Giesberg’s thesis essentially contends the Northern home front was not restricted to the battlefield; the women were an “army at home;” influencing the entirety of the war in every regard. (p. 12) Each chapter serves as a brief case study of sorts; addressing issues relevant to Northern women who were experiencing the war as a “withdrawal of labor from their farms and their rural communities.” (p. 19) The brief chapters cover a wide range of motifs; from women learning to how to cope with managing the family farm in place of their soldier husbands (chapter one); to the relocation of thousands of women at the hands of the military; a commonly shared experience in the South (chapter two). She also tackles the broken social dichotomy created; or rather emphasized; when women entered the male dominated workforce (chapter three). Giesberg argues traditional antebellum concepts of separate spaces for men and women collapsed during the Civil War; “women produced spaces where they ceased being the object of war and became its subjects;” even if unknowingly so at the time. (p. 13) Among other topics for discussion in Army at Home is the “fight for civil rights” (chapter four); how white Northern women attempted to protect their communities from the draft; the ramifications of emancipation and from integration (chapter five); and lastly; women traveling to the battlefield to retrieve their perished loved ones; and the question of to what extent soldiers and their families were the “responsibility of the state” (chapter six). (p. 93; 143) 'Each of these points is significant to the successes and drawbacks of Giesberg’s book. A success in her formatting is that in a short space she manages to cover a wide spectrum of topics; traditionally not broached in conventional Civil War historiography. She does not cover just one city; one state; but rather a significant portion of the country; from Philadelphia to San Francisco. Giesberg demonstrates how something as simple as women’s attire played against them in travel; restricting not only their movement; but the impression of their independence juxtaposed with their male counterparts. While Giesberg purports a general idea of Northern women versus Southern women; she generally deals with the Northeast and California; a state not typically associated with the Civil War. However; her greatest success in demonstrating social change is with the Streetcar Battles; which led to case law with lasting ramifications. There is; however; a great deal of speculation throughout the chapters of her book; some to a good extent she could have controlled. Giesberg considerably overstates in saying; “The Civil War changed the way people on the home front saw space and moved through it.” (p. 164) In the beginning of the book she acknowledges the “reallocations of work” and space in which women had to adjust when their soldier husbands enlisted; as if to suggest women were stationary and change was altogether foreign. (p. 27) Even taking into account the dichotomy of domestic and public domains; women did travel for charity work; families did relocate; and on occasion women did run the family farm; even before the Civil War. '' Gaps in military; state; and family records exclude some of the more intimate details surrounding what women’s “thoughts were about the war;” as such it is impossible to paint a complete picture of the period. (p. 37) Giesberg adequately depicts the hardships Northern women of various socio-economic backgrounds were facing. Giesberg opens the door for other historians interested in pursuing women’s history; especially pertaining to the Civil War; clearly there is a precedent set for further research to be done.'0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Women in History Enthusiasts will be rewarded!By Sue MyersAs an admitted Women in History enthusiast; this book touched on so many "women at home" issues I was unaware of during the Civil War in the North. A plus is my ancestor Elizabeth Schwalm is included in Chapter 1 as an example of women in rural Pennsylvania. I had the added pleasure of meeting the author; Dr. Giesberg; at a recent event; she was very gracious in sharing her time and love of 19th century history and women's issues. This book is a must read as telling the full story of the Civil War.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. I really enjoyed the way it was written making it an easy ...By Sarah WrightOf all the books I have read on northern women during the Civil War; this was the most interesting and offered more information and insight beyond the overesearched USSC; local aid societies; and nursing (though it did not neglect them). I really enjoyed the way it was written making it an easy read.