Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868
Summary (from the publisher): In this engrossing and informative companion to her New York Times bestsellers Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War by offering a riveting look at Washington, D.C. and the experiences, influence, and contributions of its women during this momentous period of American history.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social Southern town of Washington, D.C. found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States.
After the declaration of secession, many fascinating Southern women left the city, leaving their friends—such as Adele Cutts Douglas and Elizabeth Blair Lee—to grapple with questions of safety and sanitation as the capital was transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospital. With their husbands, brothers, and fathers marching off to war, either on the battlefield or in the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well. And more women went to the Capital City to enlist as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Many risked their lives making munitions in a highly flammable arsenal, toiled at the Treasury Department printing greenbacks to finance the war, and plied their needlework skills at The Navy Yard—once the sole province of men—to sew canvas gunpowder bags for the troops.
Cokie Roberts chronicles these women's increasing independence, their political empowerment, their indispensable role in keeping the Union unified through the war, and in helping heal it once the fighting was done. She concludes that the war not only changed Washington, it also forever changed the place of women.
Sifting through newspaper articles, government records, and private letters and diaries—many never before published—Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of its formidable women.
With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social Southern town of Washington, D.C. found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States.
After the declaration of secession, many fascinating Southern women left the city, leaving their friends—such as Adele Cutts Douglas and Elizabeth Blair Lee—to grapple with questions of safety and sanitation as the capital was transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospital. With their husbands, brothers, and fathers marching off to war, either on the battlefield or in the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well. And more women went to the Capital City to enlist as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Many risked their lives making munitions in a highly flammable arsenal, toiled at the Treasury Department printing greenbacks to finance the war, and plied their needlework skills at The Navy Yard—once the sole province of men—to sew canvas gunpowder bags for the troops.
Cokie Roberts chronicles these women's increasing independence, their political empowerment, their indispensable role in keeping the Union unified through the war, and in helping heal it once the fighting was done. She concludes that the war not only changed Washington, it also forever changed the place of women.
Sifting through newspaper articles, government records, and private letters and diaries—many never before published—Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of its formidable women.
Review: I received an uncorrected proof copy from HarperCollins.
In Capital Dames, Cokie Roberts has provided an analysis of what it was like to be living in Washington, D.C. during the Civil War from the ladies' perspectives. This bird's eye perspective of a multitude of women's voice allows the author to shift seamlessly from the White House to the battlefields to tell the capitol's Civil War story in chronological order.
The strength of this novel - it's multitude of voices - was also its weakness for me. Although incorporating many prominent historical women into the story of Washington, D.C. allowed for a rich storyline, it was difficult to keep up with the many individuals. The character list in the back of the novel includes 45 names. For the female characters, this also means the reader needs to keep in mind who her father and husband is as well, since the men were the ones with political prominence or battlefield significance. However, for history fans, this shouldn't be too great a hurdle, since some of the women are well-known figures such as Mary Todd Lincoln, Julia Dent Grant, Dolley Madison, Clara Barton, and Elizabeth Keckley.
Other women, such as Jessie Benton Fremont and Harriet Lane, who were social giants of the time, are far less well known today. In fact, Jessie Benton Fremont represented the first time that "the candidate's wife would play a major role in a presidential campaign, not just behind the scenes but on the public stage" (27). Similarly, Harriet Lane, niece of James Buchanan, served as her uncle's hostess in the White House, earning her the title of first lady and was the "first inhabitant of the White House to be referred to by that title in public print" (83).
I did enjoy learning more about the prominent role women played in our nation's history. For instance, Mount Vernon would no longer exist were it not for the diligent efforts of the Mount Vernon Ladies Association that raised the funds to repair and support the then dilapidated home of our first president. Before reading this, I had no idea the jobs that American ladies were allowed to fill during the war while men were off fighting. Women were employed by the treasury to cut the large sheets of greenbacks into individual bills. Many women rose to prominence for their relief efforts. And Elizabeth Keckley, a former slave, became well known for her celebrated dressmaking abilities among the high society ladies of Washington. Others had less desirable firsts, such as Mary E. Surratt, who became the first woman executed by the United States government.
This was a well-researched history that provided a multi-faceted look at what it was like to be a woman in the hub of the union during the Civil War. While unable to hold political positions, women clearly still wielded enormous influence over the time period. Although I wish I could have gotten to know individual women better, this book provided an excellent understanding of the social world and life in Washington, D.C. during the mid-1800s.
Stars: 4
Comments
Post a Comment