Thousands of Wounds, Thousands Of Deaths

The American Civil War was one of the bloodiest and most devastating wars in history. The results of this war are still remembered, and have shaped the country and the values it has today. In those times of absolute chaos, men were not the only ones who influenced the outcome of this war. Although women like Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth were not acknowledged until years after the war ended, they inspired women and gained the respect from men that they felt they deserved.

While the men fought in the deadly battlefields, wounded soldiers were in desperate need of nurses to care for their wounds.

An inspirational female nurse was a young woman named Clara Barton. As a young twenty-three-year-old, Clara worked in the US Patent Office in Washington D.C. at the start of the war. At first, she began by helping other women collect bandages and other supplies for the soldiers, but decided she would risk her own life and tend to the wounded soldiers in the battlefield.

She worked for hours without sleep, carrying food and water to the soldiers. After the war ended, she traveled to Europe, where she was introduced to a Switzerland-based Red Cross which called for agreements to protect the wounded during the war, and foundation to give aid voluntarily, internationally.

When she returned to America, she wanted to make sure the US took part in the global Red Cross network, and with the help of eloquent companions like Frederick Douglass, she founded the Red Cross in 1881 at age 59, and led it for the next 23 years.

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Many women were inspired by Clara Barton, and took part in helping in the war with her. Thousands of women worked as nurses, and aided the soldiers in the hospitals. She gained the respect from Henry Wilson, one of her main supporters and also the 18th Vice President of the United States. The respect and support she gained from both genders displays the influential role Clara Barton played, which helped all women gain the respect they deserved in society.

Another example of a strong willed woman was Harriet Tubman. Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman suffered from traumatic beatings and injuries caused by her owner. She suffered from a head injury at the young age of 12, which caused her continuous dizziness for her entire life. When her owner died and Harriet’s family was split apart, she knew she had to do something, so she and two of her brothers escaped, but after a few days, her brothers convinced her to go back. Soon after, Harriet escaped again, this time alone after sending hidden messages through songs in the Bible; some of the famous ones being: “I’ll meet you in the morning” and “I’m bound for the promised land.”

After her successful escape, Harriet helped rescue around 300 slaves into freedom using the Bible to send messages, songs to inform her people, and the Underground Railroad. She also used other imaginative ideas like dressing the slaves to look like women when male slaves were being sought for in order to smuggle the slaves into freedom. When the war began, Tubman worked as a spy and nurse, and inspired other women to work hard with her. During World War II, there was a liberty ship named after her, the SS Harriet Tubman which shows how big of an impact she was on everyone in this country. Harriet Tubman’s determination and strength led her to be considered a symbol of liberty and freedom, with respect from people all over the globe.

Although Harriet Tubman was a strong female fighter, she was not the only one. Sojourner Truth was born a slave and lived with many cruel owners in New York before she escaped for her freedom. She is strongly remembered for her “Ain’t I a Woman?” speech she gave at the Seneca Falls Convention in 1845. During the Civil War, Sojourner Truth helped recruit black soldiers, while she worked for the National Freedman’s Relief Association in Washington D.C. and helped collect donations of food, clothes and other necessities for black refugees. While she was in Washington, Sojourner Truth mustered up her courage to ride white-only streetcars to demonstrated her frustration and anger with the ongoing segregation. Soon after she petitioned to resettle freed blacks on government land in the West, which was abortive.

Her activism gained the attention of President Abraham Lincoln, who invited her to the White House in October 1864. To this day her words and speeches are remembered to symbolize strength and equality. The efforts she put into the ideas she believed were right influenced and continue to inspire many women and men to fight for what they believe. The time of the Civil War was not only a time of thousands of wounds and deaths, but also a time for women activists to shine and risk their lives in order to create a change for the better.

Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth were three of many women activists who inspired women at the time and gained respect from highly acknowledged men like Abraham Lincoln and Henry Wilson. As colored women, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth influenced women, but additionally women of color who suffered from racial and gender discrimination. They continue to inspire people of the current generation, even after 150 years. The dreams they had to change the inequalities of the society will never be forgotten, and equality will continue to be one of this country’s strongest values. As Harriet Tubman once said, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”