Thousands of women volunteered as nurses during the Civil War. Thousands more visited the sick and injured soldiers, distributing food, clothing, books, and small luxuries, often stopping to pray or to write letters home for the disabled or illiterate. And yet, even though my family was in Washington DC, a veritable city of hospitals throughout the war, no stories were handed down of women nursing or even visiting the wards. This could be because most of the patients were Yankees and the family leaned South in allegiance. Or maybe the stories simply weren’t passed on.

What about your family? Did your female ancestors play a part in the war? If so, I would love to hear about it.