Romance and the American Civil War

Why write about the American Civil War? It is a period that I, as a historian, love. Victorian America, with all the rules and societal set by England set, was practiced here on courting, marriage, fashion and how to manage life. Yet how did the War affect it?

This is a fascinating time. The North and the South fought for many reasons, starting with sectionalism, how both parts of the US had differing culture. For instance, the North was an industrial giant, fast pace and demanding, with people could become rich, even from poor beginnings, whereas the South was agricultural based, more relaxed in its pace due to the fact they were subject to how the crop year went. Not as heavily populated, the South retained an almost class structure similar to England’s in the property class the top, followed by the yeoman farmers, to the ‘peasants’ (farmers) and slaves. This difference in lifestyles soon made conflict between the sections heat as time passed.

As war broke, families were torn apart and women were thrown into it almost the same as the fighting men. Women were part of charities to help the sick/wounded; they were now forced to deal with running the farm/plantation without their men and against both armies demanding supplies or fighting on their soil; they were nurses and hospital matrons; 300 are documented as fighting the war, dressed as men and both sides had women who acted as spies. These stories abound in the official records, pension claims, letters, diaries, hospital records and even church sermons aid a historian’s research well.

Did love stand a chance? Yes. Sometimes, it was the only thing that kept all America going. It’s those stories that we need to read. Huzzah!