Better understanding history helps us learn from the past and get insights into why the world is the way it is today. While I have read more about Canadian history than the US, I wanted to read Unexpected Bravery: Women and Children in the Civil War by A.J. Schenkman to find out more about women who fought in the American Civil War. This is my review of the book.
How the book is organized
This book is divided into two parts. The first half recounts the lives of children soldiers of the Civil War, and the second half features women soldiers in the same war. Each chapter is dedicated to a certain person, with the end of each of the two parts providing more information about ways children and women contributed to that war and more names to know about that weren’t covered in earlier chapters, such as those who little is known about.
I appreciate all of the research author A.J. Schenkman did for this book. From gathering info from books on historical events, biographies, and memoirs to reading US Bureau of the Census of Population over many years, he pulled a lot of information together to do justice to many of these women and kids. It is a big thing to feature a life in a book, especially when many of these people lied about their age (children soldiers) and gender (women soldiers) to be able to enter the war efforts. They often used aliases too, which I’m sure made the research challenging.
There are also photos of these people throughout the book. I was shocked at how young some kids were in the Civil War, looking at their photos and thinking they ought to be playing at home not joining war efforts.
A bit of what I learned
As the author explains, often kids joined as drummers, rather than soldiers. Others lied about their age to join sooner than legally allowed (18 years of age).
The author also explains in the book that about 400 women disguised themselves as men to fight in the Civil War as they were not legally allowed to do so. We often think of the men who fought in the 1861-1865 war, but the bravery of kids and women is definitely something I’ll think of after reading this book!
It was sad to read how some were severely wounded in battle (physically and psychologically) and returned home with their quality of life lessened considerably. And those who died while fighting for their country. As well as the illnesses some succumbed to.
As for why they joined, the pages of Unexpected Bravery explain the reasons well within each chapter, based on the individual. It’s very interesting, including women wanting to fight alongside their husbands and those seeking a sense of adventure. Others joined as nurses and drummer boys. These are only some of the many reasons.
In particular I was drawn to the chapter on Sarah Emma Edmonds. She disguised herself as Franklin Thompson and enlisted as a private, initially taking care of soldiers, after leaving Canada for the US and now wanting to serve her new country. The details of this individual’s life, including getting wounded, later being labelled as a deserter, and after that serving as a woman nurse are incredible. It was only by reading this book that I got to know her and others.
A fascinating read
Each person’s life is followed from pre-war through the wartime to their life after returning home (if they survived), pension applications, and their passing. Getting a look at these lives, at what life was like back then, including what was expected of women, the danger, the difficulties of everyday life, the laws, and more, really was eye-opening.
Unexpected Bravery is not about statistics. It is about real people who often are overlooked. Whose names are not well-known. Who fought for their country. Many who died or were wounded for their country. It includes their desires, love stories, families, and challenges. I recommend this read for a look at history that you won’t read very often but really ought to.
Looks interesting for sure!
Yes, it is!