The Society for Women and the Civil War is a membership organization dedicated to increasing awareness and understanding of women’s roles in the Civil War through education and scholarship.
Our richly diverse community includes reenactors, authors, independent and affiliated researchers, scholars of all disciplines, genealogists, archivists, museum professionals, librarians, students, teachers, historians, and publishers.
Within this community are experts in all aspects of the Civil War and women’s participation, including topics such as women on the homefront, women at the warfront, and the material and social culture of the war years. Our members are eager to share their expertise with the larger Civil War community, and we welcome inquiries from Roundtables, Museums, Parks, Community Groups, and Publishers.
If your organization needs a speaker, an exhibitor, or a writer on any aspect of women and the Civil War, contact us at womencivilwar@aol.com. We can put you in touch with the best and the brightest in the field!
The Society for Women and the Civil War, in partnership with the Museum of the Confederacy, is pleased to announce the 6th Conference on Women and the Civil War, which will be held June 25-27, 2004, in Richmond, Virginia.
Conference Schedule
Information and Fees
Printable Registration Form (PDF)
Conference Schedule
Friday, June 25
Museum of the Confederacy
Registration and Tours of the Museum of the Confederacy and the White House of the Confederacy
Workshops. A rare opportunity to learn about the remarkable collections at the Museum of the Confederacy from their staff experts. Each workshop features a behind-the-scenes tour.
1. Providing, Presenting, and Preserving Confederate Banners: Learn about the significant roles of women as related to providing and presenting flags to the troops, and the conservation efforts of women after the war. Rebecca Rose, Curator of the Flag Collection.
2. Leave it to the Ladies: Restoring the White House of the Confederacy. Meet the women who saved the White House and oversaw the remarkable return of the original furnishings. Ruth Ann Coski, Library Manager.
3. By the Sweat of their Brows: The Construction of Confederate Uniforms and the Preservation and Storage of Historic Garments. Participants will get an up-close look at the uniforms of both officers and enlisted men, with an eye towards materials and construction. Robert Hancock, Curator of the Military Collection.
Reception
Saturday, June 26
Crowne Plaza Hotel
Registration and Continental Breakfast
Lectures
1. The Stories Behind the Socks: Women’s Handiwork as Social and Political Expression. This presentation highlights the importance of the lowly sock, and other indispensable items, as a means for women’s social and political support for the troops. Karin Timour.
2. History Done Her Wrong: The True Story of Mary Custis Lee. Often portrayed historically as a neurotic invalid who was a detriment to her famous husband, this lecture reveals Mrs. Lee as a resourceful and spiritual wife and mother, a shrewd businesswoman, and a kind lady who was an inspiration to all who met her. John Perry.
3. The Civil War Diary of a Good Woman: Mary Samuella Hart Curd. What conclusions and lessons can we learn from the diary of an ordinary woman during the Civil War? Dr. Susan Arpad.
4. The Horizontal Trade. A candid look at the profession of prostitution during the war years, and its effect both on society and on the cultural image of woman. Elizabeth Topping.
5. Listen Ladies One and All: Northern Soldiers Yearn for Their “Fair Cousins of the North.” In April 1863, through ads placed in the Chicago Tribune, Union soldiers requested the women of the North correspond with them, with the hope of fun and possibly even love. Dr. Patricia Richard.
6. Women on Trial: The Courts-Martial of Southern Women by the Union Army. More than 120 women were tried and convicted by Union military courts for subversive and unladylike actions. Beverly Lowry and Dr. Thomas Lowry.
7. Soliloquy for Sara. For those who have been enthralled by the love letter of Maj. Sullivan Ballou to his beloved wife, this presentation details the life of Sarah Hart Shumway Ballou before, during and after the war. Robin Young.
8. The “Fairer” Sex of the 1860s: How Patriotic Women Raised Money in Support of the Union. This presentation will examine Sanitary Fairs as a means of raising money in support of the Union war effort, and the role women played in making them happen. Dr. Gwen Harding-Peets.
9. Period Correct: 19th Century Sanitary Protection. This presentation describes 19th century solutions to an age-old and universal problem. Virginia Mescher.
Dinner and a Movie. Films Piche Ferrari presents the U.S. premier (Director’s Cut) of “The Unsexing of Emma Edmonds,” a documentary on the life and adventures of Sarah Emma Edmonds, alias Pvt. Franklin Thompson, 2nd Michigan Infantry. Director Pepita Ferrari will introduce her film.
Sunday, June 27
Bus Tour of Richmond. Join us for a whirlwind, 4-hour tour of Civil War Richmond, focusing on sites relating to women both famous and infamous, from Mrs. Lee’s house to the site of the Bread Riots. No tour of Richmond is complete without a stop at Hollywood Cemetery. The tour will begin and end at the Museum of the Confederacy.
Information and Fees
Conference Registration Fee:
$225 for Members of the Society for Women and the Civil War.
$265 for non-members.
Registration fee includes all Friday activities, except for workshops; all Saturday activities, including meals; unlimited admission to the Museum of the Confederacy Friday-Sunday; conference materials.
Additional Fees:
Workshops $25.
Bus Tour $25.
Reception Guests $20.
Dinner and a Movie Guests $45
Become a Member of the Society for Women and the Civil War for $25. and receive the reduced conference registration fee!
All registrations must be received by June 1, 2004.
Cancellation Policy: cancellations received on or before June 1, 2004 will be refunded less $50. No refunds will be made after June 1, but substitutes will be accepted.
Lodging: a limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Crowne Plaza Hotel for conference attendees at a discounted price of $89. per room per night (not including taxes). Contact the Crowne Plaza by May 20, 2004 to reserve your room. Please mention the conference to receive the discounted rate. The Crowne Plaza is located at 555 E. Canal Street in Richmond, and their telephone number is 804-788-0900.
Questions? Call the Society at 540-381-4518, or send us an email at womencivilwar@aol.com.
Printable Registration Form
To register for the 6th Conference on Women and the Civil War:
Click on the link below to access our registration form.
Print it out.
Fill it out.
Don’t forget your payment! (We accept Visa and Mastercard)
And mail it to
SWCW
P.O. Box 1077
Christiansburg, VA 24068
THE HOME AND IN THE FIELD, the quarterly electronic newsletter of the Society for Women and the Civil War.
The intent of the newsletter is to provide a forum and bridge for communication among the members of the SWCW. Different from our on-line chat group, the newsletter will be an opportunity for members of the Society to meet and share their research interests in a private format, assuring that the projects worked upon by our members receive the full support of the members of the Society. We envision the newsletter as a natural extension of the many personal and professional relationships that The Conference on Women and the Civil War has fostered. The collegiality and camaraderie of the Conference and the Society is unmatched in any other interest-based or research community, and we hope that the newsletter will answer many requests from past conference participants and present Society members to keep connected and updated throughout the year.
Features of AT HOME AND IN THE FIELD:
* The Calling Card. Members may submit short bios of themselves so we may get to know each other and introduce our individual topics of interest.
* In the Company of Noble Women. This column introduces individuals or groups of Civil War women. Members are encouraged to submit short studies of their favorite foremother.
* Much to Do. Members can ask for advice, submit requests for research help, or ask specific questions that other members may be able to answer.
* Literary Offerings. Reviews of both new and old books about Civil War women. Members are welcome to submit reviews.
* Web Sightings. Reviews of the best websites with information about Civil War women. Members are encouraged to alert us to their favorites.
* Knot of Blue and Gray. Editorial column for current issues of importance to the Society and the larger Civil War community, such as preservation, memorializations, or historical controversies. Guest columnists are welcome.
* The Tribute Book. Biographies of truly unsung heroines — women we haven’t heard about and should. Submissions are welcome.
* Journeys in Time. Notices and reviews of upcoming or ongoing events, exhibits, conferences, and reenactments. Submissions are encouraged.
* The Quotable Woman. Excerpts from the writings or speeches of Civil War era women.
* The North-South Chronicles. Newspaper or other articles culled from period newspapers by Vickie Betts and Robin Schwartz.
To request a sample newsletter, or to submit material for a future issue of the newsletter, contact our editor, Meg Galante-DeAngelis. Previous writing experience is not required, just dedication to the task and to your subject and ideas.
4th Annual Conference —2012
| Saturday | |
| 7:30 to 9:00 | Registration – light refreshments |
| 8:30 | Welcome |
| 8:45 | Mary Surratt: An American Tragedy Elizabeth Trindal. Mary Elizabeth Surratt (1823–65), a widow and mother, is no more than a footnote in history, yet she was tried and sentenced to die by military court. She and three men were found guilty of conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, and the four were hanged on July 7, 1865. Years of research has proven, for the most part, that Mary Surratt was innocent. |
| 9:30 | “We lived in fear.” Maryland Women and the Antietam Campaign Kathleen Ernst. In 1862, the women of Frederick and Washington counties in western Maryland were a complex population of white, free black, and slave; Unionist and Secessionist; activist and abstainer. Who were these women? What was their experience before, during, and after the battles of South Mountain and Antietam Creek? How did the 1862 campaign shape their lives? How did their divided loyalties affect the soldiers they encountered? |
| 10:15 | Break – light refreshments |
| 10:45 | “Free to Teach, Free to Learn, Free to Choose”: Yankee Schoolmistresses and Former Slaves in the South Juanita Leisch. During and after the Civil War, a select group of women acted on their beliefs that freed slaves ought to be educated as a means to permanently improve their lives. This presentation describes the experiences of schoolmistresses working in Schools for Freedmen and the African– American women they encountered in their efforts. Did the schoolmistresses succeed in their goals, or did factors such as race and gender or the political and military events of the era foil their efforts? |
| 11:30 | “A Teacher, an Agent, and an Angel to her State”: the life of Cordelia P. Harvey Richard J. Blumberg. A woman of persuasive manner and untiring tenacity, Cordelia Harvey served the state of Wisconsin as a teacher, the wife of the governor, and a sanitary agent during the Civil War. After the war she convinced President Lincoln to establish a veterans’ hospital that also served as a orphanage for children. She was an advocate for all aspects of humanity and truly is the “Angel of Wisconsin.” |
| 12:15 to 1:45 | Luncheon and Author Book Signing |
| 1:45 | Families under Stress: the Richmond Bread Riot Douglas O. Tice Jr. Inflation and food shortages in the Confederacy caused some organized groups of women to confront merchants and authorities in a violent quest for reasonably priced goods. The Richmond riot was put down by a unit of militia only after personal appeals from the governor of Virginia and President Davis. |
| 2:30 | Lois Adams: Federal Government Clerk during the Civil War Evelyn Leasher. Lois Adams of Detroit, an early employee of the Department of Agriculture, was one of the first women in the federal civil service. She left a record of her service in a series of columns that she wrote in 1863–65 for the Detroit Advertiser and Tribune and also reported on civil service wages, working conditions, and appointments. Her columns provide an important contribution to our understanding of conditions during a period when hiring men and women to work in the same office was an experiment. |
| 3:15 | Break – light refreshments |
| 3:45 | “Poverty is no disgrace, but very unhandy. Please come home.”: Correspondence between the Families and Men of the U.S. Colored Troops. Budge Weidman. African American mothers and wives describe life at home during the Civil War in letters discovered in the military service records of soldiers of the U.S. Colored Troops. These unpublished documents contain tender descriptions of love, tell of the conditions of children and other family members, and express a longing for the soldiers to come home. |
| 4:30 | “Do you wonder that I get the blues?”: Ellen Moore’s Wartime Negotiations Jonathan M. Berkey. , Penn State. A look at how Ellen Moore of Berryville, Virginia, negotiated family roles with her soldier-husband during four years of war and separation. She took on responsibility as head of household as her husband attempted to retain his antebellum role as master. |
| 5:15 | Break – travel to the Bowman Building on the historic Loudoun Street Mall in Old Town Winchester |
| 6:30–7:30 | Dinner in the Bowman Building |
| 7:30–8:30 | Educational exhibits in the dining room after dinner. |
| Sunday | |
| 9:30 | Roswell Grey: the Arrest and Deportation of North Georgia Mill Workers Deborah Petite, In Roswell, Georgia, there stood a textile mill that produced a particularly well-made cloth called “Roswell Grey” for Confederate uniforms. In July 1864 Gen. Kenner Garrard burned the mills and had the mill workers—primarily women and children—arrested and charged with treason. These innocent victims were transported hundreds of miles from home, simply because they worked in mills that supplied cloth to the Confederate government. That was their crime, and it cost them dearly. Many would never return. |
| 10:45 | Emilie Todd Helm: Lincoln’s Beloved Rebel Sister-in-lawGerald D. Swick. Emilie Todd Helm was half-sister to Mary Todd Lincoln and wife of Confederate Gen. B. H. Helm. After her husband’s death, she stayed at the White House on Lincoln’s personal invitation. Following the war she devoted much of her energy to defending both the lost cause of the Confederacy and her maligned half-sister, although Mary never forgave her for writing to Lincoln, “[Y]our minnie [sic] bullets have made us what we are.” |
| 11:00 | Break – Raffle! |
| 11:30 | “If she had been a man, she would have been a major general”: the story of Mother Bickerdyke Betsy Estilow.Mary Ann Ball Bickerdyke, a widow from Galesburg, Illinois, began her Civil War service in June 1861 in the hospital tents at Cairo. Enraged at army inefficiency, and without authorization, she began to work and care for her “boys,” the soldiers of the Union army. Her own report of her service states that she “served for four years and was in nineteen hard-fought battles.” Mother Bickerdyke’s true story has become mired in myths and colorful stories. Who was she, and what did she really accomplish? |
