Life of Children and Families during the Civil War

1. Life of Children and Families during the Civil War By: Valerie Kubalak Period 5

2. UEQ: In what ways did the Civil War transform the nation? • Families were divided. • Women took up new roles. • There were child soldiers along with elder soldiers. • Many wounded. • There was much destruction of homes and land. • Major economic and social changes.

3. Families were divided and women took up new roles. Families were split up and sometimes barely, if ever, saw each other. Many families were left with only mothers and daughters to run the household and earn money. Women took up new roles such as factory workers, clerks, and, school teachers. The number of sick increased so women and girls took up roles of nurses. Approximately 2,000 women, North and South, served as volunteer nurses in military hospitals. These nurses aided the wounded and sick. Below: A picture of the family of General Charles S. Winder, who died during the War.

4. Pictures of Women's Roles Below: Picture of Clara Barton. She was one of the most famous nurses during the Civil War. She was also known as “ The Angel of the Battlefield”. Below: A picture of a nurse caring for a injured and ill man. Below: Picture of nurses during the Civil War.

5. Soldiers Along with adult soldiers, there were many child soldiers. About 5% of soldiers were under the age of 18, some being as young as 10. In 1861, President Lincoln announced that boys under eighteen could enlist only with their parents’ consent. The next year, he prohibited any enlistment of those under eighteen. Children also served as scouts or nurses. Children had to grow up fast because of the War.

6. Soldiers(Continued) Below are pictures of child soldiers. William Black was also one of the many child soldiers during the War. His left hand and arm was shattered by an exploding shell when he was 12. The pictures below are not of William Black though.

7. Many were wounded The Union had 2,500,000 soldiers and the Confederate had 1,250,000 soldiers during the War. Altogether there was about 65,000 lives taken and about 1 million people were injured. The soldiers would go to medical hospitals where they were taken care of. If they were injured badly, amputations of the legs or arms occurred. As said before, the number of sick and injured increased greatly, so there was a great need for nurses.

8. Many were injured (Continued) Below on the left is a drawing of Lewis Francis with his amputated leg. On the right is a picture of a nurse caring for sick and injured in a medical hospital during the Civil War.

9. During the War, there was much destruction of homes and land. Many houses and much land was destroyed during the War. Families wouldn’t have places to live. Houses and businesses were burned down. Families would lose their income. Crops, farms, and forests were destroyed. The destruction of crops would lead to food shortages. After the War, there would be much labor needed to rebuild everything that was destroyed. Below: A picture of destruction during the war.

10. Major social and economical changes During the War, there were many changes pertaining to the North and South. In the North, free African Americans served in the Union military. In the South, there was much suffering. There were many food shortages. Farmers were in the military and were unable to farm. Also, transportation was disrupted and food was hard to get taken from place to place. Both armies also stole food. Another big problem in the South was inflation. This was when there was an increase in cost of goods and a decrease in the value of money. Prices continued to rise in the South.

11. Major social and economic Changes(Continued) Inflation was lower in the North, but prices still rose. The federal government also passed laws. The first one was income tax in 1861. This was a tax on earnings. They also made a new kind of currency, greenbacks. This currency helped the North economy by making sure people had money to spend. This also helped the government pay for war. Below: A picture of the currency, greenbacks.

12. UEQ: In what ways did the Civil War transform the nation? • Families were divided. • Women took up new roles. • There were child soldiers along with elder soldiers. • Many wounded. • There was much destruction of homes and land. • Major economic and social changes.