Sexually Incompatible: Female Solders and Social Change of the American Civil War

This study looks closely at three women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the American Civil War and how they represented a vast social change for women during the mid-nineteenth century. The war brought new opportunities for multitudes of people even women, who are often overlooked in war. While female soldiers are exceptional examples of women changing their circumstances they were not the only ones. Women found new roles, jobs and passions outside of fighting as nurses, becoming sole providers for families and taking over the jobs men left behind. The women who fought as soldiers were among many women who were able to take advantage of the new opportunities given to them to step outside of the traditional female roles