Southern Women
From: boatrokr@hotmail.com
Thank you to Ms. Erhardt, for the reminder of all that 
southern women did for The Cause.
Let us also not forget those gallant ladies who went beyond the home front, and risked their lives beside their male counterparts. Documentation exists for 400 women who, for various reasons – patriotism, desire for adventure, freedom their sex didn’t enjoy, or to follow beloved husbands – disguised themselves as men to enlist.
D’Anne Blanton, National Archivist, is currently updating her work on this subject and believes that the number is closer to 700. The presence of these women is known because they were wounded, captured, or killed. How many more might have survived the war undetected?
You can read their stories in "Hearts of Fire: Soldier Women in the Civil War" and "They Fought Like Demons."
The ladies shouldered their share of the burden.
Helaina Hinson
Johnston Co, NC
