Female Soldiers in the Civil War, the Unsung Heroes
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Introduction
One day the great European War will come out of some damned foolish thing in the Balkans1. Over the past centuries, disputes have never be alien among countries, one of the contributing factor to wars between and among countries was nationalism. This factor resulted to various European countries forming allies and some working against each other. A rathe r noticeable alliance was the triple alliance which was a constitution of Italy, Germany and what was known then as Austria-Hungary. There has been two world wars so far, the first one being triggered by the killing of Archduke Ferdinand, and the second one was the desire by the infamous Adolf Hitler under the Nazi regime to take control of Europe. Much is sensitized on the causes and the victors of the war but we forget about the brave heroes at the battlefield who were a major element to a nation’s pride. Men and women who fought side by side leaving their loved ones, to go and fight for their countries. Female soldiers in particular had a great significance, as the likes of Sarah Edmonds Seeyle, had a share of the Cumberland military and stationed at Kentucky 2. In this paper we are going to discuss the women who contributed to the victory of their states, and some of the hurdles they encountered.
The Unsung Heroes
In the event of the First World War, many opportunities and professions were available for occupation, but unfortunately these positions were far out of reach for women as they were confined in social work and also household activities, to the extent that they were valued as resources for bearing and bringing up infants who would be used in the military According to the history website, during the second War, women whose number tallied to more than 300,000 served in the military, both at home and abroad, including the Women’s Air force Service Pilots, who on March 10, 2010, were awarded the prestigious Congressional Gold Medal4. Women significance in the past two world wars cannot be ignored, as they proved that despite all odds and the stereotype that the society has on them, they could also carry a riffle and go to the battlefield to represent the colors of their flag. The involvement of women in the British military highly interested and impressed Lady Eleanor Roosevelt who was the first lady in the United States serving alongside her husband.
Loreta Janeta Velazquez was another hero who originated from Cuba, she had a rather bizarre desire of wanting to become a man and enjoy every bit of privilege enjoyed by men. As stated by Sylvia
The privileges enjoyed by men made Madame Velazquez envious as the thought of becoming a man engraved her senses. She also expresses her interest of marital experiences after putting herself in the shoes of Deborah of the Hebrews, expressing a strong state of independence, the fact that her childhood was spent thinking of the desire of being a male figure mad her run away from her school for marriage to an American soldier5.
Madame Velazquez was extremely enthusiastic with the thought of becoming one of the military personnel that when she joined the confederate army, she searched for opportunities to showcase her military expertise as she continued her service.
Some of the women that found themselves serving for their country never anticipated that they would have been in that position some time back. It’s due to passion and patriotism that they defied all odds and joined their nation’s military for service delivery. Their stories motivated women across the globe that the number of women witnessed in the military increased on every recruitment exercise held by the military.
Women air force was one of the least known contributing factor to the military. They participated in transportation of cargo, target strikes and also flying of airplanes from factories to military bases for mission and training purposes. This in turn elevated some task done by men as some of the workload was carried out by women, who indeed did a fantastic job.
While women worked in a variety of positions previously closed to them, the air force saw a bumper increase in the tallies of women6. Contrary to the previous 1 per cent work force of women that worked in the air force, the new count consisted of an impressive 65 per cent of the total work force in the air force section7. The huge number increase came forth as women had proved to the world that they could also be part of service delivery other than be excluded to only perform social chores and other menial duties. No doubt that discrimination against women in the military was coming to a cease as some of the unsung heroes had clearly brought forth a challenge in a male dominated industry. Their efforts were being felt and recognized in all corners of the world.
Much was done to promote women military involvement as stated in the history online article
Women had the recognition of approval when General George Marshall approved the introduction of women sub branch in the military. The previous women auxiliary corps was changed to women army corps which then by then had full military status. Its recruits increased to more than a hundred thousand a rather impressive percentage, as compared to when it started. Various sections of the groups accepted volunteer tasks in emergency service delivery which also influenced the involvement of the Marine corporals.
Conclusion
The women involvement in the military has been a significant factor. Much of the women involvement in the military was noted during the Second World War where there was a huge increase in number in the recruitment exercise, the military base and also the forefront during battle. Opportunities were share equally as time progressed, and even today the percentage of women serving the military is noticeable.
References
1. Bismark ,Otto Von. Quotes about word war, goodreads accesed on march/25/2014 http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/world-war-i
2.” Sarah Emma Edmonds,” Civil War Trust, March 3 2014, http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/sarah-emma-edmonds.html
3. “American Women in World War 2”, History, March 3 2014, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii.
4. “Women in armed forces,” History, March 3 2014, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii.
5.”madame Loreta Janet Velazquez:Heroine or Hoaxer,” Historynet, March 3 2014, http://www.historynet.com/madame-loreta-janeta-velazquez-heroine-or-hoaxer.htm
6. “Women in armed forces,” History, March 3 2014, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii.
7.” Sarah Emma Edmonds,” Civil War Trust, March 3 2014, http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/sarah-emma-edmonds.html
8. “Women in armed forces,” History, March 3 2014, http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/american-women-in-world-war-ii.