Clinton, C. (2022). Sesquicentennial reflections on Civil War women. The Chautauqua Journal, 2, 1–15.
Throughout American history, women have endured numerous obstacles to equality. During the Civil War, many women fought for the restraints imposed on them by society to be removed. Clinton (2022) contends that anti-slavery and gender equality movements were closely intertwined, leading to many women taking up arms under the guise of men. This source is academic and scholarly and relies on numerous primary and secondary sources pertaining to the topic of women in the Civil War. The article was selected as it has information about Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, particularly on the military campaigns she participated in as Lyons Wakeman. In addition, the source quotes one of Wakeman’s letters to her family and helps support the claim that she enjoyed her military career despite being forced into it by poverty.
Dr. Mary Walker: Unconventional suffragette & only female Medal of Honor recipient. (2022). Identify Medals.
The article under consideration is dedicated to Dr. Mary Walker, a suffragette who lived and worked during the American Civil War. Dr. Walker was one of the first female doctors in the country and became the first female surgeon in the military. She is the only woman who received the Medal of Honor, considered the most prestigious military award. Although this source is not dedicated to the person under consideration, Rosetta Wakeman, it was chosen as it is instrumental in understanding the position of women in American society in the 19th century. Specifically, it helps understand how progressive women who refused to follow the rules imposed on women were treated by the government, elucidating the governmental circumstances of Wakeman’s challenging situation.
Hampson, S. C. (2020). Mothers do not make good workers: The role of work/life balance policies in reinforcing gendered stereotypes.Gender, Sexuality, and the Law, 128–149.
Hampson (2020) highlights the continued gender disparity in the workplace in the United States. The author draws attention to the paradox of the family-friendly policies aimed at women with children, often translating into the gap between male and female workers being furthered and women being discriminated against. In addition, Hampson (2020) notes that working mothers are viewed as an antithesis of an ideal worker in many fields, including the military. This source is highly academic and draws from numerous scholarly articles on the topic of gender inequality in the workplace. It was selected for this project as it illuminates the continued struggles of women in the workplace. In particular, this article emphasizes that the labor and military-related challenges experienced by Rosetta Wakeman persist in contemporary American society.
Frader, L. L. (2020). Gender and labor in world history. In T. A. Meade & M. E. Wiesner-Hanks (Eds.), A companion to global gender history (pp. 26–50). John Wiley & Sons.
In the course of history, men and women had substantially different relations in work. Moreover, the nature of labor available to men and women as well as their wages varied substantially. According to Frader (2020), men and women were expected to fulfill specific roles within their communities and society as a whole. However, women had fewer opportunities as education was often unavailable to them, while the labor they were permitted to engage in was constricted by the stereotypical image of a caring, nurturing, and mothering female (Frader, 2020). This source was incorporated into the project as it helps understand the social and economic circumstances of Rosetta Wakeman’s challenge. It will be used to highlight what conditions forced her to assume a male identity and join the Union army.
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, 1843-1864. (2021). Wander Women Project. Web.
The source under consideration is a biography of Rosetta Wakeman focused on her tenure in the military. The article provides interesting details of Wakeman’s service, including the fact that she witnessed the treatment of women who committed the crime of impersonating a man in the military when stationed at a penitentiary. Furthermore, it offers a brief description of the campaigns that Wakeman participated in under the identity of Lyons Wakeman. Overall, the source was selected as it helps to illuminate the circumstances Wakeman endured during her time in the military. It highlights that poverty and inability to find work with decent wages as a woman pushed her to pretend to be a man, elucidating the circumstances of Wakeman’s challenge.
Stattler, R. (2021). Women & the Civil War. Swann Galleries News.
Stattler (2021) presents a primary source dating back to the Civil War. It is a letter penned by William Henry Auston, a sergeant in the Union army, in 1864. The letter describes his meeting with Rosetta Wakeman in Alexandria, Virginia, shortly before her departure for the Red River Campaign. Notably, Auston was one of the few soldiers aware Wakeman was a woman, as he knew her before enlisting in the army. It is unclear how many people were aware of Wakeman’s true identity; however, no one, including Auston, reported her. The letter was chosen as the primary source as it provides a male perspective on women in the army during the Civil War. In addition, it helps understand how Wakeman managed to keep her identity secret.
Thomas, K. (2022). Battlefield women: How nurses, soldiers, and spies challenged gender roles during the American Civil War. History Honors Program, 30, 1–65.
This research paper is dedicated to many women who actively participated in the American Civil War, including nurses, spies, and soldiers. Thomas (2022) states that all these women challenged the gender norms of the time. However, it should be noted that those, who wanted to take a role of a soldier, one considered traditionally male, were forced to hide their true identities and impersonate men. This source was chosen for the project on Rosetta Wakeman and her challenges during the Civil War as it provides her extended biography prior to joining the Union army. Moreover, it offers a detailed account of her experiences in the military based on Wakeman’s letters. Overall, the source allows to better understand Wakeman’s circumstances and argue that she enjoyed the military life despite being forced into it.
Weiser-Alexander, K. (2021). Sarah Rosetta Wakeman – Fighting in the Civil War. Legends of America.
The article is dedicated to the life of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman before and after her enlistment in the military under a fabricated identity of a man, Lyons Wakeman. Weiser-Alexander (2021) dedicates a significant part of the article to Wakeman’s early life, noting that she donned the identity of Lyons before joining the Union army as a means of surviving and earning male wages. In addition, it notes that Wakeman was buried under her male persona as her true identity was not discovered by the military. Overall, this source was selected as it clarifies the personal as well as social circumstances of Wakeman’s challenge.
Discussion of the Project
The sources for the project were found with the help of a variety of academic databases, including Google Scholar, Research Gate, and the Taylor & Francis Group. In addition, several sources were found on websites dedicated to the history of the United States and women who had a significant impact on their communities. The selected sources illuminate different aspects of Rosetta Wakeman’s challenges, demonstrating how her historical, social, governmental, and personal circumstances led her to join the Union army. Currently, there are no significant difficulties with the preparation for this project. After the sources were located, Wakeman’s military journey and her motivations for enlisting in the army became clearer. In particular, I believe it is essential to focus on the social, personal, and governmental circumstances of her journey. Despite the Civil War being a crucial historical circumstance, Wakeman was driven by the societal constraints put on women rather than moral convictions.