Introduction
The valley of the shadow depicts two communities during the American civil war of 1860-1865 with one community northern and the other southern specifically the Franklin County in Pennsylvania and Augusta county of Virginia. The period of war had great impact on women varying from their work, social status, age, race and family.
The women had a rich social experience of the war that was represented in their diaries, letters and other war documents. They expressed themselves differently and were concerned about different issues prior to the war, during the war and after the war period. The women ranged from slave owners, the wives to the soldiers, mothers, daughters, slaves to young girls.
The records of these women reveal their fears, anxiety, opinions on the war and their attitude. They also represent their devotions to family, their country, God and the struggle in the war. They are thus not only historical, but they provide rich information on the role of these women in the war, their reactions to the war, the climate and social conditions at the time and the place of women in society at the time.
The Analysis of the Experiences of Women in the War
While most of the women received letters from their loved ones especially those whose relatives were involved in the war, they also wrote letters to their loved ones, authorities, kept diaries and were depicted in the documentaries of the time (Ayers 10).
The analysis of these women shall include the mothers, daughters, wives, young girls of varying races and background. The analysis evaluates their devotion to their families, God and religion, their struggles during the war, the level of their education and other social issues (Whitman and Lowenfels 12).
The period of the Civil War was characterized by a separation of the families. This was with soldiers going to war leaving their families behind; children in school away from their families and the separation of relatives for other reasons.
The diaries of the women show their attachment to their families and their need to keep in touch with them. Fannies in the letter to her cousins (Ayers 17) keeps in touch through informing her cousins of the weather, the cold season, among others and sends them another letter too to know of their well being. Melly Clayton writes to her aunt about how her family is doing (Ayers 27).
Carter Sue writes and laments about her separation from her family showing the deep connection she had with them. In the letter of the Houser family, Mollie writes to her cousin about her family and relates the news to her cousin. The war time diary and letters of the Smiley family are about the relatives and family whereabouts (Ayers and Rubin 39).
The women wrote the letters to their relatives and family mostly in the war and away from home to inform them of what was going on at their homes (Ayers 33). For example, in the war letter of the McGuffin family, the mother writes to her son to inform him of the life at home, his brother and to enquire of his welfare.
The letters describe the love and devotion to the family. Maria Perkins who was a slave at the time wrote to her husband about the sale of her son, herself and the other children. The letters were also for the happy family moments. For example, Alansa in her diary talks of her marriage and slavery of her uncle to whom she was close.
The devotion of the women to God and religion at the time was evident in their letters and diaries. This devotion came out of fear, desperation and the painful moments of the war (Ayers and Rubin 59).
Anna Mellinger in her diary reveals her devotion to God through the prayer meetings, readings of the word from the Bible, mention of prayer and the evidence of faith (Ayers 38). The diaries and letters also represent the devotion to religious meetings. Melly Clayton in her letter to her aunt informs her of a possible religious camp meeting to be held in September (Ayers 40).
They also show the struggles of the women to maintain their Christian faith. For example, in her diary Wright Sarah shows her struggles to adapt to the Christian principles. The religious faith is also revealed through the attitude of optimism while some of them linked the war to God’s punishment to them. For example, Emerson Nancy in her diary perceived that the war was a result of God’s punishment to the Northern people for their sins (Ayers and Rubin 63).
Others had faith that God would reunite their families after the war and grant them peace. For example, Sue Carter expresses her faith for the reunion. The letters of Armentrout Kate are based on the Christian affairs, the unity prayer meetings and other religious activities. Religion acts as a consolidation for the women. For example, Harris Anna in her letter of 1860 shows her tribulations but reveals her assurance of God’s consolation (Whitman and Lowenfels 97).
The letters represent the level of education of the women. Most of the letters had grammatical errors with the knowledge of Basic English language. The letters however represent the abilities of the women in writing and basic reading thus justifying the fact that the women had gained basic education. This level of language proficiency is however not represented in all the women since the slaves and younger children represent a lack of proficiency as compared to the slave owners and those of the white race (Whitman and Lowenfels 121).
For example, the letters of Mollie Houser use language in the wrong tense, lack punctuation, have grammatical errors and appear like a direct translation. However, for the women who have gone through school such as Armentrout Kate, the letters are more grammatically correct and she makes use of more complex language as compared to the other women.
The letters and diary information also revealed the knowledge of the women about the war and the contribution and attitudes towards the same (Ayers 78). They also revealed their fears, agony and the decisions they made during the time. For example, Mollier in her letter of April 5, 1864 is concerned about the welfare of the soldiers in the war and wishes that the war would end soon.
Harris Anna in her letter of January 5, 1860 shows the trials and afflictions from the war since her friends were soldiers in the war. In her letter Fackler Lizzie shows her whereabouts of the war evident from the fear she has of the invasion of Yankee in Staunton. The diary of Mellinger Anna shows the period of the war and how she escaped with her family.
The letters and diaries of the women did not fail to touch on women issues such as the gossip and the whereabouts of others as well as the concept of relationships and weddings.
For example, Mollier talks of her wedding and the fact that she wants to engage in a relationship. Alansa talks of her life and her marriage while all the letters are descriptive showing the detailed messages and the description with the expression of themselves. The letters reveal the fears of the women and their desire for peace and stability with unity in their families and the end of the war (Ayers and Rubin 71).
The letters also revealed the historical times and the developments at the time while those written after the war by the women provided family history and the whereabouts of relatives (Ayers and Rubin 77). This shows that the women did not experience death during the war in large numbers but lost their relatives, family and friends and their concern reveals their love for their families.
For example, Martha in her letter of 1867 informs her nephew about the family history as well as the other families and relatives that he knew. The letters also represent schooling and education with the evidence of young girls writing about school and the events following the same. For example, Clayton writes about her school experience to her aunt, while Alaska talks of her schooling. The issues of racism are exposed by the information and the perceptions of the writers towards the same (Whitman and Lowenfels 234).
The period after the war is rife with information about the deaths and whereabouts of the families with the women sharing the same to their relatives. For example, the diary of Emerson Nancy reveals the deaths of the people she knew and the expression of frustration, loss and bitterness (Ayers and Rubin 98).
Summary
The experiences of the women provide a rich history of the Civil War through the issues they went through and witnessed. They experienced the Civil War differently depending on their race, age or status.
However, the nature of women is similar in the aspects of their attitudes towards religion, love and devotion to their families, struggles and the desire for peace in the country, the frustrations and losses experienced in the war and their attitudes towards the war. The analysis of the women opens the opportunity for understanding the modern times with the perceptions of society towards the role of women.
Works Cited
Ayers, Edward. The Valley of the Shadow, 2010. Web.
Ayers, Edward, and Anne Rubin. The Valley of the Shadow: Two Communities in the American Civil War – The Eve of War. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 2000.
Whitman, Walt, and Walter Lowenfels. Civil War. Boston: Knopf Publications, 1961.