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What was your life like during the Civil War?

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What was your life like during the Civil War?

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During the war, I dealt with many issues including hunger, uncomfort, pain, and homsickness. It was difficult to hide who I was so I wouldn't be discovered, and I always wished I could join the army as who I really was.

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(Bridget) I was discovered. Like many other women who disguised themselves to fight, I was discovered after I needed to seek medical attention after an injury. When I was out in the battlefield, I got shot in the shoulder. I had no other choice but to find a doctor. I was discovered in a similar way to another woman, Private Ames. When a doctor named Foster asked her why she joined the army, she told him "I wanted to do my part, same as you" (pbs.org). I would have replied no different than her.

Photo ~ sonofthesouth.net - Washington Navy Yard

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"Female Soldiers in the Civil War." American Battlefield Trust. N.p., 15 Mar. 2018. Web. 09 May 2018.

Righthand, Jess. "The Women Who Fought in the Civil War." Smithsonian.com. Smithsonian Institution, 07 Apr. 2011. Web. 09 May 2018.

"'I Wanted to Do My Part': Women as Soldiers in Civil War America." PBS. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 09 May 2018.

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(Joe) What was the most difficult part of fighting in the war? 

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(Joe) What was the most difficult part of fighting in the war? 

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(Bridget) Carrying a different identity, and pretending to be someone who I was not was always a challenge, even during my teen years, starting to disguise myself as a stable boy. It's so hard, knowing that the only way that I could support my family, and the only way that I could stand up, and fight for what I believed in was to change my identity completely.

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(Bridget) I was with my husband, fighting for the Union. We both strongly believed that slaves should be free (we were from Illinois), and decided to fight with the Yankees to help, only Clarence did not know I was there with him. I joined as a young male soldier fighting for the Union. I remember Clarence speaking about many of the problems with our country, including slavery and I wished I could contribute as well.

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(Bridget) Physical exams were not rigorous at all, and quite easy to pass. There were a lot of young men, who's voices had yet to change and smooth faces, which made it easy for me to blend in. I simply bound my breasts, wore loose clothes, chopped my hair short, and rubbed dirt on my face, and I was good to go. If you had enough teeth in your head, and if you could hold a musket, you would be fine in the army (smithsonianmag.com).

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(Bridget) I wanted to do my part, similarly to all the men who were allowed to help. I didn't believe it was right for women not to be allowed to join. My husband Clarence was also in the army. Why sit alone at home waiting for him to come back, when I could fight for what I believed in? Another woman I enlisted with, Sarah Edmond Seelye (disguised Franklin Flint Thompson) of the 2nd Michigan Infantry agreed. "I could only thank God that I was free and could go forward and wok, and I was not obliged to stay home and weep" (battlefields.org).

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Bridget Williams (John Smith) interviewed for TIME Magazine by reporter Joeseph Johnson. 

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Bridget Williams (John Smith) interviewed for TIME Magazine by reporter Joeseph Johnson. 

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Date of Birth: September 5, 1839

(Joe) Inform me on your life Story: (Bridget) I adopted male clothing and persona as a child in order to obtain greater pay and independence, which allowed me to help support my poor family. I worked as a stable boy, and received greater pay than if I had done what was thought of as women's work, which was usually domestic. At 24 years old, I sneaked of after my husband who had already gone to war, and I enlisted in the Union army as an 18 year old male solider, with the name John Smith. Soon after I began fighting, I was wounded in battle, discovered, and sent home.

Photo ~ battlefields.org - Female Soldiers in the Civil War