They Also Served

Celebrating his first night in the President's House, John Adams offered the following toast, "May none but honest and wise men ever rule under this house." To which his wife Abigail replied, "Remember the ladies. It is hoped that this modest work, which we have entitled "They Also Served", will shed new light on the lives of the remarkable women who shared the history of this terrible time along with their warrior husbands. We have gathered these stories from various sources including books, magazines, the Internet, and several archival collections. A conscientious effort has been made to insure the information used in the telling of these stories has not only been accurate, but also fully documented. After Fort Sumter, the men left in droves obeying the call of their governments to serve with the armies being formed, not to return for years or at all. The glamorous picture of the brave men riding off to war is a popular one, however, it remained for the wives to take up the many burdens their departures left behind. Overnight, wives became heads of family with sole responsibility for maintaining home and hearth. Most were completely unschooled in managing household finances or supervising plantation or farm laborers. Alone, they bore the deaths of their children and suffered the shock of news from the front that their husbands had been killed or captured. Somehow, most of them survived and, in the process, added poignant, and truly amazing stories to Civil War folklore. They managed the home front as single parents for years. They followed their husbands to the front providing comfort and support, displaying great courage under dangerous and trying conditions. They provided badly needed nursing care. They developed skill at unraveling the politics of the military bureaucracy seeking ways they might support the careers of their loved ones. They suffered the anguish of spousal unfaithfulness. They served and died in support of a conflict that they little understood. Throughout the long four years they remained faithful to their respective causes without complaint and, often, with good cheer. One of our early favorites was the fascinating Fanny Haralson Gordon, wife of Confederate General John Brown Gordon. This formidable woman decided to remain with her husband as much of the time as possible under what, at times, became truly hazardous conditions. With the professional help of the staff at the University of Georgia Libraries we were able to develop a profile of Fanny's life prior to, during, and after the Civil War. Her spectacular story drove us forward with renewed energy. We next found the flamboyant Libby Custer, the noble and stoic Mary Custis Lee, followed by the melancholy Fanny Chamberlain. We were hooked. And so, we have heeded the admonition of the remarkable Abigail and hope this book will help in "Remembering the Ladies".