What Role Did Southern Children Play In The Civil War

Role of Southern Children and Women in American Civil War
The American civil war which is widely known in the united states as the civil war was fought between the year 1861 to 1875 .it was a war between the confederates who were mainly seven states supporting the idea of slavery. The southern was made up of the seven states formed a coalition called the conferades states of America and were supporting slave trade. The conferades fought against the north union which were opposed to the slavery. The war had its own consequences resulting to the death of about 750000 people from the two factions. It also almost tore the American unity and plunged the country in one of its most turbulent time. This paper will examine the role of the southern children
The boys were recruited in by their headmasters in their schools or powerful ministers. Some even lied about their ages just to get the chance to join the war. Once the boys were enlisted some enlisted as soldiers, musicians messengers or runners to rely information, hospital caretakers water carriers etc. The boys played drums which was a daily routine in the camp signalling reveille time for assembly, when an officer is sick. The music was also source of entertainment for the troops and during parades reviews for the soldiers. But their most important role in the war was to use their music to communicate orders during the battle. The beats could transfer commands further and faster than the messengers. The drums were also clear than the human voice. The boys had learnt over 40 different beats to signal the different calls used in the battle. The senior boys in the camp were assigned the role of Powder boy powder monkey. The powder boys were supposed to be chosen on their speed rather than age with a legal requirement of four feet, eight inches to be able to perform their task but short enough to hide behind the ships gunwale as they ran back and forth between the space between their assigned gun and muzzle. They were paid $10 a month but were not official part of the crew but they played a huge role in the sea battle. Once signed in the war the boys faced many
The war broke them out of this as they actively took part in the war. More than 400 women disguised themselves as men and fought in the union and confederate armies. Led by Florence nightingale women took a more active role in the war and they disguised themselves as men and fought in the Crimean war. The white women in south put as much effort as their northern counterparts . Though the Confederacy had les resources than the Union, they did much of the work by their own means or relief aids from the society. They cooked and mended clothes for their children and supplied uniforms sand bags blankets for the entire troops. They also wrote letters to the soldiers and worked as untrained nurses in makeshift hospitals. Some went up the extent of caring of the injured soldiers in their own