Capital dames: the Civil War and the women of Washington, 1848-1868

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In this engrossing and informative companion to her New York Times bestsellers Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, Cokie Roberts marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War by offering a riveting look at Washington, D.C. and the experiences, influence, and contributions of its women during this momentous period of American history.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social Southern town of Washington, D.C. found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States.

After the declaration of secession, many fascinating Southern women left the city, leaving their friends—such as Adele Cutts Douglas and Elizabeth Blair Lee—to grapple with questions of safety and sanitation as the capital was transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospital. With their husbands, brothers, and fathers marching off to war, either on the battlefield or in the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well. And more women went to the Capital City to enlist as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Many risked their lives making munitions in a highly flammable arsenal, toiled at the Treasury Department printing greenbacks to finance the war, and plied their needlework skills at The Navy Yard—once the sole province of men—to sew canvas gunpowder bags for the troops.

Cokie Roberts chronicles these women's increasing independence, their political empowerment, their indispensable role in keeping the Union unified through the war, and in helping heal it once the fighting was done. She concludes that the war not only changed Washington, it also forever changed the place of women.

Sifting through newspaper articles, government records, and private letters and diaries—many never before published—Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of its formidable women.

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ISBN
9780062002761
9780062390271
9780062402240
UPC
9780062402240

Table of Contents

From the Book - First edition.

Meet the women of Washington, 1848-1856
Jessie runs for president but Harriet takes the White House and Mary Jane reports, 1856-1858
Varina leads and leaves as Abby drops by, 1859-1861
Rose goes to jail, Jessie goes to the White House, Dorothea goes to work, 1861
Rose is released, Clara goes to war, Louisa May briefly nurses, 1862
Lizzie reports on the action, Janet goes to camp, Louisa takes charge, 1863
Anna speaks, Jessie campaigns (again), Sojourner visits, 1864
One Mary leaves, one Mary hangs, and Lois writes about it all, 1865
Virginia and Varina return, Sara survives, Mary is humiliated, Kate loses, 1866-1868.

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These books have the appeal factors incisive, and they have the genres "collective biographies" and "history writing -- women's history"; and the subject "united states civil war, 1861-1865."
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Women played all sorts of roles during the Civil War, including as spies. While Capital Dames offers a deeply researched analysis of the way women's roles changed during that war, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy concentrates on four particularly unconventional women. -- Shauna Griffin
These books have the appeal factors evocative, and they have the subjects "united states civil war, 1861-1865" and "united states history."
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These books have the appeal factors evocative and richly detailed, and they have the genres "history writing -- women's history" and "adult books for young adults"; and the subjects "women," "independence," and "united states history."
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These books have the genre "history writing -- women's history"; and the subjects "women and politics," "united states civil war, 1861-1865," and "presidents' spouses."
The better angels: five women who changed Civil War America - Plumb, Robert C.
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Accessible writing with a conversational tone characterizes these authors' memoirs and works on American history. Cokie Roberts focuses on women's history, while Harold Evans' titles are more general. -- Katherine Johnson
These authors' books offer engaging, well-researched discussions of American history and politics. Their background as journalists enhances their skill at highlighting details and providing insider information that appeals to a range of readers. -- Katherine Johnson
Each of these authors is well known for her journalism: Cokie Roberts for her work on NPR and ABC and Barbara Walters on television. Both offer candid and descriptive accounts of their personal and professional experiences. -- Katherine Johnson
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Published Reviews

Booklist Review

Roberts, (Founding Mothers, 2004, and Ladies of Liberty, 2008) provides another splendid female-centric slice of history. This time, to mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, she focuses on the period from 1848 to 1868. During these momentous 20 years, Washington, D.C., was transformed from an insular political and social center into a bustling army camp and a massive military hospital. Roberts explores in depth the ways in which this transformation affected and shaped the women of the capital and, by extension, the women of America. Formerly consigned to roles of social and political belles or servants, Washington females of all classes rolled up their sleeves, taking on both small and large jobs in journalism, nursing, munitions, government, and social services. Viewing this evolution through the lens of a remarkable group of women, who thankfully left behind a substantial written record in the form of letters, diaries, articles, and books, Roberts illuminates how the harsh realities of the war changed the course of individual lives and permanently altered the course of American women's history.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
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Library Journal Review

Emmy Award-winning political commentator Roberts (Ladies of Liberty; Founding Mothers) commemorates the sesquicentennial anniversary of the end of the Civil War with an exploration of the experiences and social, cultural, and political influences of women in war-torn Washington, DC. Covering the late 1840s through the late 1860s, this group biography focuses on 14 prominent political spouses and relatives, seven authors and journalists, and six activists and reformers, with first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, and Confederate spy Rose Greenhow among those featured. Roberts uses these women's intertwined stories to chronicle the war's impact on the capital city from their viewpoints while also describing the broader story of the conflict throughout the fractured nation from their perspectives. The author's extensive research relies heavily on government records, newspaper accounts, and personal letters and diaries, which gives this fresh look at Washington, DC during the Civil War era a sense of intimacy, immediacy, and originality. Roberts concludes her well-written, readable study with a lengthy bibliography and a fascinating epilog featuring summaries of the post-Civil War activities of many of the women portrayed. VERDICT History buffs who enjoyed and learned from Roberts's two previous books on the pivotal roles of women in early America will likely find this volume just as informative and accessible.-Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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Kirkus Book Review

Political commentator and bestselling author Roberts (Ladies of Liberty: The Women who Shaped our Nation, 2008, etc.) shines a spotlight on the remarkable political, literary, and activist women of Washington, D.C., during the tumult of the Civil War.In her previous books, the author has recounted the changing roles of women and their significant impacts on the nation's growth, and her latest is a natural follow-up. With the commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in 2011, Roberts' curiosity was piqued again. "I started wondering whether that horrific conflict had a similar impact on American women's lives," she writes. The author's extensive research included diaries, newspapers, government records, and private correspondence, all of which capture the turmoil, excitement, and heartbreak that transpired in this once-quiet "prewar Capital City." With the onset of the war, Washington evolved into a sprawling Union Army camp and then a reeking, overcrowded military hospital. As a result, some Southern belles fled to Confederate territory. Women shouldered new roles, becoming nurses and forming social service and relief agencies. Some wrote propaganda, and others became spies. Many women moved to Washington to fill positions once held by men. African-American women founded societies to advocate for improved conditions in the camps for displaced slaves. The author's cast of characters is vast, from familiar names to those less well-known, and her detailed, layered narration makes the information fresh and highly relatable. Whether Roberts is relating the confidences between Mary Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth Keckley, the tireless work of abolitionist Josephine Griffing, or the struggles of Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis, to secure her dying husband's release from jail, each story widens the historical lens. An enlightening account detailing how the Civil War changed the nation's capital while expanding the role of women in politics, health care, education, and social services. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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Booklist Reviews

Roberts, (Founding Mothers, 2004, and Ladies of Liberty, 2008) provides another splendid female-centric slice of history. This time, to mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, she focuses on the period from 1848 to 1868. During these momentous 20 years, Washington, D.C., was transformed from an insular political and social center into a bustling army camp and a massive military hospital. Roberts explores in depth the ways in which this transformation affected and shaped the women of the capital and, by extension, the women of America. Formerly consigned to roles of social and political belles or servants, Washington females of all classes rolled up their sleeves, taking on both small and large jobs in journalism, nursing, munitions, government, and social services. Viewing this evolution through the lens of a remarkable group of women, who thankfully left behind a substantial written record in the form of letters, diaries, articles, and books, Roberts illuminates how the harsh realities of the war changed the course of individual lives and permanently altered the course of American women's history. Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.

Copyright 2014 Booklist Reviews.
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Library Journal Reviews

Emmy Award-winning political commentator Roberts (Ladies of Liberty; Founding Mothers) commemorates the sesquicentennial anniversary of the end of the Civil War with an exploration of the experiences and social, cultural, and political influences of women in war-torn Washington, DC. Covering the late 1840s through the late 1860s, this group biography focuses on 14 prominent political spouses and relatives, seven authors and journalists, and six activists and reformers, with first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, and Confederate spy Rose Greenhow among those featured. Roberts uses these women's intertwined stories to chronicle the war's impact on the capital city from their viewpoints while also describing the broader story of the conflict throughout the fractured nation from their perspectives. The author's extensive research relies heavily on government records, newspaper accounts, and personal letters and diaries, which gives this fresh look at Washington, DC during the Civil War era a sense of intimacy, immediacy, and originality. Roberts concludes her well-written, readable study with a lengthy bibliography and a fascinating epilog featuring summaries of the post-Civil War activities of many of the women portrayed. VERDICT History buffs who enjoyed and learned from Roberts's two previous books on the pivotal roles of women in early America will likely find this volume just as informative and accessible.—Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia

[Page 86]. (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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