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“Economy Rules the Day:”
The Civil War Sacrifices of Judith Walker McGuire
by Tim Sheehan

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Employment

In order to augment her family’s income, McGuire had to seek employment outside of the home. Wartime inflation forced many middle and upper class women to enter the workforce. The Confederate States Government eagerly sought women to fill numerous occupations. Jobs, such as washing, cleaning, sewing, and packing cartridges of gunpowder were available to women. Middle and upper class educated women, like Judith McGuire, preferred office positions. The government offered to women positions that involved the clipping and signing of C.S.A. Treasury monetary notes. Christopher Memminger, Secretary of the Treasury, employed women “under the belief that they would be found diligent and efficient, and that Congress would approve the relief which was thereby extended to a large portion of the most loyal suffering and deserving of our country-women.” The government considered itself charitable in employing women who, due to the wartime economy, needed income.(60)

McGuire had set her sights on note-signing positions the Confederate Treasury offered women. She, unfortunately, had competition. The 24 September 1863 entry of the Diary states the following: “Mr. Memminger says that one vacancy will bring a hundred applicants.”(61) McGuire then applied for a position in the Virginia State Treasury Department. A letter from Judith McGuire seeking employment survives. McGuire gave the following explanation to J.M. Bennet for her reason for seeking outside employment:

I am a refugee from the neighborhood of Alexandria. My husband, the Rev. J. P. McGuire, has been obliged to take an office in the Post Office department with a salary of $1500, which as our property is in the hands of the enemy, is entirely inadequate to our support. I therefore seek an office at your hands.

McGuire not only used her story of wartime misfortune to obtain a position, but also relied on the influence of her brother, Judge John W. Brockenbrough, to assist her. Brockenbrough wrote to Bennet, describing his sister as “a lady of pre-eminent qualifications,” and reiterated his sister’s standing as a refugee. Judith McGuire never mentioned her qualifications for the position. That task was left to her brother. Brockenbrough informed Bennet of McGuire’s “excellent hand,” which “writes a rapid pace,” a desirable craft for the job. Despite these efforts, McGuire did not obtain a position in the Virginia Treasury. She must have been disappointed because this specific application is not mentioned in the Diary.(62)

McGuire’s opinion about obtaining employment varied. Sometimes she felt the numerous widows and orphans in Richmond needed the job more than she did. She had her husband with her. Other women weren’t so fortunate. “If I fail, I shall try to think that it is not right for me to have it.” Yet the family’s finances altered this charitable thought. Although her husband became chaplain of the Officer’s Hospital in Richmond, the pay, according to McGuire, couldn’t support the family. She also had the pressure of her daughters who expected more from their parents than they could give. McGuire did not want to disappoint them. “Oh, that we could be perfectly satisfied, knowing that we are in the Lord’s hands!” The pressure of needing extra income made Judith McGuire jealous of the poor, feeling “they are better off than usual,” due to the government jobs available to them. Job seekers outnumbered available jobs. As a result, McGuire had begun in 1863 to panic about the family’s finances.(63)

©2005-2012 Tim Sheehan tim@historynut.info

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This page last updated 1 January 2012