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

Table of Contents | Introduction | Conclusion | Endnotes | Printable HTML version | Images | Related Web Resources

Conclusion

Judith McGuire did manage to live up to the expectations of the roles of women during the war for a few years, despite the limitations she encountered as a refugee. She sewed and, for the most part, supported the soldiers with enthusiasm. The visitation of the wounded was a long-term devotion she made throughout the war. Even home manufacture and clothing repairs for herself were acceptable roles, although McGuire’s pursuit of these tasks did end her sewing for soldiers. However, with the Confederate economy in shambles, McGuire had to join the workforce out of economic necessity. It not only was unacceptable to McGuire, but also limited the time she devoted to the Robertson Hospital. Judging from McGuire’s biography of Robert Lee, the sewing, the hospital visitations, and the sacrifice of luxuries by women were activities McGuire appears to have wanted all to remember. Women in the wartime workforce was something Judith McGuire may have wanted history to forget.

See also Overshadowed: The Value of Judith McGuire’s Diary of a Southern Refugee During the War to learn the value historians place upon Judith McGuire’s Civil War diary.

©2005-2012 Tim Sheehan tim@historynut.info

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This page last updated 1 January 2012