Massachusetts Women's Home Front letters, 1863-1864

Summary

Creator:

Anonymous

Abstract:

This collection contains 12 letters that a woman named Emma received from female friends and family members during the Civil War. Emma's correspondents commented on their social lives on the home front and discussed the increasing toll the war began to take on their male acquaintances, particularly with regard to conscription.

Extent:

12 items

Language:

English

Sponsor:

James S. Schoff Civil War Collection

Authors:

Collection processed and finding aid created by Meg Hixon, October 2011

Background

Scope and Content:

This collection contains 12 letters that a woman named Emma received from female friends and family members during the Civil War. Emma's correspondents commented on their social lives on the home front and discussed the increasing toll the war began to take on their male acquaintances, particularly with regard to conscription.

Nettie Hodgkins of Lock's Village, Massachusetts, was Emma's most frequently correspondent, a childhood friend who often addressed Emma as "Amy." Other writers included a cousin and sister. The letters sometimes have lists of mutual acquaintances who were drafted or otherwise involved with the military, including Emma's brothers, and occasionally refer to soldiers' deaths. One writer lamented the draft's "sad work" (July 21, 1863), and a woman named Esther described the death of her friend Sarah from a fever (December 17, 1864).

Biographical / Historical:

Though most of the fighting during the Civil War took place on Confederate soil, residents throughout both the Union and the Confederacy were touched by the conflict. Women saw brothers and other male acquaintances go off to war, most notably after the introduction of conscription in the North in 1862. Renewed calls for a draft appeared in 1863 and 1864, though service could often be evaded by purchasing a substitute or by paying a $300 commutation fee. Despite facing hardships and the absence of many men of fighting age, women continued their social engagements and lived their daily lives with as much normalcy as possible in the circumstances.

Acquisition Information:

2010. M-4821 .

Processing information:

Cataloging funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). This collection has been processed according to minimal processing procedures and may be revised, expanded, or updated in the future.

Arrangement:

The collection is arranged chronologically.

Rules or Conventions:

Finding aid prepared using Describing Archives: A Content Standard (DACS)

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

Draft--United States.

Formats:

Letters (correspondence)

Names:

Hodgkins, Nettie.

Places:

Massachusetts--History--Civil War, 1861-1865.
United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Women.
United States--Social life and customs--1783-1865.