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 Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

WO M E N IN THE C IVIL WA R C O RNE L L

BY KARI A. CORNELL
O
C I
M
V
E
I
N
L
I
W
N
A
T
R
H E

WAR
THE CIVIL
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
 E C I V I L W A R
WOMEN I N T H
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

BY KARI A. CORNELL
Essential Library
CONTENT CONSULTANT
BONNIE LAUGHLIN-SCHULTZ, PHD
An Imprint of Abdo Publishing
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF HISTORY
abdopublishing.com
EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 1 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 abdopublishing.com
Published by Abdo Publishing, a division of ABDO, PO Box 398166, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55439. Copyright © 2017 by Abdo
Consulting Group, Inc. International copyrights reserved in all countries. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form
without written permission from the publisher. Essential Library™ is a trademark and logo of ABDO Publishing.
Printed in the United States of America, North Mankato, Minnesota
052016
092016

Cover Photo: Alexander Gardner/Buyenlarge/Getty Images

Interior Photos: Alexander Gardner/Buyenlarge/Getty Images, 1; North Wind Picture Archives, 4, 7, 14, 81, 86; Red Line
Editorial, 9; Kean Collection/Archive Photos/Getty Images, 10, 34; Library of Congress, 17, 25, 26, 41, 42, 48, 56, 64, 69,
77, 84, 91, 99 (top), 99 (bottom); Buyenlarge/Getty Images, 18, 46; ClassicStock/Alamy, 23; Hulton Archive/iStockphoto, 31;
Fotosearch/Getty Images, 36, 51; MPI/Getty Images, 45, 58; Hulton Archive/Getty Images, 60; J. W. Umpehent, 71, 98 (bottom);
John Dainty, 72, 98 (top); Time Life Pictures/Timepix/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images, 74; Lewis C. Lockwood/Project
Gutenberg, 83; Tom Allen/The Washington Post/Getty Images, 93; Popperfoto/Getty Images, 95
Editor: Rebecca Rowell
Series Designers: Kelsey Oseid and Maggie Villaume

Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Cornell, Kari A., author.
Title: Women in the Civil War / by Kari A. Cornell.
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Description: Minneapolis, MN : Abdo Publishing, [2017] | Series: Essential library

of the Civil War | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2015960309 | ISBN 9781680782806 (lib. bdg.) |
ISBN 9781680774696 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--Women--
Juvenile literature. | United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865--
Participation, Female--Juvenile literature.
Classification: DDC 973.7082--dc23
LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/2015960309

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 2 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 CO N T E N T S
CHAPTER 1 A NATION DIVIDED ..........................................................................4
CHAPTER 2 ORGANIZING FOR CAUSES .............................................................14
CHAPTER 3 FIGHTING AS SOLDIERS ............................................................... 26
CHAPTER 4 TENDING THE WOUNDED .............................................................. 36
CHAPTER 5 CONFEDERATE WOMEN’S WAR ......................................................48
CHAPTER 6 WOMEN IN THE NORTH ................................................................. 60
CHAPTER 7 AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMEN .......................................................74
CHAPTER 8 WOMEN IN MOURNING ................................................................. 86
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

TIMELINE ............................................................. 98
ESSENTIAL FACTS .................................................100
GLOSSARY ...........................................................102
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES .......................................104
SOURCE NOTES .....................................................106
INDEX ..................................................................110
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ..............................................112
ABOUT THE CONSULTANT........................................112

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 3 6/22/16 4:12 PM

Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Soldiers saw the brutalit y of war in numerous battles, including the First Battle
of Bull Run.

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 4 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 CHAPTER

1
A NATION DIVIDED
July 21, 1861, was no ordinary Sunday for Franklin Thompson, a
19-year-old private in the Union army’s Second Michigan Infantry.
Instead of church bells ringing out across the countryside,
announcing the start of worship services, the sound of gunfire
filled the air as soldiers from the North and the South fought near
Manassas Junction, Virginia. The clash would become known as the
First Battle of Bull Run.
That skirmish was the first major battle of the American Civil
War (1861–1865). It was also the first time Thompson saw military
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

action. All around, artillery boomed while steel swords clanged

and muskets fired. Then, for the first time, Thompson saw a man
die. An artillery shell exploded in a nearby battery, killing the
gunner and injuring three other soldiers. Moments later, as the

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 5 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 commanding colonel shouted orders to his men, a bullet zoomed past his head,
nearly striking him. That bullet shot a hole in Thompson’s flask. No place was
safe. By the time the gunfire stopped, wounded, dying, or already dead soldiers
covered nearly every inch of the field. Thompson described the scene: “The sight
of that field is perfectly appalling. . . legs, arms, and bodies are crushed and
broken as if smitten by thunder-bolts; the ground is crimson with blood; it is
terrible to witness.” 1
For Thompson, that day at Bull Run would merge with many other brutal,
gruesome days on the battlefield. But Thompson was no ordinary soldier.
Franklin Thompson was actually Sarah Emma Edmonds. For Edmonds, dodging
gunfire and witnessing the death of fellow soldiers would become commonplace.
And she was not alone in her experience as a woman on the battlefield. Edmonds
was one of a few hundred women who disguised their identities to fight with the
Union or the Confederacy in the Civil War. She and other American women would
serve in a variety of roles, including field nurse and spy, all of them doing what
they could to support their side in a conflict that divided the United States and
its citizens.
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

NORTH VERSUS SOUTH

The Civil War had been going on for three months when Edmonds experienced
that unforgettable day at Bull Run. The war started before sunrise on

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 6 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 April 12, 1861. At 4:30 a.m. that day, a
ten-inch (25 cm) mortar round exploded
100 feet (30 m) above Fort Sumter in
South Carolina. With a loud blast, this
bomb brought to life a conflict that had
been brewing in American politics for
many years.
The Confederate attack did not
surprise the Union troops in command at
the fort. On December 20, 1860, South
Carolina had seceded from the Union, and
the Union-held fort defended Charleston
Harbor, a strategic port for the South.
In January 1861, Mississippi, Florida,
Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana joined
South Carolina in secession. These states
formed their own nation, the Confederate
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

States of America, in February. More

Residents of Charleston, South

Carolina, watch the attack on Fort
Sumter. 7

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 7 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 states would join over the next few months. Now, with the nation divided into
North and South, an attack seemed imminent.
After enduring 34 hours of continuous
shelling, Union major Robert Anderson
STATES SECEDE surrendered Fort Sumter to Confederate
Following Abraham Lincoln’s election to the US
brigadier general P. G. T. Beauregard
presidency in November 1860, Southern states
began to secede from the Union over the next on April 13. In the hours that followed,
several months:
Confederate supporters gathered in
• South Carolina, December 20, 1860
• Mississippi, January 9, 1861 Charleston, South Carolina, to celebrate Pac
• Florida, January 10, 1861
Oc
and cheer as boats in the harbor blared
• Alabama, January 11, 1861
• Georgia, January 19, 1861
their horns in support.
• Louisiana, January 26, 1861 News of the surrender shocked
• Texas, February 1, 1861
Northerners. Still, the mood in Northern
• Virginia, April 17, 1861
• Arkansas, May 6, 1861 cities was patriotic and upbeat. President
• North Carolina, May 20, 1861
Abraham Lincoln immediately called for
• Tennessee, June 8, 1861
75,000 volunteer soldiers to join the
fight against the Southern rebellion, and
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Northerners responded quickly. 2 In Boston, Massachusetts, journalist Mary

Livermore witnessed support for the men who agreed to serve. She noted how
“windows were flung up; and women leaned out into the rain, waving flags and

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 8 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 BRITISH
NORTH AMERICA New Hampshire
Minnesota Vermont
Maine
Oregon Dakota Michigan
Territory
Washington Wisconsin
Massachusetts
Territory New York
Rhode
Island
Connecticut
Nevada Nebraska Territory Iowa Pennsylvania
Territory New Jersey
Utah Ohio Delaware
Colorado Illinois
Territory Indiana West
Maryland
Territory Kansas Virginia
Virginia
Missouri Kentucky
California
North Carolina
Indian Tennessee
New Mexico South
Pacific Territory Territory Arkansas Carolina
Ocean Georgia
Alabama Atlantic
Texas
Mississippi
Ocean
Union states without slavery Louisiana Florida
TH
EB
Union states and regions with slavery AH
N AM
AS
Confederate states W E

Territories
MEXICO Gulf of Mexico
SN

South Carolina’s secession in December 1860 divided the nation and led to ten more states
CUBA
seceding by the middle of 1861.
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

handkerchiefs” as volunteer soldiers made their way through the streets to

report for duty. 3

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 9 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 WOMEN STEP UP
As men marched off to war, women looked
for ways they could contribute to the
cause. Many women on both sides of the
conflict began gathering food, clothing,
bandages, and other supplies. They
stockpiled such items in their homes,
planning to send the goods to the troops
as needed. Women also began organizing
aid societies. These volunteer groups were
dedicated to making much-needed items
for soldiers. Southern groups included
the Ladies’ Relief Society of Lynchburg,
Virginia, and the Ladies Association in
Aid of the Volunteers of the Confederate
Army of Greenville, South Carolina.
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Northern organizations included the

Ladies Aid Society of Columbus, Ohio.

Sarah Emma Edmonds was one of

at a least a few hundred women
10 who fought in the Civil War.

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 10 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 Thousands of women also volunteered as nurses. They were inspired by
stories of Florence Nightingale, a British nurse famous for improving sanitary
conditions and patient recovery rates in Europe and Asia during the Crimean
War (1853–1856). These women left home to serve their militaries. Northern
women traveled to Washington, DC, and to
Southern battlefields to care for the ill and
wounded. Southern women treated soldiers SEPARATE SOCIAL SPHERES
on the battlefield or in makeshift hospitals The American Civil War erupted during the
Victorian era (1837–1901). During this era,
in churches or private homes.
middle- and upper-class women and men
A few women, such as Edmonds, went functioned in different areas of society, an idea
known as the doctrine of separate spheres. Men
as far as disguising themselves as men
led public lives, leaving home each day to make
and fighting on battlefields. Many fought money for the family. Women stayed home to
care for the children, cook, and clean. These
bravely alongside male soldiers who valued
separate spheres made women subservient to
their female comrades’ contributions. men. Still, women discovered power in their
socially defined sphere. They used it to gain
These women soldiers often went
independence as they formed aid societies,
undetected until they were injured or killed which performed charitable work that was
in battle. considered part of their sphere. Women had
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

little time for socializing. When they did socialize,

women were expected to follow a strict code
ON THE HOME FRONT of conduct, including keeping their opinions to
With battles sometimes waged in their themselves. Also, women were not allowed to
vote and could not own property.
backyards, Southern women endured

11

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 11 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 hardships most Northern women did not. Soldiers from both sides stole food
from gardens, killed livestock, and plundered firewood and other items. Southern
women also lived through food shortages that sometimes led to rioting. On
Southern plantations, wives took over managing all household duties, including
overseeing the slaves who worked in the cotton fields, a task usually done by
men. For female slaves and working-class white women in the South, the war
meant they had to double their workload to cover the jobs of men who had gone
to work or fight in the war.
While the lives of wealthy Northerners were relatively unaffected by the war,
well-to-do women often participated in the war effort by organizing benefits and
fund raisers. Meanwhile, working-class Northern women filled in for men who
were away at war. Pay varied by job. Women earned more money working at mills
and artillery manufacturing plants than at textile factories. All the jobs provided
much-needed income. Many women also filled teaching positions that opened
during and after the war. Women’s aid societies, including some all-black groups,
arranged for these new teachers to tutor former slaves in reading, writing, and
life skills.
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

STEPPING OUT OF THE SHADOWS

The Civil War provided Northern and Southern women alike with countless
opportunities to support their troops and manage their home fronts. Along the

12

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 12 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 THE AFTERMATH OF THE CIVIL WAR
Both the North and the South suffered transportation network. Union forces had
tremendous losses during the war, but the targeted the railroad system, destroying
South emerged with many more battle bridges, tracks, and rail yards in an effort to
scars. Because the majority of the war was stop the movement of Confederate troops. In
fought in Confederate states, much of the the postwar era, the damaged transportation
South had to be rebuilt, including Atlanta, system kept the South from moving the food
Georgia, and Charleston, South Carolina. A and goods it produced to market.
particularly devastating loss was the South’s

way, they gained skills in organizing relief efforts, managing households, and
recruiting volunteers. Many also found their activist voices. These skills became
the foundation upon which women continued to build the case for equal rights
for all Americans, regardless of sex or color.
The American Civil War was instrumental in bringing many women out of
the shadows of men, inspiring those women to consider their personal thoughts
on slavery. Numerous women in the North and some in the South rallied behind
the Emancipation Proclamation. They appreciated it in the context of their own
lack of freedom as a group within American society. The war was costly in its
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

destruction of lives and property. It also proved invaluable as a testing ground

for women. Whether they were white or black, Northern or Southern, women
showed themselves brave, proud, strong, smart, and far more capable than their
society credited them.

13

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 13 5/9/16 12:57 PM

Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Revivals, such as this one in Massachusetts in the 1850s, prompted many female
attendees to push for social reform.

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 14 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 CHAPTER

2
ORGANIZING
FOR CAUSES
In the years leading up to the Civil War, a growing number
of Northern women became active in social causes aimed at
moral reform. These included temperance, abolishing slavery,
improving prison conditions, and women’s rights. These calls for
reform stemmed, in part, from a religious movement called the
Second Great Awakening, which swept the nation in the early to
mid-1800s. The Second Great Awakening stressed that people
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

had free will and the ability to take action and change society for
the better. Most important, the religious movement welcomed
the participation of all women, no matter their skin color, and
encouraged them to play a greater role in social reform.

15

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 15 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 WOMEN’S AID SOCIETIES
Soon after the first shots were fired at Fort Sumter in April 1861, women in the
North and the South responded with zeal. They quickly formed aid societies to
provide soldiers with both necessities and the comforts of home. These social
groups met on a regular basis to make items for the troops. Members spent
their spare moments knitting socks, mittens, and hats and sewing shirts and
quilts to keep soldiers warm on the battlefield. Women also gathered food
and medical supplies for troops and raised money for the war effort. These
societies numbered approximately 7,000 in the Northern states and the West. 1
Volunteers also canned vegetables from their gardens or baked sweets to send to
Union camps.
The first recorded women’s aid society in the North formed in Bridgeport,
Connecticut, on April 15, 1861, shortly after the attack at Fort Sumter. Its
members knitted socks, made quilts, and sewed shirts for the soldiers. Similar
organizations quickly followed, including the Ladies Hospital Aid Society, the
Union Volunteer Refreshment Saloon, and the US Christian Commission. Most
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

of these groups tended to be segregated by class. Societies established by white

women consisted of members of the middle and upper classes. Working-class
women usually had little time for such activities. These groups preferred to

16

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 16 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 send the items they made and collected
exclusively to soldiers from local
regiments who were on the front lines.
In the South, shortages in warm
clothes and shoes began to take their toll
on Confederate soldiers by the winter
of 1861–1862. The Northern blockade
prevented wool, cloth, clothing, and other
goods from reaching Southern states. In
response to these shortages, Southern
women formed their own women’s aid
societies. Confederate women joined more
than 1,000 such groups, which sprouted
up in Southern cities or were organized
by existing church groups. 2 Groups
such as the Ladies’ Aid Association of
Greenville, South Carolina, the Ladies’
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Relief Society in Lynchburg, Virginia, the

Charleston Soldiers Relief Association,

Women used posters to advertise

aid societ y fund-raising events. 17

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 17 5/10/16 2:15 PM

 Women helped soldiers in a variet y of ways, including by providing them with food
and drink.

and the Mobile Military Aid Society in Alabama pooled their resources and did
what they could to support Confederate troops. These groups organized clothing
drives, urging Southern families to donate wool sweaters, coats, or pants to keep
the soldiers warm. Women even resorted to cutting up rugs and stitching them
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

together to make blankets for the soldiers.

Volunteers in the aid societies on both sides of the conflict also planned
events or went door to door to raise money for the troops. In the North, the
US Sanitary Commission promoted fund-raising fairs called sanitary fairs, which

18

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 18 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 brought in considerable amounts of money. A fair held in Chicago, Illinois, in
October 1863 brought in $100,000 for Union troops, and an April 1864 fair in
New York City, New York, made approximately $2 million. 3 In the North, many
middle- and upper-class women liked to attend the fairs because they provided a
way to both support the war effort and socialize.
Aid societies sent troops handmade clothing and knits in what are now
commonly referred to as care packages. They were also filled with favorite
homemade jams and jellies, brandy and other spirits, books, and chicken soup
to comfort loved ones who fell ill. But many supplies sent from the North and
the South did not reach the intended recipients because they were intercepted or
stolen along the way.
Volunteers in the North and in the South became discouraged that sweaters
knit with love or favorite canned goods never reached loved ones on the front
and stopped trying to send packages. In some instances, when army camps were
not too far away, women took it upon themselves to deliver their own packages.
As the war dragged on, some Northern aid organizations disbanded due to
frustration over packages not reaching their intended recipients. Groups in the
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

South, however, faced a different dilemma. One year into the war, supplies and
food dwindled in the South, making it difficult for Confederate aid organizations
to continue sending supplies to the troops. Many of these organizations had no
choice but to disband.

19

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 19 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 THE ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT
Thirty years before the Civil War began, some women, mostly in the North,
got involved in the abolitionist movement. They wrote articles for abolitionist
newspapers such as the Liberator, handed out pamphlets declaring the evils of
slavery, petitioned Congress to end slavery, and called for others to join them in
the fight to end the practice. Some women offered their homes as stops on the
Underground Railroad, a network of secret routes (called lines) and safe houses
(called stations) that existed in 14 states, providing fugitive slaves with a path to
freedom in the North. Others made speeches at abolitionist gatherings. Several
abolitionist women, including sisters Sarah Moore Grimké and Angelina Grimké
Weld, also fought for women’s rights.
The November 1860 election of Abraham Lincoln, the first president with
strong antislavery leanings, provided hope to some abolitionists, including
Maria Patec of Manhattan, Kansas. She wrote to her cousin in New England of an
impending war over the practice:

The time has come I think, when the battle of Armageddon is to be fought,
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

the day of preparation is at hand, the irrepressible conflict has begun as in

the days of the Israelites in Egypt. God will no sooner look [favorably] upon
bondage in America than he did in Egypt. 4

20

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 20 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 Patec’s words would prove true as the
issue of slavery divided the nation. The AFRICAN-AMERICAN AID SOCIETIES
war would provide opportunities for the White women were not the only group to form
aid societies. In the North, some black women
enslaved to gain freedom and Northern joined African-American aid societies, which
women to offer aid to the newly freed. were called colored aid societies, reflecting the
language of the time. Their members produced
goods to send to soldiers and to freed slaves.
HELP FOR FREED SLAVES Organizations such as the Colored Women’s
As the Civil War unfolded and Union Sanitary Commission and the Ladies’ Sanitary
Association of Saint Thomas’s African Episcopal
troops began to take over territory in
Church formed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Southern states, many slaves ran for
freedom across Union lines. The freed
slaves arrived hungry and tired, wearing tattered clothing and desperate for a
place to stay. Many of the new arrivals lived in makeshift refugee camps, where
conditions were poor at best.
Organizations such as the Contraband Relief Association in Washington,
DC, and the Chicago Colored Ladies’ Freedmen’s Aid Society, whose members
were African American, formed to raise money and deliver food and clothing
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

to people in the camps. Many women volunteered in the camps, nursing the ill
and helping them get settled. Abolitionist women, both black and white, helped
gather supplies for freed slaves, gave them a place to stay until they were able to
support themselves, and worked to find jobs for the new arrivals.

21

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 21 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 B O L I T I O N
A BEGINNING OF A WOMEN’S MOVEMENT
THE

In the years leading up to the Civil War, of speaking against slavery at abolitionist
women got involved in the abolitionist gatherings.5 This exclusion from the
movement by the thousands. They wrote abolitionist movement prompted
articles for abolitionist newspapers, several women, including Mott and
distributed pamphlets declaring the evils Stanton, to band together to fight for
of slavery, petitioned Congress to end women’s rights.
slavery, and called for others to join them As the Civil War began, however,
in the fight to end the practice. many leaders within the two movements
But when politically active women urged all women to set aside women’s
such as Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth rights and focus on ending slavery.
Cady Stanton tried to attend the Working together, women from both
World Anti-Slavery Convention in movements pushed for the government
London, England, in 1840, they were to pass the Thirteenth Amendment,
not allowed to participate because which abolished slavery, and the
they were female. Abolitionist sisters Fourteenth Amendment, which forbid
Angelina Grimké Weld and Sarah Moore discrimination on the basis of race. The
Grimké endured discrimination from experience of organizing to end slavery
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

men within the movement for their laid a strong foundation for the fight for
“unwomanly behavior,” which consisted women’s rights that was yet to come.

22

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 22 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Lucretia Mott, center , sometimes faced angry mobs

because of her support for abolition.

23

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 23 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 Many other women who were not
“I think it is our duty as a people to spend our
necessarily active participants in the
lives in trying to elevate our own race. Who can
feel for us if we do not feel for ourselves? And abolitionist movement traveled south
who can feel the sympathy that we can who are
during the war to teach former slaves to
identified with them?”8
—E. Garrison Jackson, a black woman
read and write. Women’s aid societies,
from Rhode Island, in her application freemen’s societies, the American
to teach in the South for the American
Missionary Association, and religious
Missionary Association
organizations paid to send 900 teachers to
Union-occupied areas of the South, such
as Sea Islands, South Carolina. 6 Three-fourths of these teachers were women. 7
In addition to reading and writing, all teachers instructed their students on
keeping house, paying bills, and finding jobs. Only a handful of occupations,
including working in cotton fields, sewing, or housekeeping, were available to
African-American women at the time.
Throughout the war years, women in the North and the South—white and
black—lent a hand to those in need. Their handmade gloves, hats, and sweaters
not only kept soldiers warm on the battlefield but also boosted morale by serving
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

as a reminder of loved ones back home. In the same spirit, women abolitionists
and aid society members helped ease the transition of former slaves into society.
But some women yearned to do more. They wanted to take a more active role in
the conflict itself.

24

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 24 5/9/16 12:57 PM

 Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Women sent by the American Missionary Association to teach former slaves in

25
South Carolina pose for a photograph while t wo students nearby hide their faces.

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 25 5/10/16 2:29 PM

Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Frances Clalin Clayton fought for the South as Jack Williams and was wounded in
the Battles of Shiloh and Stone River.

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 26 5/9/16 12:58 PM

 CHAPTER

3
FIGHTING AS SOLDIERS
When Sarah Emma Edmonds fought at the First Battle of Run on
July 21, 1861, she was not the only woman on the battlefield. Five
others fought as well. Louisa Hoffman fought for the Union as
part of the First Ohio Infantry. A woman known simply as Charlie
also took up arms on the Union side. So did Frances Jamieson, a
first lieutenant from Kentucky who used the name Frank Abel and
fought under her husband, who was a captain. On the Confederate
side, Loreta Janeta Velazquez fought as a lieutenant using the
name Harry T. Buford. In fact, women dressed as male soldiers
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

fought in nearly every major Civil War battle.

Joining the army during the Civil War was not difficult for
women. Because both sides were desperate for soldiers, doctors
conducting medical exams typically checked only enlistees’ teeth

27

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 27 5/9/16 12:58 PM

 and made sure they could hold and fire a rifle properly. For many women, most
of whom lived or had grown up on farms, firing a rifle was second nature.
Assuming the look of a soldier was also relatively easy. Civil War uniforms
were loosely cut, which allowed women to hide breasts or hips and bulk up
slender waists to look more masculine. And their lack of facial hair was not
a problem. Recruiting offices needed soldiers, especially in the South, where
there was no age restriction for joining
a regiment. As a result, it was common
UNKNOWN NUMBER OF for teenage boys and young men—many
WOMEN SOLDIERS of whom lacked facial hair—to join the
Historians have officially documented only
250 female soldiers.1 However, some sources military. Still, some women, including
estimate the actual number is somewhere Velazquez, disguised themselves further by
between 400 and 750.2 Because women
wearing a false mustache or beard.
registered for the service using male names, and
a woman’s true identity was not revealed unless Once in the field, keeping their
she was injured or killed or she admitted it,
identities a secret was not too challenging.
getting an accurate count is difficult.
Regiments were always on the move, and
soldiers slept in canvas tents or with a
Copyright © 2016. ABDO Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

bedroll under the stars. There were no public toilets or bathhouses. Soldiers slept
in their clothes, washed alone in a stream or river, and snuck off into the woods
to relieve themselves. And many women stopped having their menstrual periods
as a result of constant marching and not having enough food to eat.

28

ABD_CIV_WOM_FPGS.indd 28 5/9/16 12:58 PM

Exploring the Variety of Random
Documents with Different Content
respirators of a sort, and every precaution was taken against a
possible attempt to overcome our
 1916] A FLOATING MINE 203 men by gas fumes. But it
seems that the cylinders, whatever their nature, were not intended
for a gas attack, and matters soon reverted to their normal state.
General Aylmer's guns continued to mutter and thunder in the
distance, registering on new targets and preventing the enemy from
carrying on his fortification scheme unhindered. Early in March the
D.E.C. 6th Division originated a scheme for the destruction by a
floating mine of a bridge of mahelas which the Turks had established
some time before at the Besoula Ford on the Shatt-al-Hai Channel,
to whicji the boats had been brought from lower down the channel.
Map No. 8 shows the position of this bridge. All the Turkish traffic
down the right bank of the Tigris crossed this bridge of boats, so
that it was of great importance that it should be destroyed. The
mine took the form of an empty packing-case, carefully rendered
watertight but without a lid, and provided with four long wooden
legs projecting about eight feet or so from the box at a slight
downward inclination, and fitted with wooden feet at their ends.
Inside the packing-case lay a charge of 150 lb. of dynamite in a
carefully made box, while on a board on the inner box stood a
battery of dry cells. A specially prepared clock was included in the
outfit and formed part of an electric circuit through two detonators
buried in the explosive. The clock was so arranged that it completed
the electric circuit four hours after setting, so that in four hours after
the release of the mine the charge was automatically exploded. The
minute and second hands of the clock had been removed, and the
hour hand coated with a thin sheet of silver obtained by beating out
a rupee. The actual contact was made by the silver-covered hour
hand touching a similarly silver-covered spring on the clock face.
Silver was used as it was the least corrosive metal available. The
mine was further arranged so as to explode if swamped with water,
as would occur if it drifted violently down on to a floating bridge, for
the spreading legs were of such a length as to render it impossible
for the mine to pass between two mahelas in a bridge. If one leg
struck a boat, the mine would be tilted and the water would run into
the open outer case and would thus reach the mechanism, which
was merely protected from spray by a tarpaulin well tucked in. In
the electric circuit a " shunt V was
 204 EVENTS IN MARCH 1916 [ch. xiv arranged round the
clock, consisting of two parallel iron plates about f inch apart,
connected to the leads, and separated by a quantity of common salt
packed in a muslin bag. When the water entered the packing-case it
would run in between the iron plates and would offer a good path
for the electric current between the plates because of the large
admixture of salt. The electric circuit would thus be automatically
completed irrespective of the clock, and the charge would explode at
once. On the other hand, if the water did not enter the packing-
case, the mine would explode four hours after release. I have
described this engine of destruction in detail as it is typical of the
carefully designed implements of war which the Royal Engineers in
Kut had to produce at short notice. It was hoped that the mine, if
released at Woolpress village, would float down to the mouth of the
Shatt-alHai Channel, and would there be sucked into it by the
current and so would pass down it unseen to the Turkish bridge.
Even if it was seen, it had all the appearance of a discarded packing-
case which would probably be allowed to float away unhindered.
Kerosene-oil tins had been released to test the action of the current,
and these had disappeared down the Shatt-al-Hai Channel, but the
bar at its mouth made it doubtful if a mine would follow a similar
course. On the night of March 7th/8th Captain Stace took some of
his men across to Woolpress village and worked for an hour in water
up to his waist getting the mine into position and making the final
connections in the dark, though barely recovered from a bad attack
of jaundice which was prevalent among the troops. The barbed wire
around the village made it necessary to work in the water, and it was
a very nasty job connecting the leads in the dark, when the least
mistake would mean the end of this world so far as the operator was
concerned. All went well, however, and the sprawling mine floated
off downstream in the darkness at about midnight in the guise of a
harmless and dilapidated packing-case. Before dawn on March 8th
(at about 4 a.m.) a fearful explosion shook the whole of Kut, and my
bed rocked and jumped as if the floor was about to collapse. The
mine had apparently stuck on the bar of mud at the mouth of the
Shatt-al-Hai and had blown a great hole in the bank when the
charge was ignited by the clock
 1916] WATCHING AYLMER'S ATTACK 205 circuit. It must
have produced nervous prostration in the Turkish snipers near by,
but it failed to carry out its mission. Two similar mines were put in
hand later, but they were never used and were dismantled. Other
schemes for the destruction by mines of a supposed Turkish bridge
near the Es-Sin position and of one of their flood protection bunds
on the right bank opposite No. 8 Picquet were considered, but were
rejected as impossible owing to the danger to the ships of the Relief
Force and difficulties in launching the required mines. Incidentally I
may say that, before the fall of Kut, the Turks never succeeded in
constructing a bridge across the Tigris downstream of the town. On
March 8th, having slept for a couple of hours after the explosion of
the huge floating mine, I awoke to hear a tremendous bombardment
in progress downstream, so I dressed hurriedly and went up on to
the roof of the post office near the D.E.C.'s house with my field-
glasses, taking care to run up the last few stairs where one could be
seen by our friends the snipers across the way. As the morning mists
cleared away a wonderful sight was visible downstream. Shrapnel
was bursting in salvoes all along beyond the Es-Sin position, but how
far in rear it was difficult to estimate. The geysers of earth thrown
up by high-explosive shells spouted in continuous succession in
many places, and the "thud, thud, thud " of the firing went on
without a break. I remained on the roof most of the morning
awaiting orders and watching the wonderful spectacle, hoping hourly
to see the khaki uniforms of our comrades in the distance, but no
such welcome vision appeared. Turkish batteries were galloping
about on our side of the Es-Sin position, and infantry were marching
rapidly along in clouds of dust, but our shells did not seem to be
falling on the Kut side of the position, nor did the explosions appear
to be coming nearer to us. Towards evening we watchers on the
housetops began to fear that something was amiss, for every one
knew that this must be the great attempt so long expected for the
relief of Kut, and all the troops were standing to arms throughout
the day. After more or less continuous firing for several hours the
bombardment became intense for a short while in the evening — but
still no news arrived. We were a very silent mess that night, each
one being
 206 EVENTS IN MARCH 1916 [ch. xiv too busy with his own
thoughts to discuss lighter subjects. Next morning (March 9th) there
was another burst of heavy bombardment downstream at 6.30 a.m.
In an hour it ceased, and all remained quiet for the remainder of the
day except for occasional deliberate gunfire in the distance. Still no
news came in, so that we now feared the worst. In such cases no
news means bad news. On March 10th, 1916, General Townshend
issued a lengthy communique to the troops, the full text of which
will be found in Appendix G. It announced the failure of General
Aylmer's force to relieve Kut, and gave the contents of two
telegrams dated March 8th, received from General Aylmer, which
explained the reasons for, and the probable results of, the failure.
The two telegrams announced an unsuccessful attack on the
Dujailah Redoubt of the Es-Sin position (see Map No. 8) on the right
bank of the Tigris, and explained that the failure was due to large
hostile reinforcements reaching the troops in the redoubt from
across the river and from Shumran. The telegrams also intimated
that a retirement of the Relief Force downstream again to Wadi was
probable. The communique then went on to explain that the leading
brigade of the British division must by now have reached General
Aylmer, and concluded with an intimation that a large number of our
horses were being slaughtered to lessen the consumption of grain.
(As a fact, approximately 200 horses were slaughtered for this
reason on March 10th.) One point immediately struck us in this
explanation. This was that General Aylmer had attacked without the
aid of the new British division, which, as I have before mentioned,
could hardly be expected to have concentrated at Wadi before March
20th. The question then asked by many of us was, why the Relief
Force had risked all in this venture when large first-class
reinforcements were so close but had not yet arrived. I have no
official knowledge of the cause of this early attack, but I imagine it
was brought about by a supposition that we had less food than was
actually the case. Conceivably it may have been caused by tidings of
an expected rise in the level of the Tigris calculated to render the
ground impassable for an advance ; or again by news that large
reinforcements were about to reach the Turks opposing the advance.
Whatever the cause of this gallant
 1916] FAILURE OF THE RELIEF FORCE 207 attempt, which
ended so disastrously, it was an almost impossible task for so small a
force as that under General Aylmer at the time when the attempt
was made, but it is conceivable that it might have succeeded if
carried out in a faultless manner and aided by good luck. The history
of the attack has doubtless been fully written in official books on the
war, but all that We in Kut subsequently learned was that the greater
part of General Aylmer's force had executed a night march of about
eighteen miles from near the Orah Canal (vide Map No. 8) north of
the Umm-el-Brahm, and thence westward towards the Dujailah
Redoubt on the night of March 7th/8th ; that the force had
bombarded the redoubt on the morning of March 8th, but, owing to
some delay, the enemy had found time to hurry up first-class troops
in large numbers via the Magasis ferry, and also from Shumran, and
that when our troops attacked they had been unable to break
through ; that after a long and bloody fight they had retreated to the
position marked on Map No. 8 by the trenches which they dug for
their protection on the night of March 8th/9th after the failure of the
attack ; and that, finally, the Relief Force had retreated to Wadi,
having lost a great number of men, and having suffered extreme
hardships from lack of water. All of us understood how precarious
that retreat to Wadi must have been with the Turks holding strong
positions at Sannaiyat and Falahiyeh on the flank of the retiring
forces. The problem which confronted General Aylmer when he had
decided that it was necessary to attack at once was indeed a difficult
one, for to attack one by one the series of Turkish positions on the
river below the Es-Sin position would take at least two or three
weeks, and would entail enormous losses which the small Relief
Force could not risk. The only alternative then was to stake all on a
surprise attack on one flank in the hope of breaking through the
main position at Es-Sin and of forcing a general retirement of the
Turks from the more advanced positions on the right bank. Owing to
the lack of water away from the Tigris, the attacking force would
necessarily be unable to continue the attack for long if not at once
successful, unless indeed it reached the Shatt-al-Hai Channel, at
which distance it would, however, be in grave danger of isolation.
 208 EVENTS IN MARCH 1916 [ch. xiv Again, supposing that
the flank attack succeeded in breaking through the Es-Sin position at
the Dujailah Redoubt, it must be remembered that the Turkish
positions on the right bank near Sannaiyat still remained to be
captured unless the whole of the Es-Sin position on the right bank
speedily fell into our hands, when the Sannaiyat positions would be
more or less untenable. Yet again, if the Relief Force reached the
Tigris opposite Kut, there remained the difficulty of maintaining it
there and of joining up quickly with the garrison of Kut across the
wide river without the assistance of a bridge. Truly a stupendous
problem to confront any commander whose total force did not
exceed that of the disciplined foe awaiting him in entrenched
positions supported by plentiful artillery. The failure of General
Aylmer's force was a bitter blow to our hopes of early relief, and the
sorely-tried troops in Kut knew that it must be many a long day
before they could expect to shake hands with their comrades from
Europe and India, and that meanwhile they must continue once
more to fight, dig — and starve. On March 9th, 1916, another
telegram arrived from General Aylmer announcing that the Turks had
lost heavily, and it implied that the 13th British Division had arrived,
since it stated that the British division had not been engaged in the
battle. This news at the time appeared inexplicable to the uninitiated
in Kut, for if the British troops had actually reached Wadi, why had
they taken no part in the most important portion of the fight ? The
explanation of the true state of affairs may be that the reference to
the British division was intended to deceive the Turks, who were
known to be attempting to tap our wireless messages. I believe I am
correct in saying that, at the time General Aylmer attacked the
Dujailah Redoubt, the 13th British Division was still far off down the
River Tigris. From a Turkish statement made in Baghdad after the
surrender of Kut it seems that at the Dujailah Redoubt the enemy
was completely surprised by the sudden appearance of General
Aylmer's troops in the early morning of March 8th, 1916, and that
the redoubt was only weakly held. It is said that if the British force
had advanced early to the assault, without lengthy artillery
preparation, the Turks in occupation of the redoubt would have re 
 1916] A TURKISH STATEMENT 209 tired, for they were
actually under orders from Khalil Pasha to retreat upon Shumran,
and their retirement would have been the signal for the evacuation
of all the Turkish positions on both banks of the Tigris below Kut —
in fact, it would have led to the immediate relief of Kut and a general
retreat of the enemy towards Baghdad. The Turks affirmed that in
the early morning at the Dujailah Redoubt their own men were
watching in fear and trembling for the first sign of an assault from
the British troops below them on the open plain, but no assault was
launched, and a five -hours artillery preparation took place which
gave time for the Turkish reinforcements to arrive. The enemy had
only 3,000 men actually investing Kut on this day. It is easy to be
wise after the event, but if there is any truth in these statements it
shows how nearly General Aylmer succeeded in his bold attempt to
relieve Kut. It is worth remembering, however, that the Turks, when
successful, are prone to assure their prisoners how nearly the
Ottoman forces suffered defeat — perhaps from a sense of courtesy
to the vanquished. Cheerful tidings came in by Reuter's about March
10th that our friends the Russians had reached Bitlis, south of Lake
Van (see Map No. 9), and that another Russian force was advancing
from Kirmanshah in Persia towards Khanikin. The telegrams also
stated that there had been a mutiny among the Turkish troops at
Smyrna, and that the Mohammedan priests at Constantinople were
preaching against the Germans. I am inclined to think that the news
about the mutiny and the preaching was rather exaggerated, but at
the time it was accepted as gospel truth and was encouraging. Fine
weather continued on March 10th and 11th, but on March 12th the
rain again descended in torrents, and the desultory firing heard for
the last two days in the direction of Wadi ceased. The whole country
became a sea of mud and slime once more, impassable for traffic
and impossible for military operations. Rations were reduced in Kut
after the failure of the attempt to relieve the place on March 8th.
Each British officer and soldier now received a small loaf of about
ten ounces weight per diem, the bread being composed of a mixture
of wheat and barley — very coarse and very heavy. The Indian
troops were given an equivalent of
 210 EVENTS IN MARCH 1916 [ch. xiv flour and made their
own chupatties as usual. Those of the garrison who would eat
horseflesh received one pound of meat per day, and a small quantity
of oatmeal was issued to certain troops. The jam ration had ceased
altogether, and also the supply of dates and of butter. In the R.E.
mess we consumed our small private supply of jam and butter from
our mess almirah. We allowed ourselves a small spoonful of jam
each at breakfast without butter, and a small helping of butter at tea
(without jam), so as to keep the balance true, like John Gilpin. The
game of Patience, so appropriate to the situation, was a great
favourite in the mess, and the four available packs of cards were in
continual use. On March 12th, 1916, the Turks, for the second time,
I believe, sent an envoy into Kut proposing that the garrison should
surrender. A white flag was raised in the enemy's front line of
trenches, and after a few seconds a Turkish officer appeared.
Promptly a British officer got up out of our trenches and advanced to
meet him across the " No Man's Land " between the lines. They met
and the Turk was conducted to our trenches, where he was
blindfolded, and then led along the mile or more of trenches, and
through the town to the house occupied by General Townshend. His
bandage was removed and his written message delivered. He was
offered some refreshment and presented the G.O.C. of the Forces in
Kut with a box of good cigarettes as a gift from the Turkish
commander Khalil Pasha, who sent it with a polite message that as
General Townshend was probably running short of cigarettes he
might appreciate a box. Such small courtesies help to make one
regard the real fighting Turk as a chivalrous foe, even if one cannot
admire him in everyday life. The Turkish officer then took back a
written reply to Khalil Pasha, after being again carefully blindfolded.
During his presence in Kut no shots were exchanged. The proposal
of surrender was of course politely but firmly refused by General
Townshend. Things were uninteresting for the next three or four
days. The weather was bad, and the level of the river was rising
steadily. The aeroplanes of the Relief Force flew frequently over Kut,
and on one occasion dropped some pounds of saccharine, sufficient
to allow each officers' mess an ounce of this invaluable substitute for
sugar. The saccharine added greatly to our enjoyment of
 1916] STRENGTH OF KUT GARRISON 211 our tea, but did
not supply the actual sugar for which our bodies were asking very
insistently by now. The strength of the garrison of Kut was by this
time considerably reduced by deaths from wounds or disease. A
reference to Appendix H at the end of this book will show that on
March 14th, 1916, the average strength of the battalions of infantry
was only slightly over 500 men. and some battalions could not
muster nearly that number. The effective strength of each battalion
seldom exceeded 350 to 400 men. Of the complete battalions
present in Kut, the 2nd Norfolk Regiment totalled 413 of all ranks,
the 1st Oxford and Bucks Light Infantry mustered 415 officers and
men, and the 104th Rifles 417 officers and men. The grand total of
the garrison on March 14th amounted to 13,676, of which 3,310
were Indian camp-followers (non-combatants), so that the total
number of fighting men was 10,366 of all ranks, British and Indian.
Late in 1915 rumours had reached the 6th Division that two naval
guns of large calibre, taken off a damaged Turkish warship (probably
the Goeben), were on their way from Constantinople to
Mesopotamia, and it was now reported by our observers that they
had seen what appeared to be two enormous guns of about 8-inch
calibre being mounted in emplacements to the north at a distance of
approximately 7,000 yards. An 8-inch gun throws a projectile
weighing over 200 lb., and naval guns would certainly have high-
explosive shells, hence bombardment from such weapons would
speedily reduce Kut to ruins and would render it untenable. You may
imagine, then, that we did not feel very happy. On March 18th I was
very busy with my men improving various dugouts, and making one
in the 18th Brigade office, in anticipation of a bombardment by these
heavy guns, but luckily for us the huge projectiles were never fired
into Kut itself. The reason of our salvation I will explain later. I am
doubtful if the guns were really as big as was reported, but they
must have been at least of 6-inch calibre. On the same day Fritz
again flew over Kut and dropped four 30-lb. T.N.T. bombs. One of
these unhappily fell into the British portion of our General Hospital. I
am convinced that this was not intentional, for the whole dilapidated
roof of the long bazaar was dotted at intervals with large Red Cross
flags laid flat which were easily visible, if somewhat faded, but the
result was none the
 212 EVENTS IN MARCH 1916 [ch. xiv less disastrous. The
small covered bazaar road into which the bomb fell was crowded
with the beds of our unfortunate British wounded, and the T.N.T.
bomb hit a side wall and detonated among the beds. The result was
that five men were killed outright and twenty-six more were
wounded, of whom eleven afterwards died — a very heavy casualty
list for one bomb. From the roof of the D.E.C.'s house on March 18th
I observed a great structure being reared in the Turkish camp at
Shumran. The next day it was completed and proved to be a lofty
observation tower, apparently built of mahela masts lashed together
and supporting three platforms at various heights from the ground.
This tower must have been of some value for the observation of the
Turkish artillery fire, but as it was about 13,000 yards distant from
our big guns it was out of range of our shells. The weather had now
become very bad. A gale of wind was blowing from the south-east,
producing quite large waves in the wide reach of the Tigris opposite
Kut where it was in opposition to the current — waves sufficiently
big to render a floating bridge impassable for troops, if not to
necessitate its being dismantled. I wondered how the officer in
charge of the British pontoon bridge below Wadi was faring, and
whether his bridge was still intact. He probably had a better outfit of
proper pontoons than I had, for, as I have mentioned before, fifty
pontoons were ordered by wire in November 1915 from India to
supplement my meagre outfit of eighteen pontoons, and these
should have reached the Relief Force by March 1916. The daily
allowance of bread on March 18th had been reduced to 8 oz. per
man, and it was estimated that by this reduction it would be possible
for the garrison to hold out till April 17th, 1916. The want of cereals
began to make itself felt, for 8 oz. per diem is not sufficient for a
healthy man doing considerable physical labour. It is a fact that one's
body requires its due proportion of different kinds of food, and that
an endeavour to provide for a scarcity of cereals by a large increase
in nitrogenous matter (such as meat) is a failure. We proved this by
personal experience. News reached us from downstream that
General Aylmer had handed over the command of the Relief Force to
 1916] GENERAL GORRINGE TAKES COMMAND 21S General
Gorringe (of Nasariyeh fame), who had up to this time been acting
as his Chief- of- Staff. Incidentally I may mention that both these
officers were Royal Engineers who had spent the greater part of
their service in staff employment. General Aylmer had a great name
in India, and General Gorringe had made a reputation in South Africa
as one of the best of Lord Kitchener's men. Every confidence was
felt that if any man could push on matters downstream, that man
was the general who had now taken over the command of the Relief
Force ; for, after all, the question resolved itself into a race against
time, with the garrison of Kut as the prize. I would like to mention,
however, that the Turks had a great opinion of the ability of General
Aylmer as a commander in the field. Khalil Pasha himself stated,
after the surrender of Kut, that when opposed by General Aylmer he
could never guess at what point the decisive attack was to be
anticipated, and that this general was one who, having decided on
his plan of attack, fearlessly employed the maximum possible force
at the vital point in order to ensure success. Such praise from a
skilful and outspoken opponent should carry great weight. Up to
March 18th H.M.S. Sumana had escaped practically untouched from
the many shells aimed at her by the Turkish guns. The enemy was
fully aware of the extreme importance of this, our only powerful
steam vessel in Kut, for by means of the Sumana the troops in
Woolpress village were provisioned at night, and all large ferrying
operations on the arrival of the Relief Force would have to be carried
out by the Sumana, assisted to a small extent by our one remaining
L. launch. The Turks determined, therefore, to disable the little man-
of-war without further loss of time. Accordingly during the night of
March 18th/ 19th they pulled an 18-pr. Q.F. gun (which they had
captured from us at Ahwaz a year previously) down to the actual
bank of the Tigris opposite No. 7 Picquet to a position marked K on
Map No. 6 ; and from this spot at earliest dawn on March 19th,
screened partially by the river mists, they suddenly opened fire at
almost point-blank range on the unfortunate Sumana, which lay
moored near the lower pump-house on the front at Kut. The ship
was partially screened by the mahelas astern of her, but one shell
pierced her funnel and wrecked the roof of her bridge, and another
15
 214 EVENTS IN MARCH 1916 [ch. xiv raked her
superstructure from aft and killed one of her crew. In a short time
our guns and howitzers opened fire and silenced the hostile piece for
the time being. The Sumana was not seriously damaged, though her
appearance had suffered ; the injuries to her superstructure were
partially repaired at night, but she had had a narrow escape. After
this mishap elaborate arrangements were made to screen and
protect this our only available ship. Mahelas were closely grouped
upstream and downstream of her, and, as these mahelas were
damaged or sunk, others were moved up to take their places from
the long line of mahelas moored below her along the left bank (see
Map No. 5). Steel barges also were always kept moored alongside
the ship ; and most elaborate walls of kerosene-oil tins, filled with
earth, were erected on the deck of the outer and larger barge to
explode any shell before it could penetrate to the vitals of the ship.
On March 20th, just before dark, Fritz came whizzing downstream
with fell intent and dropped two or three bombs. With his first he
made a remarkably good shot at the 4 '7-inch gun barges — the
bomb only just missed the little boats and exploded in the water
immediately alongside one of them. The resulting shock to this boat
was so great that the long 4*7-inch naval gun within her was
displaced from its mounting, and thus was put out of action ; by
means of jacks, however, the gun was remounted a day or so later
and was again fit for use. The horse-boats carrying the 4*7-inch
guns were moored, I may say, in pairs separated by a distance of
twenty yards, and a great difficulty in working the four guns was
that, when one gun fired, its boat pitched to such an extent and
created such waves that its mate could not fire accurately till the
disturbance had subsided. Thus, although the guns were of quick-
firing type, they could not be fired rapidly if accuracy was essential,
as was the case at all long ranges. On the night of March 21st/22nd
Fritz gave yet another exhibition of his prowess, for he flew over the
town in the darkness and dropped four bombs on different parts,
fortunately with little damage to life or limb so far as the garrison
was concerned ; but the fact that we were no longer safe from
bombing even in our beds did not make our slumbers more peaceful,
and many decided that it was
 1916] AN ARTILLERY DUEL 215 safer to sleep on the
ground-floors of their houses in preference to the upstairs rooms.
Whenever I awoke after this in my upstairs room and heard the
monotonous hum of an aeroplane engine from on high, I generally
dived down my little staircase pretty quick till our well-beloved Fritz
had passed safely on his way — let us hope without rejoicing. The
Turkish gunners on March 22nd gave us another treat. At 6 a.m. a
tremendous bombardment started from their thirty or more guns,
and the shells came whistling and crashing into Kut and its defences
from every side for three and a half hours. The object, it was said,
was to destroy the guns on the river-front at Kut with a view to
attacking Woolpress village that night. The greater part of the
enemy's fire was certainly directed on to the river-front on this
occasion. Our guns, of course, replied, and a fine noise they made,
the roars of the two 5-inch and three 4 '7-inch guns upstream being
drowned at intervals by the sharp barking of the two field guns and
the naval 12 -pr. gun close to us. In the distance the batteries at the
Brick Kilns and elsewhere kept up a continuous thunder. It was no
time to wander abroad, so every one waited quietly for things to
settle down a bit, and after breakfast the " hate " died down and
ended. We then found that one of our 4*7-inch gun horse-boats had
been badly holed, and so had been swung into the shore, where the
boat had sunk. This was an unfortunate accident, for we could ill
spare any of our useful naval guns. I examined the wreck the
following night, but found it impossible to remove the gun from the
boat because of the depth of the water, the weight of the gun, and
the rapidity of the current. Luckily, the crew of the gun escaped
without serious loss. It was calculated that over 800 shells were fired
into Kut town alone during this bombardment lasting three and a
half hours. Matters then remained fairly peaceful throughout the
morning, but again in the afternoon deliberate bombardment
commenced and continued till 7 p.m., when it ceased till 10.30 p.m.
At this hour the Turkish gunners again got to work and kept at it
more or less the whole of the night in order to produce a state of "
frightfulness." I moved out of my exposed room and slept in our
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