Emerging Civil War Celebrates Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month, and we’re commemorating the occasion by highlighting some of the “emerging” voices in Civil War public history.
Keep an eye out for our “WHM Profiles,” which will feature stories about women working in the field. You’ll get to hear some dynamic, exciting voices from a variety of professional backgrounds. We’ll run those every Thursday morning starting tomorrow.
We’ll also spend time this month talking with some of the great female voices we have here at ECW.
To get us started, can you list the identities of the women featured in our series banner?
Too small to identify some, but from left to right (1) Clara Barton -Nurse, (3) Harriet Tubman – Abotitionist, (4) Varina Davis- First Lady of the Confederacy, (5) Jennie Wade – only civilian killed at Gettysburg during battle, (6) Loreta or Janeta Velasquez – claimed to be a Confederate soldier,
That’s a pretty good start. One of your answers is incorrect, but you do have four correct answers!
Number 4 from the left is not Varina Davis; it is Mary Boykin Chesnut, the famous Southern diarist. Second from right is unknown to me, but she looks like the wife of an early president, e.g. J. Q. Adams. The gravestone on the extreme right is not readable. Could it be Arabella Barlow’s in Somerville, N.J.?
You’re correct on Mary Chesnut.
As for that grave, we actually offered a strong hint earlier this week!
I can add that the second from the right is Mary Anna Randolph Custis Lee – Robert E. Lee’s wife.
Very good!