Women’s History Month: Favorite Leadership Moments History Chat
Earlier this month, Chris Mackowski invited the women of ECW to join a Zoom meeting to chat about Civil War leadership and offer their perspectives and voices on the subject. JoAnna M. McDonald, Cecily Nelson Zander, and Sarah Kay Bierle were able to “meet” to record some research notes and observations on leadership.
They talked about top leadership moments for Union and Confederate commanders, then compared perspectives on the evolution of tactics and strategy, remembered women’s roles during the 1860’s conflict, and more as the conversation unfolded.
You can view the recorded discussion on ECW’s YouTube page!
This question is about the women in the lives of the male commanders and leaders on both sides. I’ve read over the years how Mary Lincoln didn’t hesitate to let her hubby know how she felt about certain things and certain people. What about other wives or significant others of the male leaders? McClellan wrote many a letter to his wife about how he saw the war, did she ever write him back with her advice or counsel? Others wrote letters to wives/girlfriends/lovers all the time, did they ever receive word back from them on military or other matters? The same would apply of course to opportunities for them all to actually get together. But are there any records of those women weighing in on certain matters, and those males in their lives acting on that, or at least discussing it?
So great to hear other women chat military history, or history in general. Maybe I missed it, but did Sarah not give her encouragement/advice for women in the history field?
(It looks like she didn’t answer that question on the recording. Oops!)
So here goes…read a lot, build a network of trusted mentors for different aspects of the history field (writing, career, public speaking, battlefield interp., etc. etc. – customized to your goals and interests, of course). Be confident that you know the facts and then don’t be afraid to speak up or write and share what you’ve been studying. Oh, and always, always, always cite sources—especially if it’s a controversial subject. 🙂
That’s a short summary of my “inspiring” idea at the moment! Cheers, Sarah