Capital dames : the Civil War and the women of Washington, 1848-1868

Select an Action

Title:

Capital dames : the Civil War and the women of Washington, 1848-1868

Author:

Roberts, Cokie author.

ISBN:

9780062002761

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

x, 494 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 24 cm

General Note:

Map on lining papers.

Contents:

Meet the women of Washington, 1848-1856 -- Jessie runs for president but Harriet takes the White House and Mary Jane reports, 1856-1858 -- Varina leads and leaves as Abby drops by, 1859-1861 -- Rose goes to jail, Jessie goes to the White House, Dorothea goes to work, 1861 -- Rose is released, Clara goes to war, Louisa May briefly nurses, 1862 -- Lizzie reports on the action, Janet goes to camp, Louisa takes charge, 1863 -- Anna speaks, Jessie campaigns (again), Sojourner visits, 1864 -- One Mary leaves, one Mary hangs, and Lois writes about it all, 1865 -- Virginia and Varina return, Sara survives, Mary is humiliated, Kate loses, 1866-1868.

Subject Term:

Women -- Washington (D.C.) -- Biography.

Politicians' spouses -- Washington (D.C.) -- Biography.

Women -- Political activity -- United States -- History -- 19th century.

Reconstruction (U.S. history, 1865-1877) -- Biography.

Women -- United States -- History -- 19th century.

Geographic Term:

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Women.

Washington (D.C.) -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865.

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Biography.

United States -- History -- 1815-1861 -- Biography.

Summary:

With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social Southern town of Washington, DC, found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle that would determine the future of the United States. After the declaration of secession, many fascinating Southern women left the city, leaving their friends--such as Adele Cutts Douglas and Elizabeth Blair Lee--to grapple with questions of safety and sanitation as the capital was transformed into an immense Union army camp and later a hospital. With their husbands, brothers, and fathers marching off to war, either on the battlefield or in the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well. And more women went to the capital city to enlist as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Many risked their lives making munitions in a highly flammable arsenal, toiled at the treasury department printing greenbacks to finance the war, and plied their needlework skills at the navy yard--once the sole province of men--to sew canvas gunpowder bags for the troops. Cokie Roberts chronicles these women's increasing independence, their political empowerment, their indispensable role in keeping the Union unified through the war, and in helping heal it once the fighting was done. She concludes that the war not only changed Washington, it also forever changed the place of women. Sifting through newspaper articles, government records, and private letters and diaries--many never before published--Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of its formidable women.

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Hardwood Creek Library (Forest Lake)	973.7092 ROB	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Oakdale Library	973.7092 ROB	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove)	973.7092 ROB	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	973.7092 ROB	Searching... Unknown
Searching... Stillwater Public Library	973.7092 ROB	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Cokie Roberts, the author of three New York Times bestsellers, including Founding Mothers and Ladies of Liberty, turns her attention to the Civil War in a riveting exploration of the ways in which the conflict transformed not only the lives of women in Washington, D.C., but also the city itself.

With the outbreak of the Civil War, the small, social Southern town of Washington, D.C., found itself caught between warring sides in a four-year battle to determine the future of the United States. Much has been written about the men who defined the course of the war, but the role of America's women in the conflict has been given short shrift. Capital Dames introduces the resilient and remarkable women who remained in America's capital after the declaration of secession, chronicling their experiences during this momentous period of our country's history--and the transformation of a Southern society town into a center of national power, activism, and change.

While the nation's men marched off to war, either onto the battlefields or into the halls of Congress, the women of Washington joined the cause as well. As the city was transformed into an immense Union Army camp and later a hospital, they enlisted as nurses, supply organizers, relief workers, and journalists. Many risked their lives making munitions in highly flammable arsenals, toiled at the Treasury Department printing greenbacks to finance the war, and plied their needlework skills at the Navy Yard--once the sole province of men--to sew canvas gunpowder bags for the troops.

Examining newspaper articles, government records, and private letters and diaries--many never before published--Roberts brings the war-torn capital into focus through the lives of formidable ladies like Sara Agnes Pryor and Elizabeth Blair Lee. Her engrossing, well-researched narrative is an inspiring work about increasing independence and political empowerment, honoring the indispensable role of Washington, D.C.,'s women in strengthening the city while keeping the lines of communication open with their Southern sisters, and in facilitating healing once the fighting was done. Compelling social history at its best, Capital Dames concludes that the war not only changed Washington; it also forever changed the role of women in American society.

Author Notes

Cokie Roberts was born in 1943 in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is a journalist, author and contributing senior news analyst for National Public Radio as well as a regular roundtable analyst for the current This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Roberts also works as a political commentator for ABC News. Roberts, along with her husband, Steven V. Roberts, writes a weekly column syndicated by United Media in newspapers around the United States. She serves on the boards of several non-profit organizations such as the Kaiser Family Foundation and was appointed by President George W. Bush to his Council on Service and Civic Participation.

Cokie Roberts is the youngest daughter of the late ambassador and long-time Democratic Congresswoman from Louisiana Lindy Boggs and of the late Hale Boggs, also a Democratic Congressman from Louisiana who was Majority Leader of the House of Representatives and a member of the Warren Commission.

Roberts graduated from Wellesley College in 1964, where she received a BA in Political Science. Roberts has won numerous awards, such as the Edward R. Murrow Award, the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for coverage of Congress and a 1991 Emmy Award for her contribution to "Who is Ross Perot?"

Cokie's books include We Are Our Mother's Daughters (1998), Founding Mothers: The Women Who Raised Our Nation (2004), Ladies of Liberty: The Women Who Shaped Our Nation (2008), with Steven Roberts, From This Day Forward (2000), also with Steven Roberts, Our Haggadah: Uniting Traditions for Interfaith Families (2011), and children's book Founding Mothers: Remembering the Ladies (2014).

Robert's title, Capital Dames: The Civil War and the Women of Washington, 1848-1868, is a 2015 New York Times bestseller.

Cokie Roberts (Mary Martha Corinne Morrison Claiborne Boggs Roberts) passed away on September 17,2019 at the age of 75.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Reviews (3)

Kirkus Review

Political commentator and bestselling author Roberts (Ladies of Liberty: The Women who Shaped our Nation, 2008, etc.) shines a spotlight on the remarkable political, literary, and activist women of Washington, D.C., during the tumult of the Civil War.In her previous books, the author has recounted the changing roles of women and their significant impacts on the nation's growth, and her latest is a natural follow-up. With the commemoration of the sesquicentennial of the Civil War in 2011, Roberts' curiosity was piqued again. "I started wondering whether that horrific conflict had a similar impact on American women's lives," she writes. The author's extensive research included diaries, newspapers, government records, and private correspondence, all of which capture the turmoil, excitement, and heartbreak that transpired in this once-quiet "prewar Capital City." With the onset of the war, Washington evolved into a sprawling Union Army camp and then a reeking, overcrowded military hospital. As a result, some Southern belles fled to Confederate territory. Women shouldered new roles, becoming nurses and forming social service and relief agencies. Some wrote propaganda, and others became spies. Many women moved to Washington to fill positions once held by men. African-American women founded societies to advocate for improved conditions in the camps for displaced slaves. The author's cast of characters is vast, from familiar names to those less well-known, and her detailed, layered narration makes the information fresh and highly relatable. Whether Roberts is relating the confidences between Mary Lincoln and her seamstress, Elizabeth Keckley, the tireless work of abolitionist Josephine Griffing, or the struggles of Varina Davis, wife of Jefferson Davis, to secure her dying husband's release from jail, each story widens the historical lens. An enlightening account detailing how the Civil War changed the nation's capital while expanding the role of women in politics, health care, education, and social services. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Booklist Review

Roberts, (Founding Mothers, 2004, and Ladies of Liberty, 2008) provides another splendid female-centric slice of history. This time, to mark the sesquicentennial of the Civil War, she focuses on the period from 1848 to 1868. During these momentous 20 years, Washington, D.C., was transformed from an insular political and social center into a bustling army camp and a massive military hospital. Roberts explores in depth the ways in which this transformation affected and shaped the women of the capital and, by extension, the women of America. Formerly consigned to roles of social and political belles or servants, Washington females of all classes rolled up their sleeves, taking on both small and large jobs in journalism, nursing, munitions, government, and social services. Viewing this evolution through the lens of a remarkable group of women, who thankfully left behind a substantial written record in the form of letters, diaries, articles, and books, Roberts illuminates how the harsh realities of the war changed the course of individual lives and permanently altered the course of American women's history.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2010 Booklist

Library Journal Review

Emmy Award-winning political commentator Roberts (Ladies of Liberty; Founding Mothers) commemorates the sesquicentennial anniversary of the end of the Civil War with an exploration of the experiences and social, cultural, and political influences of women in war-torn Washington, DC. Covering the late 1840s through the late 1860s, this group biography focuses on 14 prominent political spouses and relatives, seven authors and journalists, and six activists and reformers, with first lady Mary Todd Lincoln, American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, and Confederate spy Rose Greenhow among those featured. Roberts uses these women's intertwined stories to chronicle the war's impact on the capital city from their viewpoints while also describing the broader story of the conflict throughout the fractured nation from their perspectives. The author's extensive research relies heavily on government records, newspaper accounts, and personal letters and diaries, which gives this fresh look at Washington, DC during the Civil War era a sense of intimacy, immediacy, and originality. Roberts concludes her well-written, readable study with a lengthy bibliography and a fascinating epilog featuring summaries of the post-Civil War activities of many of the women portrayed. VERDICT History buffs who enjoyed and learned from Roberts's two previous books on the pivotal roles of women in early America will likely find this volume just as informative and accessible.-Douglas King, Univ. of South Carolina Lib., Columbia © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Introduction	p. 1
Chapter 1 Meet the Women of Washington, 1848-1856	p. 7
Chapter 2 Jessie Runs for President but Harriet Takes the White House and Mary Jane Reports, 1856-1858	p. 23
Chapter 3 Varina Leads and Leaves as Abby Drops By, 1859-1861	p. 51
Chapter 4 Rose Goes to Jail, Jessie Goes to the White House, Dorothea Goes to Work, 1861	p. 93
Chapter 5 Rose Is Released, Clara Goes to War, Louisa May Briefly Nurses, 1862	p. 153
Chapter 6 Lizzie Reports on the Action, Janet Goes to Camp, Louisa Takes Charge, 1863	p. 197
Chapter 7 Anna Speaks, Jessie Campaigns (Again), Sojourner Visits, 1864	p. 241
Chapter 8 One Mary Leaves, One Mary Hangs, and Lois Writes About It All, 1865	p. 283
Chapter 9 Virginia and Varina Return, Sara Survives, Mary is Humiliated, Kate Loses, 1866-1868	p. 341
Epilogue	p. 395
Author's Note and Acknowledgments	p. 413
Cast of Characters	p. 419
Notes	p. 423
Bibliography	p. 481
Illustration Credits	p. 493

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (3)

Kirkus Review

Booklist Review

Library Journal Review

Table of Contents

Helpful Links

Research Links

Contact

Events and Rooms

Follow Us

Today's Hours