After being mere spectators at the war's early battles, civilians in the war zone later would become unwilling participants and victims of the war's expanding scope and horror.
In response to the hardships imposed upon their fellow citizens by the war, governments and civilians on both sides mobilized to provide comfort, encouragement, and material goods. Unfortunately, due to scarcity of resources and devastation caused by the Union armies, the Confederate government failed almost completely to care for the families of its soldiers
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Arguably the most famous Civil War nurse, Clara Barton went to great lengths to see after the sick and wounded and to ensure that they were treated both expediently and humanely. Her work in the war led her to found the American Red Cross, an organization that would provide humanitarian relief for a wide variety of crises.
- Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
James L. Petigru
Famously the last prominent supporter for the Union in Charleston after South Carolina's secession, James L. Petigru, lawyer and respected jurist, expressed remorse for the death of the Constitution and predicted defeat in the inevitable civil war.
- Fort Sumter and Fort Moultrie National Historical Park
Mary Boykin Chesnut
Mary Boykin Chesnut kept a famous diary that captured the struggles people experienced during the American Civil War. Her journal of the war years, first published in 1905, gave readers an in-depth view of what life was like for Southerners, especially women, during the war.
Last updated: April 23, 2015
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