They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War (Vintage Civil War Library)

I am the type of reader that reads in bulk. By that I mean that if I read one book on a topic I enjoy, I will continue through as many volumes as I can find on the same subject until I simply need to break. This can mean that I will read perhaps 10 or 15 books in a row. For the Civil War it was everything referring to North, the South, Abraham Lincoln, Life during the War, etc. Recently, I re-watched a Civil War documentary that I'd enjoyed some years ago and went on the hunt again. I found this thoroughly enjoyable book on Women Soldiers in the Civil War.I expected it to be a short volume, but no. It's quite solid due to the fact that there were many more women involved than I could have imagined. I don't think I ever thought of woman sharpshooters outside of Belle Starr or Annie Oakley - there were many serving here and not just that. There were spies, orderlies, women involved in hand-to-hand fighting. They stood picket duty, got promoted to ranks as high as major and many were never caught out. Some died but many served full enlistments for as much as 4 years. Many suffered horrific wounds and survived to fight another battle.The other point of interest to me was how people reacted to these female warriors. Some folks were flabbergasted but all in favor. Others felt they were a disgrace to their sex or just plain crazy. You can decide, but certainly they were all fascinating characters..

I debated between a three star review and a two star, but ultimately decided on two. While I am elated that the authors went through the trouble of researching these women, following bread crumbs, and bringing them to our attention - the book itself is so choppy as to feel like one is stuttering through a chapter. There seems to be no thought given to creating a narrative for the women, but is presented as though the authors gathered facts and wanted to make the book so literal, they forgot to give the humanity to the ladies they're discussing. Where other books will offer up narratives that are cohesive, the authors here will switch - even in the middle of a paragraph - to another woman without warning or explanation. Each chapter, where I felt I would finally get a story, only lead me to the same treatment as those before it - leaving me frustrated and dispassionate. I cared less and less about the women as I struggled through the chapters, and only found my focus growing stronger on the lack of cohesion and story of the book (not to mention nary a map in sight to even attempt keeping up with the spastic location shifting from sentence to sentence). I am capable of spending time in dry volumes, but with this title and subject, I truly wanted more than a simple regurgitation of facts and tidbits. Honestly... I feel the women who dressed as men to serve both sides of the American Civil War deserved at least that much.

This book was written well and informative considering the secrecy and lack of information of the woman who fought. As stated in the book, women, under the disguise as men, fought for their country or to follow their male family members or husbands into war. Often the true identity of these women were not discovered until their death. For such a private and secret matter the book had a lot of information to give on a subject that you think would lacking. I enjoyed this book and God love those women who had such guts!

I read an article about a woman who dressed up like a man during the war and stayed in character afterwards to collect pensions or whatever but was discovered because she was run over by a street car and the doctor's treating him (her) found out she was a she when they took off her shirt. That made me look for a good book about the time. This is a good one. Some of the stories seem almost too crazy to have been real but to paraphrase the old saying - you couldn't make this stuff up. Well written

There are some interesting facts in this book. But it is a difficult read, it's hard to read for a long time. It is not a "page turner". Stories of the women are fragmented and scattered around the book. For example, I'm writing a short story about Fannie Wilson. Her story is scattered throughout the book; and I found more info about this woman by scouring the internet. I've read nothing about women "fighting like demons". They usually spent most of their time not getting caught. An okay book; but not phenomenal.

This is a significant book on women in the Civil War. Although based on scholarly research, it is a good read and full of information. It doesn't try to cover ALL women in the Civil War. The concentration is mostly on women in combat roles. It is unlike the many books on female spies, which are often based on legends, some created several years after the war to sell magazines. And, you don't have to be a Civil War scholar to enjoy this book. Book purchased from Amazon. I have no connection to or acquaintance with the authors.

Great book for my research on woman who fought in the American Civil War. Great stories and insight on these phenomenal women who dressed like men in order to fight for what they believed in. Heroic women give up their lives and family to support their comrades in battle.

I absolutely adored this book. Female soldiers are often overlooked in military history, especially when they had to contribute clandestinely due to restrictions that existed at the time. This is a well-researched, insightful, and deeply interesting look at the lives and motivations of female soldiers in the Civil War. Their political ideals may not echo ours, but there is still something impressive about their courage and fortitude in situations of extreme hardship. Great book.

Very interesting.