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Gender And Military Service, Erin Owens

Bridges: A Journal of Student Research

During the American Revolution and the American Civil War, females were among the many who participated in battle. Many, instead of situating themselves among combat, decided to act as spies in order to show their patriotism for the war effort. These women proved to their male combatants that women were far more capable of a "man's job" than what was initially thought. They broke away from the gendered mold of domesticity and changed the way in which women were seen. No longer simply fragile housewives who could only handle the duty of running a home and taking care of children, …