Military Women Roles

Throughout history, women have always played a vital role in the military especially during times of war. In the United States military, women’s service, dates all the way back to the Revolutionary War. Women have acted as nurses, seamstresses, spies and cooks. They took care of the wounded, brought food and water to the troops, some even dressed as men to fight side-by-side with their husbands on the battle field. Women have fought and died for their country trough military service. Many women are currently serving on the front line as medics or with support units. They encounter the enemy and handle themselves as well as any male soldier. But there is a price to pay for the choice to fight alongside men in combat and unforeseen consequences

Women sometimes follow their husbands to war out of necessity. Many serve in military camps as laundresses, cooks, and nurses but only with permission from the commanding officers and only if they proved they were helpful. In some unique circumstances a few women transcend these traditional jobs. In 1778 at the Battle of Monmouth, Mary Hays McCauley, took her husband 's place at his cannon after he was injured. Deborah Sampson served as a man for over a year in General Washington’s army and was only discovered after she was injured. (Bellafaire, “America 's Military Women—The Journey Continues”).During the Civil War, women serve as administrators, nurses, and cooks in both Union and Confederate battlefield hospitals. Wealthy women like, Miss Sally Tompkins of Richmond, Virginia, help fund permanent hospitals (“Highlights in the History of Military Women” Education). Providing medical care during times of conflict was one of the only socially accepted ways in which women could contribute to the war effort during the early wars. Dr. Mary Walker is the only women to receive the Medal of Honor, due to the healthcare she provided during the Civil