Existing comment:
Cottage industries
The removal of men into the army demanded increased participation of women -- both black and white -- in ways previously discouraged. They took over the management of shops and farms. Slaveholding women faced the additional challenge of managing and providing for slaves. Black and white mothers struggled to provide shelter, nourishment, and safety for their families.
Richmond's Confederate States Laboratory produced 1,200 cartridges a day. A March 1863 explosion killed and wounded fifty-six workers -- many were girls under sixteen. |