166 Feeding the Sick and Injured in The Civil War: Apparently You Can't Run a War Without Women

The History of American Food · Apr 15, 2026 · 35m

In the Last Big War we threw in America we still had "Camp Followers" to do the laundry, the nursing and a good amount of the cooking (not to mention helping with loading guns). And George Washington hated having these women around so much that Army practice - and new war philosophies got rid of most of them.

But then, the American Civil War started producing injured guys in the 1000's.

Suddenly having women around to do nursing and laundry was important. And they had to call the women back. To be fair - they did it more officially this time.

To find out who these women were - and what they…