From sewing to fighting, women took on many tasks during the Civil War, experts said.

“The role of women in history is unique, especially during the Civil War,” said Ed Hooper, historian and organizer of the upcoming 145th Anniversary of the Battle of Chickamauga. “They played a large part because it was fought at home.”

During the anniversary events on Friday through Sunday, living historians and battle re-enactors will portray many aspects of Civil War existence. Those include women’s stories that are often untold, said Brenda Culpepper, re-enactor and living historian.

“So many people don’t know about that part of the war,” she said. “I’ve heard people say, ‘I never thought about what the women and children did.’”

During the battle anniversary, events will include a women’s tea and fashion show. And living history re-enactors, such as Leslie Erdman, will help demonstrate what life was like for the women.

“Those that got left behind had to step up and run the farms,” she said. “They did the jobs that the men left behind.”

That empowerment ultimately led women to question their lack of legal rights in those days, Mrs. Erdman said.

Mrs. Culpepper said women would have been responsible for tasks such as cooking and gathering crops.

“It was very hard for them,” she said. “A lot of times there was not enough food.”

In battles women served as nurses — which will also be portrayed at the Chickamauga anniversary. They may have also been spies and some disguised themselves and enlisted as soldiers, experts said.

“There are over 400 documented cases of women who fought as soldiers,” Mrs. Erdman said. “Sometimes the men did not know until the women were wounded and a doctor examined them.”

Although roles and rights for females have evolved since the Civil War, there are still gender divisions present today, Mrs. Erdman said. For example, she said some male re-enactors today don’t want women to participate.

“Men in this hobby tend to have ego problems,” she said.

Mrs. Culpepper said her re-enactor group — the Mullis-Heartland Refugees, who portray women who fled farms during the war — creates an opportunity for female bonding.

“It is our time to be together and do our thing when the guys are off doing their battle,” she said.

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