"At the outbreak of the Civil War, nearly everybody was caught up in patriotic fervor--men and women, Union and Confederate. Many women supported soldiers through knitting and sewing needed items, growing food, making bandages, gathering medical supplies, and more. But others wished they could be closer to the fight. These women defied society's expectations and bravely chose to take on more dangerous, unconventional roles. [This book] reveals the exploits of 16 of these remarkable women who served as medics, spies, battlefield helpers, and even soldiers on the front lines"--Dust jacket flap.

Part I. Soldiers -- Sarah Emma Edmonds: Soldier, nurse, spy -- Frances Elizabeth Quinn: "Hurrah for God's country!" -- Mary Ann Clark: "A good Rebel soldier" -- Frances Louisa Clayton: A rough Northern soldier -- Maria Lewis: "She rode in the front ranks" -- Part II. Spies -- Harriet Tubman: Moses' great Combahee Raid -- Mary Carroll: A Missouri Rebel -- Loreta Janeta Velazquez: The Confederate lioness -- Mary Jane Richards: Spy in the Confederate White House -- Part III. Nurses -- Georgeanna Woolsey: "Changed by this contact with terror" -- Susie King Taylor: A young nurse in the "First South" -- Harriet Ann Jacobs: "She did her own thinking" -- Cornelia Hancock: Battlefield angel -- Part IV. Vivandieres -- Marie Tepe: "French Mary" -- Kady Brownell: Heroine of New Bern -- Annie Lorinda Etheridge: "This is my place."