I started this as a journal of sorts but now i feel like using this as an outlet for my interest in american history. Oneof the time periods I find so intrigueing is the Civil War, especially the changes for the women on both sides. Maybe like the woman in the photo here, many women were what was called "vivandieres".  A rather unusual aspect of the war, they were camp followers who were actually on the rolls of the regiments.  They were usually a wife or daughter of a member of the regiment and served as nurse, mascot and surrogate mother but with ultimate respectability.  Many served right on the front lines.  They served in the early years of the war in regiments with a heavy foreign population and were modeled after the French army practice, hence the french name.