8. The role of women slaves with the Confederate Army
Black women, the overwhelming majority of the slaves, also traveled with the Confederate Armies, and lived and worked in their camps. A small minority of free black women served, most of them wives and daughters of free black men. Those received payment. The slaves, for the most part, did not. They served as cooks in the headquarters of senior officers, laundresses, and seamstresses. For the enlisted men and officers in less expansive quarters, they provided the same roles, often serving company messes rather than a single person. They also cared for the wounded and ill, under the direction of regimental surgeons.
They made bandages from lint, prepared paper cartridges for muskets, repaired tents and clothes, and foraged for food. As the Union blockade tightened and supplies of some items became scarce, black women slaves gathered substitutes. Chicory or okra substituted for coffee in the South, though few enjoyed the change. When army encampments relocated, the women marched alongside the men, and played a major role in establishing the new camps. Women accompanied the Army during campaigns, though remaining well to the rear of the troops, usually under minimal guard. As with the men, at first few escaped to freedom, deterred by the desire for family contact and fear of reprisals.