Women on the Border:
Maryland Perspectives of the Civil War
On display in the Maryland Room Gallery, Hornbake Library, University of Maryland from September 12, 2011 through July 13, 2012.
This exhibition examines women's contributions to and perspectives of the sectional conflict in the border state of Maryland. Although women rarely participated in the war as combatants, women, as half of the population of the United States, experienced the war in various ways and made numerous contributions to the war effort. Women were witnesses, writers, soldiers, spies, nurses, cooks, laundresses, supporters, organizers, and mourners, among many other roles. Their experiences are no less valuable than those of their husbands, sons, brothers, and fathers who fought and died on the battlefield.
The exhibition focuses on the lives and experiences of ordinary women living in Maryland during the Civil War, using letters, diaries, photographs, sheet music, rare books, and other University Libraries Special Collections materials as sources.
A companion exhibition entitled A College Divided: Maryland Agricultural College and the Civil War is also on display in the Audrey Armistead Ruckert Reception Foyer of Hornbake Library.
Gallery Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-5pm
Additional hours during academic semesters: Wed 5pm-8pm & Sun 1pm-6pm.
The exhibit is free and open to the public.
For more information about the exhibition, please contact Elizabeth Novara by email or at 301-314-2712.
Call for Papers: University of Maryland Libraries Symposium: Women and the Civil War
Digital version of the exhibition
Exhibition bibliography and Women & the American Civil War research guide
