Carol Berkin

Carol Berkin examines the roles women played in the American Revolutionary War. She looks at their contributions through the lens of allegiance, class, and origin. The book is well-organized into groups involved in the war, such as active participants, camp followers, generals’ wives, spies, and exiled women. She looks at the Revolution from the viewpoints of English, American, and even Hessian women. She reserves separate chapters for informative stories of tribal and enslaved women.

She articulates the fears and challenges these women faced. They transcended their traditional roles – which were severely restrictive from a modern standpoint. Many women took over the running households and properties, and some descended into poverty and starvation.

She relies on letters, diaries, news articles, and published material from the time period and cites all sources. I very much enjoyed reading about these women. This book offers are more well-rounded picture of the people and culture of Revolutionary times.
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