Northern Civil War Volunteers
Like many people, North and South, Louisa May Alcott and her family worked to help the war effort as soon as the Civil War broke out. Notably, Louisa and her family were ardent abolitionists - they even took in John Brown’s daughters as boarders after his death. The patriotic fever of war affected many of the citizens of liberal Concord, Massachusetts and many in town would turned out to watch the preparations and drills of the Concord soldiers held on the town common.[1]
Patriotic Blue
Abigail May Alcott
Louisa and her mother Abba volunteered at Concord’s Town Hall to help sew uniforms and “patriotic blue” shirts for the soldiers. Despite her support for the war and the soldiers, the young Alcott felt that her volunteer work was simply not enough. While she waited to reach the required age to serve as an army nurse and hoped to receive an appointment, Louisa read medical treatises on gunshot wounds in her spare time.[2]
Desire to Serve
Louisa May Alcott’s strong desire to serve the Union in the Civil War was similar to a number of other women from the North. However, Louisa and other women like her would be forced to wait for the Union’s medical organization to catch up its regulations on women's work with their intent to help.