DeCamp General Hospital,
on Davids Island, New Rochelle,
from an 1863 woodcut

Women in Westchester
Women's War Work

Women were as eager as men to aid a cause in which they believed. Nurses could assist in army hospitals. One such hospital, De Camp General Hospital on Davids Island, was in operation off the coast of New Rochelle from 1862-1867. (For several months following the Battle of Gettysburg in July of 1863, De Camp also functioned as a prison hospital.)

However, charitable work was the main avenue available to non-professional women who wanted to participate in the war effort. Women formed lint societies, fundraising committees, and relief associations. (Lint societies were formed to scrape the lint off of old cotton garments and bedding in order to help relieve the cotton shortage.)

Next page