Gunpowder Girls: The True Stories of Three Civil War Tragedies

Gr 6 Up—During the Civil War, women and girls filled rifle cartridges by hand for the armies of the North and the South. These women and girls, most of whom were immigrants, poured gunpowder, worked with percussion caps, and stacked completed ammunition. Flammable and explosive materials were everywhere—one spark spelled disaster. Anderson pieces together the before and after of the deadly explosions that occurred at the Allegheny Arsenal in Lawrenceville, PA; the Confederate States Laboratory in Richmond, VA; and the Washington Arsenal in Washington, DC. Each event is foreshadowed, described in detail, and then investigated. With the help of primary source documents, the author examines life working in an arsenal (including diagrams on how to fill a cartridge) to give shape to the lives of these often forgotten women. Using census records, Anderson identifies the victims of each accident by name and age. Extensive back matter makes this a useful selection for research or reports. Pair this highly readable title with Albert Marrin's Flesh and Blood So Cheap for a look at working conditions in U.S. history.