Civil War Lecture

The McClung Museum offers a wealth of information about the roles of women, physicians and clergy during the Civil War, according to the Civil War curator at the McClung Museum.

Joan Markel mined the information from publications of first hand events, general histories and personal diaries. “I try to add something from the official records everyday.”

In 1861, when Knoxville was a small town war pervaded multiple professions, Markel said. “Becoming a doctor is a lot more difficult now than it used to be.”

Markel discussed her findings during a lecture at the museum on January 20. Markel’s current work entails what happened to people’s lives and the troops before, during, and after the war.

Women usually never had a profession and were much less documented. They had no income unless they were wealthy widows. There was only one upper class spinster, “Old Nannie Scott.”

Markel cited the example of Nancy Newton Scott, granddaughter of Hugh Lawson White and published author educated at a female academy. She was provided for in her grandfather’s will but eventually ran out of money. She died at a resort out of the state and is buried in Old Gray Cemetery in Knoxville.

An individual needed a good Civil War connection to be part of her study, Markel said, so she began with their stories. Currently, she has data on 300 individuals and 30 soldiers who lived in Tennessee sometime between 1861 to 1865.

A lot of information was incorrectly recorded, therefore, finding accurate information was difficult. Markel has a wealth of “dispersed” data that is being compiled which is a “snap shot” of the information.

Many people did not want to document their Civil War years. The historic record is greatly slanted towards the upper class with the means to keep up personal histories as well as holding positions that get into the public record.

The total amount of people at the lecture was between 75 and 80. The people that attended were more elderly, and educated.

This is the sixth year of the lecture series. Markel’s interest in the Civil War is merely her fascination, with no family background. Markel will be continuing her lecture series on the Civil War at McClung Museum on a monthly basis through April.