Manners and Southern History

Southern Ladies and She-Rebels; or, Femininity in the Foxhole: Changing Definitions of Womanhood in the Confederate South

Southern Ladies and She-Rebels; or, Femininity in the Foxhole Changing Definitions of Womanhood in the Confederate South Anya Jabour Tennesseean Ellen Renshaw House exploded with rage against the "blue devils'' who occupied her hometown, Knoxville, in Fall 1863, shortly after House's twentieth birthday. Despite repeated resolves to "behave as a lady," House, who described herself as "avery violent rebel," soon discovered that her new identity as a "She Rebel" could not be reconciled with the behavior of a southern lady.1 House's growing hatred for the invading troops—and her desire to see them come to harm—were incompatible with guidelines for feminine propriety, which counseled gentle submission and a nurturing outlook. "I feel perfectly fiendish," wrote House in her diary in February 1864. "I believe I would kill a Yankee and not a muscle quiver. Oh! the intensity with which I hate them." Housepredicted that shewould soon be forced to do "something devilish," adding, "that is just the word, though not a lady like one."2 House quickly earned a reputation as "an outrageous rebel," a term that applied not only to her political loyalties, but to her improper behavior. In January 1864, she and several other young women—a group House described as "Rebel girls"—waved gloves and handkerchiefs at the Confederate prisoners who were on their way to the railroad station. The degree to which this behavior flew in the face of femininemodesty wasrecognized—if exaggerated—by the Unionist newspapereditor, who reported that the young "she-rebels" had been guilty of "bold, impudent flirting demonstrations." House's behavior toward Yankees was also uncharacteristically "bold."Surrounded by Union soldiers, House refused to treat them with politeness, I 2 Definitions of Womanhood in the ConfederateSouth despite the strictures of southern ladyhood, which required young women to present an amiable appearance at all times. "I cant contain myself/' she explained. "I say all sorts of things about all their officers & men ... and say everything impudent that comes into my head." "It seems to me sometimes that I feel perfectly reckless of what I say or do/' she remarked in March i864.3 Sothreatening did the Union soldiersfindthis youngwomanthat in April 1864, they ordered her to leavethe state and go south.4 House's experiences demonstrated that a term she coined in November 1863—"rebel Ladies"— was considered an oxymoron in the war-torn South.5 Young women in the Civil War era often were forced to choose between their identity as ladies and their identity as rebels, and some, like House, chose the latter.6 Ellen House's story dramatically illustrates a growing trend in the Confederate South:youngwhitewomen'swillingnessto surrendertheir statusas properyoung ladiesin orderto defend their beloved Confederate nation. Like this "veryviolent rebel," many elite youngwomen in the ConfederateSouth weighed the valueofladylikebehavior against the ethos ofsouthern nationalism and concluded that Confederateloyalty wasof greater worth than good manners. Earning a reputation as southern spitfires, these southern-ladiesturned -she-rebels simultaneously challenged conventional gender roles and revealed the fragile underpinnings of slaveholding society. The CivilWarforced a major crisisin southern culture, pitting the ideals of southern ladyhood and southern independence against one another. Prior to the conflict, southern femininity and regional loyalty werenot only consistent with each other, but mutually reinforcing. Pro-slaverytheorists defended the supposedly "natural" hierarchy of white over black by comparisonwith another so-called "natural" hierarchy:the subordination ofwomen to men. Moreover,they arguedthat the presenceof slaveryelevated the position of white women, placing "the southern lady" on a pedestal that rested on the bent backsof enslaved African Americans. The presence of southern ladies, then, demonstrated the alleged superiority of southern society and its "peculiar institution," slavery.By accepting their own position in southern society—simultaneously honored and oppressed—elitewhite women literally embodied the southern defense of slavery.7 The CivilWarchanged this situation. In their displayof Confederate—as opposed to simply southern—loyalty, southern white women often acted in ways that contradicted their assigned role as symbolic supporters of the system . Assouthern women demonstrated their commitment to maintaining Anya Jabour 3 the Confederacy, including slavery, they abandoned their pedestals and rebelled , not only againstthe Union,but also against prescriptions of southern femininity. This was particularly true for the South's young women—those between the agesof fifteen and twenty-five. While their mothers counseled patience, these daughtersof the Confederacychafed under Yankee rule and struggled with the rules of ladylike propriety. Often, like Ellen House, they concluded...