Maine's Uncounted Forces in the American Civil War. By Lynda L. Sudlow.
Some books open up a whole new area of understanding.
For the first time, readers interested in Maine's role in the Civil War are given a clear overview of the contributions of women to the Union cause. Mostly, though, the focus has been on that formidable and problematic native of Hampden, Dorothea L. Dix, the great reformer who served as superintendent of Female Army Nurses throughout the conflict. Sudlow, a skilled writer-researcher and director of the Falmouth Memorial Library, takes the reader beyond the known and offers a surprising array of contributions by individuals and groups. As early as April 1861, we find four young women from Lewiston and Auburn offering to serve as war nurses. This was just the beginning.