Soap Suds Row: The Bold Lives of Army Laundresses 1802-1876

by Jennifer J. Lawrence

Women have always followed the troops, but military laundresses were the first to
be carried on the rolls of the U.S. Army. They traveled and lived alongside the
soldiers during two of the most important conflicts in United States the
Civil War and the war on the western frontier.

A few laundresses made names for themselves. Laundresses who got written
up in records, diaries, and newspapers were often involved in colorful or unfortunate
circumstances. No, they were not all loose women. Some were; however, most
were simply brave, adventurous, and unorthodox women.

They marched with the army for hundreds of miles, carrying their babies and
tugging small children behind them. Among the first non-native women on lonely
frontier outposts, they waited in frightened huddles in camps and forts for their
soldier-husbands to return from dangerous campaigns.
Susie King Taylor, born a slave, taught both black children and soldiers to read
and write between washing piles of laundry. A Mexican-American War laundress
was eulogized as able to whip any man, fair fight or foul; shoot a pistol better than
anyone; and outplay or out-cheat any gambler. A well-known laundress from the
Indian Wars period, Mrs. Nash, kept a secret that remained undiscovered until her
death. Little note was made of laundresses
who worked hard day after day,
like Maggie Flood, who faced
special family challenges
on the frontier.

Genres: History, Womens, War

157 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2016

Reviews

[Clay Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The author gives great insite into the more mundane aspects of military life. This book will make an excellent resourse for researchers. Saw this book at the Pioneer Living History Museum during a Civil War reenactment. Checked out this book from inter-libary loan from the Dean B. Lewis Library Arkansas State University.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. Great information.

[Hannah Wiest · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately this book was quite a let down. I had hoped to use it to research civil war military laundresses because the title indicates it covering that time period. It focused primarily on laundresses stationed in forts west of the Mississippi, and even then it referenced more secondary sources than primary ones. I also had to question some of the research in general because it got a few key points wrong, like not mentioning the need to add salt to soap made from drip lye in to form bars. The author put a lot of work into it, as noted by the extensive bibliography, but it still comes off as general overview, not quality scholarship.

[MountainAshleah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the low ratings for this little book are a bit unfair. It's a solid overview of an obscure topic that deserves attention. Yes it's a bit heavy on disconnected anecdotes but the author provides photos and illustrations as well as bibliographic notes for further research. I was curious about a local legend of a laundress who has a creek named for her, and this book provided the context I was missing and the internet was lacking. I think her passion for the subject is noteworthy. This book could easily form the basis for a gritty film.

[MarkedWoman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author did a lot of research and found a lot of information, especially on individuals. The information is not well organized and references are not attributed in any traditional manner. It is choppy to read and in a couple instances sentences have extra words that do not make sense.

Kudos to Ms. Lawrence for her dedication and the time she spent, but a rewrite would be beneficial.

[Marieta Grissom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting! This book tells a little-known story about the women who washed the clothes for the men serving in the military. Information is scant, but Ms. Lawrence has done a commendable job assembling an interesting narrative.

[Cynthia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was fascinated by the information and quick easy read. 3 stars because I don't think I'd read it again but it is a great resource to understand more about the American west.

[Diane Jonckowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a very interesting book on a subject I knew nothing about. It was well documented but the writing was at times awkward. I still enjoyed it.

[Sharon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great overview of a completely unknown topic to me. At times, the writing is redundant or unclear, but the author's passion and research shine through. Lawrence demonstrates the norms and the exceptions of this life, shying away from broad generalizations while still making meaningful summaries and analyses. Occasionally, that results in some confusion - a few times it seemed like she contradicted herself on one page. However, that's a minor criticism, and I will definitely recommend this book to fellow readers.

[Breanne Donahue · Rating 2 out of 5]

A book I was unabashedly, Stay-at-Home Mom-ily, excited to read, I wound up being even more disappointed. Though highly detailed, the book remained largely underdeveloped, and the writing was awkward, redundant, and confusing. What mostly appeared to be meticulous research came across as a B-/C+ term paper, complete with punctuation problems that gave the book an aura of continuity issues, including the requisite typos. An interesting subject matter, Lawrence repeatedly warns of the lack of resources, leaving her book hanging in the balance between developing and fortifying the research or just scrapping the whole project altogether. Lawrence chose to stay the path, thus a lot of her points are mere conjecture, and she often uses laundresses and other women of the Military interchangeably. I enjoyed the topic and information but would have liked more; more depth into the laundresses' character, and definitely written a lot better.