The Civil War presented numerous challenges and horrors for the soldiers who fought it, but it also had a huge effect on those who remained at home. Millions of Americans faced hardships on the homefront, and it is their struggles that show how completely the war affected people from all backgrounds.

With men serving in the army, women faced a daunting set of challenges. First and foremost, they worried about the safety of their loved ones, scanning casualty lists in fear of finding the names of fathers, sons, or husbands. Women also had to raise their children alone and complete the work normally done by the men, such as managing farms and businesses. Since large amounts of clothing, food, and other war goods were sent to the armies, shortages were common, and civilians from all walks of life were forced to do without.

Adding to the hardship was foraging by both armies. Women found their fences torn down for firewood or their farm animals confiscated to feed the army. This severely hurt their ability to survive on their own.

Because the homefront was divided politically during the Civil War, it presented a different set of dangers.

Nowhere was this more evident than in Missouri. Although the Union retained control of Missouri during the Civil War, Missouri was home to many slave owners and secessionists who strongly sympathized with the South. They detested the Union and resented the Union Army’s presence. They also detested any neighbors who supported the Union.

This seething hatred resulted in the organization of bushwhackers, or roving gangs of guerrillas who operated outside of the regular army. Fighting by ambush, they attacked army supply lines and committed atrocities against their neighbors.

Because most of the guerrillas were Southern sympathizers who disrupted the Union’s purposes and goals, the Union Army took drastic steps to stop the bushwhackers.

In Missouri, the army declared martial law. This meant that the army became judge, jury and executioner of suspected bushwhackers. Under martial law, bushwhackers were usually shot on sight instead of being taken prisoner like regular Confederate soldiers would have been.

The Union also punished civilians who helped the guerrillas. The most infamous case was Missouri’s General Order No. 11. Under this order, all civilians in Bates, Cass, Jackson and Vernon counties were ordered to leave their homes, regardless of their loyalties. This order was an attempt to break up the network of civilians who helped bushwhackers operate by feeding, sheltering and supporting them.

The Civil War was a tumultuous time for the United States, and the terrible battlefield engagements were only part of the story. The war waged on the homefront was at times equally brutal as millions of lives were disrupted by the horrors of war.