Correspondence Relating to the Employment of Sarah Ann Deegan
This document is a letter written in support of Sarah Ann Deegen’s employment at the Schuylkill Arsenal, Philadelphia, PA, dated December 26, 1863.
Our records show that women worked in wartime industry long before we had Rosie the Riveter. One such series of records is entitled “Recommendations for Employment” (1861–1867) of individuals who sought employment at Philadelphia’s Schuylkill Arsenal during the Civil War. At the start of the Civil War, the arsenal quickly hired up to 10,000 tailors and seamstresses to make uniforms, blankets, tents, and bedding for Union troops. The records in this series document efforts by many of those individuals seeking employment. The majority of the applicants are women who had a relative in the Union Army. While many letters merely recommend the women for employment, others give a glimpse into the daily lives of single women and widows as they struggled to make ends meet in a labor market devoted mostly to the employment of men. This letter supporting Mrs. Deegan’s employment is typical of the letters found in the series of letters.
Correspondence Relating to the Employment of Sarah Ann Deegan, dated December 26, 1863. National Archives Identifier: 131516671
View and download Correspondence Relating to the Employment of Sarah Ann Deegan on the National Archives Catalog. You can explore more records held in the National Archives at Philadelphia through the National Archives Catalog or by visiting the National Archives at Philadelphia. This record is located in Record Group 92: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Series: Recommendations for Employment.