Women got involved in varying degrees and on different levels—local, regional, or national. Some gave what time and money they could, even if it was a little. Others traveled to the soldiers, working in horrendous conditions, all hours of the day and night, sacrificing their good health and even, in some cases, their lives. Aid societies, hospitals, the U.S. Sanitary Commission, the U.S. Sanitary Commission Hospital Transport Service, and other groups had a positive impact on the war effort because of the contributions of women. Other women went a little more outside the bounds and spied for their cause or followed a particular unit as a daughter of the regiment. There even have been numerous discoveries of women who disguised themselves as men in order to serve as soldiers.

Throughout history, war has often provided opportunities for women to go outside their sphere. The advancements made by women during war have not always been permanent in their time, but women did show what they were capable of doing. During the Civil War, women wanted to alleviate the suffering and, in the view of many, simply do their duty as the men did theirs. After the war, women would look back on their experiences as something that shaped them, and the war. What would "the story of the war" have been without the contributions of women?