The women and male civilians of the 12th Virginia Company B represent the people at home in Petersburg during the early 1860's. At the beginning of the war, the women associated with members of the 12th Virginia were well off. As the war progressed, the civilian population of this area, as well as elsewhere, came upon hard times.

The women of the household might sew clothes, weave fabric, do laundry, or other efforts to support the war effort and to make ends meet. She might raise chickens and keep a cow, but she went to the local market to purchase other foodstuff. The woman's role changed from being well-off ladies to being more self-sufficient. She was still valued as a lady, but also as a manager of the household and as a teacher of children. Many women in this area took on jobs for the Confederate government as clerks and in manufacturing.

During the war the women did the best they could with what they little they had. They still gave teas, had socials and did whatever they felt necessary to keep up the morale of their community. Overall, though, was the need to provide for their families in the absence of their menfolk.

The male civilians of this time fell into several classes. Some were too young or too old to serve in the military, although these were often members of the home guard or other local militia. Some were disabled veterans; these too often were expected to serve in the reserve forces. Many of those who were able-bodied males (not in the military) were in important jobs and exempted from military service by the government.

The women of the 12th Virginia have tried to portray appropriate wartime events. The ladies of this unit made the current company flag, and presented it to the unit. During the War Between the States, the women would have gotten together, made a flag, and presented it to their home regiments. We have had several teas or social gatherings held at different homes. This would have been done during the war also.

At military hospitals, civilians helped with the wounded. The women have tried to portray this in the hospital scenarios that have often been done.

There are accounts of women who followed their soldiers to war, serving as "mothers" to all, cooking, cleaning and laundering for one or another company of soldiers. (Civil War Civilians, Juanita Leisch, p.52)

The women have portrayed this by cooking for the men at numerous reenactments. We also portrayed a laundering impression at the 135th Gettysburg Reenactment.

There were also a few women who distinguished themselves as men and fought alongside the soldiers. The contributions of these females to the war effort are generally considered insignificant. At the time, these women were not generally admired. (Civil War Civilians, Juanita Leisch, p. 53)

Even though these women were not admired, they were a part of the War Between the States. The women of the 12th have portrayed fighting men as well. Women who are willing to hide their gender and attempt to accurately portray a soldier are welcome.

Male civilians also are welcome to participate in events with the 12th Virginia, Company B. Although males have no organized civilian group, members are free to improvise and interpret the roles non-military males played during the Civil war years.

As we do many living history events, all members are encouraged to form a "civilian persona" for first-person use. The type of thought that goes into this is: What kind of person would I be in that time period? What would I do for a living? What type of living would I have? How would my civilian life interact with the ongoing war? All of these questions can lead one to develop a well-rounded personal profile to use when portraying a civilian or a military person.