How did women's contributions during the war change their lives after the war?

During the time of the Civil War, women in America began to look more to the world that existed outside their homes. Thousands of women in both the north and south volunteered to join brigades and worked as nurses. It was the first time in the history of America that woman had an important part to play in the war efforts. After the war, the experienced had by these women changed the very definition of what true womanhood was.