During this time, she also worked as a laundress and earned extra money by going door to door and selling a bluing solution (made to brighten clothing).
However, the law specifically allowed women to remain with the army if they fell into one of two categories: laundresses (blanchisseuses) and vivandires.
An almost exclusively female occupation, laundresses worked 12 to 14 hours a day for very low pay in very hot buildings (which led to the origination of the term sweatshop).
The hospital staff included both male and female attendants, a housekeeper, cook, laundress, housemaid, kitchen maid, porter, baker, engineer and stoker.
