As a historic interpreter, individuals have the opportunity to educate the public about the complex lives of Appalachian women during the Civil War. This paper provides a voice for women who left very few documents in their own voice. It is part of ongoing research and education focusing on the roles of Appalachian women and the struggle to portray them appropriately. It considers the difference between historical interpreters, who concentrate on providing an educational focus, and re-enactors, whose focus is primarily to portray the past and to entertain. To create a presentation that will be historically accurate and stimulating, an effective historic interpreter must employ the skills of a historian and a teacher. The historian must conduct research that includes reading period letters, listening to family stories, and analyzing fading photographs. As a volunteer historic interpreter, one has many venues for interacting with the general public, such as at elementary schools, museums, parks, and other similar public places. Students of all ages can see what a woman from this era and geographic region would have looked like while understanding the unique hardships and troubles faced by Appalachian women who had to defend their homes and families against enemy soldiers and the elements. (Contains 18 suggested readings.) (BT)