"Soap Suds Row explores the history of United States Army Laundresses. These women were sanctioned and paid by the United States Army to wash the clothes of the soldiers from 1802-1876. The laundresses received a set wage and also received rations. Their work was hard and conditions were sometimes poor. Often these laundresses were married to enlisted men and they traveled with their various military companies. Soap Suds Row provides historic accounts of laundresses at several forts, both on the Western Frontier and during the Civil War and also describes the job, the culture, and the working conditions."--Provided by publisher.

Prologue : On Laundress Lane -- 1. Ladies and lyes : Historical perspectives -- 2. Laundry list : The job -- 3. Ironing out the wrinkles : Benefits -- 4. Suds row : Housing -- 5. The baby and the bathwater : Family life and responsibilities -- 6. On the side : Social life -- 7. Extra baggage : Moving with the troops -- 8. Dirty laundry : The darker side -- 9. Out with the wash water : The decline and end -- Appendix : Registry of laundresses.