BETHEL — The Bethel Historical Society will celebrate Women’s History Month at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28, with a program titled “Women Soldiers of the Civil War.”

The free event will feature a short film followed by a discussion. Standard histories of the Civil War have framed it as a man’s fight, with historical accounts focusing almost exclusively on the men who fought in the 1860s.

But there were women who, despite the extraordinary obstructions of the era, also took to the battlefields. Surprisingly, more than 250 documented cases exist of women who served in the ranks of both the Union and Confederate armies dressed as men, with not a few taking the place of husbands who, for various reasons, were unable to enlist.

Called “the best-kept historical secret of the Civil War,” their participation in the conflict was an act both rebellious and patriotic.

Women’s History Month pays tribute to the generations of women whose commitment to nature and the planet have proved invaluable to society.

The designation had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28, which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982, as “Women’s History Week.”

Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In 1987 after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress passed Pub. L. 100-9, which designated the month of March 1987 as “Women’s History Month.”

Between 1988 and 1994, Congress passed additional resolutions requesting and authorizing the President to proclaim March of each year as Women’s History Month.

Since 1995, Presidents Clinton, Bush and Obama have issued a series of annual proclamations designating March as “Women’s History Month.”

For a full list of upcoming programs and exhibits at the Bethel Historical Society, visit bethelhistorical.org or like us on Facebook.