From 1870, when the Post Office was given control of the telegraphsystem, many more women were employed in running the telegraphs and from here moved into administrative and clerical roles.
Not better generals and or a higher moral ground, but because of better infrastructure, including a more developed rail system and the use of the nascent telegraph to communicate with commanders in the field.
On one section of the system, restoring even limited service has required workers to reach back in time, using a system to move trains that dates to the age of the telegraph.