When the war began, elizabeth van lew was considered a southern "spinster." she was in her early forties and unmarried. what could she do, she wondered, to serve her country? the answer came to her when she recalled her father's aunt letitia telling her how she had ministered to the captured troops of the continental army during the american revolution, especially those who had been wounded in action. what is the best summary of this paragraph? elizabeth van lew was an unmarried woman in her forties who wanted to serve her country but did not know how. elizabeth van lew asked herself what she wanted to do to the northern cause during the civil war. elizabeth van lew was called a spinster in the south during the time of the civil war because she had been unmarried for such a long time. elizabeth van lew wanted to during the civil war and drew inspiration from a relative who had taken care of wounded revolutionary soldiers