Disguised as men, these Confederate and Union women soldiered on

Dr. Audrey Scanlan-Teller and Tracey McIntire recounted the experiences of 400-750 women who disguised themselves as men to serve heroically in Union and Confederate troops during the Civil War.

Their March 20 talk at Central Community Library in Manassas was a free program to mark March as Women’s History Month. Helen Sherman, Sunday supervisor, welcomed patrons and introduced the speakers: Scanlan- Teller, dressed in blue as a Union soldier, and McIntire, dressed in a Confederate uniform.

The speakers took turns sharing stories about the hundreds of women who disguised themselves as men and showed slides with their lecture.

Scanlan-Teller and McIntire met on a hike in 2009 at Antietam Battlefield near Sharpsburg, Md. Both were already involved in Civil War history programming. They decided to join forces and have been doing these lectures since 2012, using primary sources such as diaries, letters and military records for their research.

According to their research, most women were motivated out of their patriotic devotion and belief in their respective side’s cause. Some wanted to leave home, follow their loved ones in battle or benefit from male privileges afforded to men. Their talk included facts of the mindset of the time as it related to gender roles and military culture.

Many of the women who disguised their true identity were not discovered. Others were when they were well into their military service. Still others continued to hide their gender even after the war ended so that they could continue male privileges including the right to vote, own land and receive a pension after the war.

The average age of a male Civil War soldier was 23; most of the women who enlisted under an alias were 17-18 years of age and into their mid-20s.

The lecture and slideshow focused primarily on four women: Sarah Emma Edmonds, alias Private Franklin “Frank” Thompson, 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry; Loreta Janeta Velazquez, alias Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, CSA (Confederates States Army); Mary Ann Clark, alias Henry Clark, CSA; and Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, alias Private Lyons Wakeman who enlisted in August 1862 in the 153rd New York Volunteer Infantry.

Edmonds wrote about her experiences in a book, “Nurse and Spy in the Union Army,” published in early 1865 before the war ended later that year in April. Canadian-born, Edmonds ended up leaving home to escape a marriage arranged by her father. “She just felt the need to disappear,” Scanlan-Teller said. She ended up enlisting in the Union army in May 1861, and disguised as a man, was detailed as a nurse and served at First Manassas in June 1861 when a typhoid epidemic broke out.

In August 1862, she injured her leg and ribs at Second Manassas in a riding accident but declined a surgical examination for fear of discovery. She went on to Antietam in September 1862, and her book includes an account of her burying another woman soldier after that battle. In December 1862, she was at the Battle of Fredericksburg. In March 1863, she was sent with her regiment to Lebanon, Kentucky and fell ill. The following month, she deserted the army to avoid being discovered as a woman.

After the war, Edmonds returned to nursing, this time, as a woman, and married a fellow Canadian, ran an orphanage and raised a family. In 1884, she was granted a pension for her military service, the only Union woman to have been granted a pension.

Velazquez (alias Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, CSA) also wrote a book, “The Woman in Battle.” She described her battle experiences at First Manassas, Balls Bluff, Fort Donaldson and Shiloh. Although her book has some embellishments, she was known to have a false mustache and whiskers held on by glue. She adopted male mannerisms, smoked, spat and “bought rounds for the boys.” She ended up being imprisoned for impersonating a soldier. Confederate General Jubal Early described her work as “libelous work.”

Clark (alias Henry Clark, CSA) enlisted October 1861 in General Braxton Bragg’s Confederate army, leaving two children behind in Kentucky. Wounded at the Battle of Richmond, Kentucky, she was captured in August 1862. She was discovered as a woman, and newspaper articles were written about her. She became known and admired.

Wakeman (alias Private Lyons Wakeman) enlisted in August 1862 in the 153rd New York Volunteer Infantry. She was detailed to guard the Old Capitol Prison (current site of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.)  July 1863 through February 1864. She became sick with chronic diarrhea and entered the hospital in May 1864. She died June 19, 1864, and is buried in Louisiana with her alias “Lyons Wakeman” inscribed on her tombstone.

Most women were discovered when some illness caused them to be evaluated by a physician. Some were discovered when their bodies were prepared for burial.

Women soldiers mentioned in military paperwork describe them as “bogus soldiers” and “wayward damsels.” Some were discovered by officers after accidents or “indiscretions.” One was discovered after getting drunk on cider, falling into a river and having to be resuscitated.

“Then there were six women soldiers who went undiscovered until they delivered babies,” McIntire said.

Overall, “these women expressed a love for country, risked their reputation and their lives. They are the very definition of courage,” McIntire ended.

Central Community Library is located at 8601 Mathis Avenue in Manassas,. Csll 703-792-8360 or visit http://www.pwcgov.org/government/dept/library/