Among the hundreds of women who, in disguise, enlisted to serve as men during the Civil War, only Sarah Edmonds is known to have written a memoir recounting her experiences. As "Franklin Thompson," she joined the 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment in 1861, then fought in some of the bloodiest struggles of the Civil War, from the first battle of Bull Run to the Kentucky Campaign of 1863. This daring woman embarked upon dangerous missions into Confederate territory to gather information and to survey enemy positions, sometimes in the guise of a slave or Irish washerwoman, sometimes in Confederate uniform. Through her experiences as a "male nurse" and Union soldier, Edmonds depicts the horrors of Civil War hospitals and the simple pastimes of camp life. Throughout her impassioned account, first published in 1865, this enthralling storyteller reveals her courage, dedication to the Union, and resourcefulness in concealing her identity. Three years after her death, Edmonds's body was reinterred with military honors by her comrades, who recognized in her a "strong, healthy, and robust soldier, ever willing and ready for duty." The introduction and annotations by Elizabeth D. Leonard, a leading authority on Civil War women, support and amplify Edmonds's account. Challenging established views of the Civil War soldier, Memoirs of a Soldier, Nurse, and Spy is compelling reading, especially for those interested in the Civil War, women's history, American studies, and military history.

Memoirs of a Soldier, Nurse, and Spy: A Woman's Adventures in the Union Army

Biographies & Memoirs

Edmonds, Sarah Emma

Leonard, Elizabeth

Community & Culture

Northern Illinois University Press

Her true story is as remarkable and exciting as it was dangerous. Disguising herself as a man named Franklin Flint Thompson and enlisting in the Union army, Emma saw front-line battle and acted as a spy. A master of disguise, she even traveled into enemy territory as a black man and an Irish woman. She stated her reason for leaving after two years' service was due to contracting malaria. Her poignant story was published to great acclaim in 1864 and quickly became a best seller. After the war she was lauded by former compatriots and given a small government pension. The only woman inducted into the Union veterans organization, The Grand Army of the Republic, she was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1992.

The Female Spy of the Union Army (Expanded, Annotated)

History

Americas

Independently published

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

Nurse and spy in the Union Army: Large Print

Literature & Fiction

Action & Adventure

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Books by Edmonds, Sarah Emma