Monday, March 31, 2014

Civil War Nurse, Soldier, Spy


Enlisting in the army during the Civil War was off limits for women. But, some women felt compelled to serve, disguised themselves as men, and enlisted anyway.

Disguising herself as a man at nineteen, Sarah Emma Edmonds joined the Union volunteer army under the name of Franklin Thompson and served as a male nurse in order to serve her adopted country during the Civil War. She later had the opportunity to serve as a spy and gather information from the Confederacy to aid her side. She did her research and decided the only way to avoid getting caught was to enter the South disguised as a black man, and later as a black laundress. She escaped detection both times.

Read about her amazing life in either Marissa Moss' book or this one by Carrie Jones.

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