Sarah Emma Edmundson
Encyclopedia
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Biography
Sarah Emma Edmonds was born in Magaguadavic, New Brunswick, Canada but left home with the help of her mother because her verbally and physically abusive father attempted to force her to marry a much older man she hated. She worked for a time as a milliner in the Moncton area and later sold Bibles and other odds and ends in New Brunswick and New England. After her escape, she began dressing as man in order to make things easier for herself. She wore men's clothes, cut her hair and changed her name to Franklin Thompson. Still afraid of being found by her father, she fled to the United States in 1856 where she settled in Flint, Michigan. Once in the United States she began successfully selling Bibles and working for a publishing company. She dressed mainly as a man, but it is not certain that she was exclusively a male in her first years in the United States.She had always been very adventurous, and her interest in adventure was spiked by a book she had read in her youth, telling the story of Fanny Campbell and her adventures dressed on a pirate ship while dressed as a man. Fanny remained dressed as a man in order to take other adventures, which Edmonds attributes to her desire to crossdress. During the Civil War, she enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry
2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The 2nd Regiment Michigan Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 2nd Michigan Infantry was organized by Francis William Kellogg and others at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan. It mustered into Federal service for a...
on her first try, disguising herself as a man named "Franklin Flint Thompson." She felt that it was her duty to serve her country and it was truly patriotic. Extensive physical examinations were not required for enlistment at the time, and she was not discovered. She at first served as a male field nurse, participating in several campaigns under General McClellan, including the First
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
and Second Battle of Bull Run
Second Battle of Bull Run
The Second Battle of Bull Run or Second Manassas was fought August 28–30, 1862, as part of the American Civil War. It was the culmination of an offensive campaign waged by Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia against Union Maj. Gen...
, Antietam, the Peninsula Campaign
Peninsula Campaign
The Peninsula Campaign of the American Civil War was a major Union operation launched in southeastern Virginia from March through July 1862, the first large-scale offensive in the Eastern Theater. The operation, commanded by Maj. Gen. George B...
, Vicksburg, and others.
Frank Thompson's career took a turn before the war when a Union spy in Richmond, Virginia was discovered and went before a firing squad,and a friend, James Vesey, was killed in an ambush. She took advantage of the open spot and the opportunity to avenge her friend's death. When she went before the committee for an interview as Franklin Thompson, Edmonds impressed the committee and the position was given to her. Although there is no proof in her military records that she actually served as a spy, she wrote extensively about her experiences disguised as a spy during the war.
Traveling into enemy territory in order to gather information required Frank Thompson to come up with many disguises. One disguise required Edmonds to use silver nitrate
Silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...
to dye her skin black, wear a black wig, and walke into the Confederacy disguised as a black man by the name of Cuff. Another time she entered as an Irish peddler woman by the name of Bridget O'Shea, claiming that she was selling apples and soap to the soldiers. Yet another time she was "working for the Confederates" as a black laundress when a packet of official papers fell out of an officer's jacket. When Thompson returned to the Union with the papers, the generals were quite pleased. Another time, she worked as a dectective in Maryland as Charles Mayberry, finding an agent for the confederate.
Edmonds' career as Frank Thompson came to an end when she contracted malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
. She left and abandoned her duty in the military for fear that if she went to a military hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
she would be discovered. She left the army and checked herself in to a private hospital, intending to return to military life once she had recuperated. Once she recovered, however, she saw posters listing Frank Thompson as a deserter. Rather than return to the army under another alias or as Frank Thompson, risking execution for dessertion, she decided to serve as a female nurse at a Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
hospital for wounded soldiers run by the United States Christian Commission
United States Christian Commission
The United States Christian Commission was an important agency of the Union during the American Civil War. It was designed to offer religious support, but also provided numerous social services and recreation to the soldiers of the U.S. Army. It provided Protestant chaplains and social workers,...
. There are also speculations that Edmonds may have deserted because of John Reid having been discharged months earlier. There is proof in his diary that she had mentioned leaving before she had contracted malaria.
Her fellow soldiers spoke very highly of her for her military service, and even after her disguise was discovered, they still believed that even as a woman she was a good soldier. She was very determined and always eager to fight and take down the enemy. She was referred to as a "frank and fearless" soldier and was active in every battle her regiment faced.
In 1864 Boston publisher DeWolfe, Fiske, & Co. published Edmonds' account of her military experiences as The Female Spy of the Union Army. One year later her story was picked up by a Hartford, CT publisher who issued it with a new title, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. It was a huge success, selling in excess of 175,000 copies. In 1867, she married L. H. Seelye, a Canadian mechanic with whom she had three children. Her two sons and her daughter died young, so she adopted two boys. In 1886, she received a government pension
Pension
In general, a pension is an arrangement to provide people with an income when they are no longer earning a regular income from employment. Pensions should not be confused with severance pay; the former is paid in regular installments, while the latter is paid in one lump sum.The terms retirement...
of $12 a month for her military service, and after some campaigning, gained an honorable discharge. In 1897, she became the only woman admitted to the Grand Army of the Republic
Grand Army of the Republic
The Grand Army of the Republic was a fraternal organization composed of veterans of the Union Army, US Navy, US Marines and US Revenue Cutter Service who served in the American Civil War. Founded in 1866 in Decatur, Illinois, it was dissolved in 1956 when its last member died...
, the Civil War Union Army veterans' organization. Edmonds died in La Porte, Texas
La Porte, Texas
La Porte is a city in Harris County, Texas within the Bay Area of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. As of the 2000 U.S. Census, the city population was 31,880...
and is buried in Washington Cemetery in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. She was a civil war hero and should be remembered as such.
She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
Michigan Women's Hall of Fame
The Michigan Women's Hall of Fame honors distinguished women, both historical and contemporary, who have been associated with the U.S. state of Michigan. It is housed in the Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame building, located at 213 W. Malcolm X St. in downtown Lansing, Michigan...
in 1992.
Edmonds book was reprinted again in 1999 with a new title, Memoirs of a Soldier, Nurse and Spy.
See also
- Crossdressing during wartimeCrossdressing during wartimeMany people have engaged in cross-dressing during wartime under various circumstances and for various motives. This has been especially true of women, whether while serving as a soldier in otherwise all-male armies, while protecting or disguising their identity in dangerous circumstances, or for...
- Deborah SampsonDeborah SampsonDeborah Samson Gannett , better known as Deborah Sampson, was an American woman who impersonated a man in order to serve in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. She is one of a small number of women with a documented record of military combat experience in that war...
, impersonated a man to stick up for women's right and to fight during the American War of Independence - Loreta Janeta VelazquezLoreta Janeta VelazquezLoreta Janeta Velazquez , was a Cuban-born woman who masqueraded as a male Confederate soldier during the Civil War. She enlisted in the Confederate Army in 1861, without her soldier-husband's knowledge. She fought at Bull Run, Ball's Bluff and Fort Donelson, but her gender was discovered while in...
- Mary Edwards WalkerMary Edwards WalkerMary Edwards Walker was an American feminist, abolitionist, prohibitionist, alleged spy, prisoner of war and surgeon. She is the only woman ever to receive the Medal of Honor....
- Sally Louisa TompkinsSally Louisa TompkinsSally Louisa Tompkins was a humanitarian, nurse, and philanthropist. She is best-remembered for privately sponsoring a hospital in Richmond, Virginia to treat soldiers wounded in the American Civil War...
Books:
- Girl in BlueGirl in BlueGirl in Blue is a 2001 novel by Ann Rinaldi. It is a historical fiction which takes place during 1861, during the American Civil War.-Synopsis:...
by Ann RinaldiAnn RinaldiAnn Rinaldi is an American young-adult fiction author. She is best known for her historical fiction, including In My Father's House, The Last Silk Dress, An Acquaintance with Darkness, A Break with Charity, and Hang a Thousand Trees with Ribbons... - Behind Rebel Lines by Seymour ReitSeymour ReitSeymour Victory Reit was the author of over 80 children's books as well as several works for adults. Reit was the creator, with cartoonist Joe Oriolo, of the character Casper the Friendly Ghost...
- Petticoat Spies by Peggy Caravantes
- All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies by Elizabeth D. Leonard