Sarah Emma Edmonds/Private Thompson Sarah

Sarah Emma Edmonds/Private Thompson

Sarah Emma Edmond / Union Solder Franklin Thompson

The Civil War was a bloody battle and it was certainly no place for a lady, at least most ladies of the time. Traditional gender roles proclaimed that the Civil War was a man's place and a man's fight. The stereotypical woman of the Civil War was portrayed as the heroine who stayed home to maintain the home while their men went off to filthy camps to die horrible deaths, but the death of a hero nonetheless. The closest a woman could hope to get to the action was to be a nurse, a self-sacrificing individual who gave up the sweet life to serve the cause. However, there is another side of the Civil War that seldom makes it into the history books. Some women were soldiers, despite strict taboos against it. The following will tell the story of one of those heroic women who broke tradition for the greater good.

Although both the Confederate and Union armies forbade women to enlist, some cut their hair, took on masculine names and wore male clothes. With every ounce of their femininity cloaked, they passed as men and did the forbidden. This research will support the thesis that the treatment of Sarah Edmonds after the war signals an acceptance of changing roles for Victorian. It signaled a change that meant the end of Victorian society with its strict social rules.

It is not known how many of these women actually fought in the war, because no one knew they were there. It is not a matter of military record. However, history tells of at least one. Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye shed her identity to become Union Soldier Franklin Thompson. Unlike many of her counterparts, who only received a brief mention by the contemporary press, Sarah Edmonds Seelye received full media attention. We know more about her service than many of her female soldier counterparts. This research will support the thesis that although it was "Officially" frowned upon, women soldiers of the Civil War were a source of respect among males and females on both sides.

Life and Times

Sarah Edmonds was born in Nova Scotia in 1941 (Civil War Home). Her early life provides clues that may help to understand her motivations for wanting to pursue a masculine role. Edmond's father resented her from childhood for not being born a boy. He treated her badly in early life, leashing his temper on her often. This led Edmond's to take on several masculine traits underneath her femininity (Civil War Home). This gave Edmond's practice for the role that she would take on the future.

Edmond's father would provide the motivation for her decision to leave home and adopt a new life and a new identity. In April of 1961, she fled to the United States and quickly became a patriot. She assumed the name of Franklin Thompson in order to enlist as a private in the infantry. She cut her hair, dressed like a man and answered the call for Union enlistments. However, it would take her four tries to finally enlist. One April 25, 1861, Edmonds became a male nurse in the Second Volunteers in the United States Army (Civil War Home). It might be noted that at that time, the physical exam involved little more than a questioning by the company physician.

Before hostilities broke out fully, she answered a call for a person to act as a spy. She studied weapons, tactics, local geography and military personalities. Her first mission involved the need to develop a disguise that would not alert the confederates to her real identity. She decided to masquerade as a black man, using silver nitrate to darken her skin. Those around her who knew her did not even recognize her (Civil War Home). She put on a long, black minstrel wig and called herself "Cuff."

She was assigned to work on the ramparts being built by local Negroes to counter the advances of McClellan, her boss prior to her role as Cuff (Civil War Home). She convinced a fellow slave to swap with her for duty in the kitchen. This allowed her to listen for information that might be useful. She learned many facts about the morale of the troops, size of the army, and the weapons available. She found a plan to use "Quaker guns" at Yorktown. These "guns" were logs painted black to look like canons from a distance. Although the number of women soldiers in the Civil War was thought to be too few for their contribution to be significant, actions such as these make their contribution in numbers small, but the importance of their contributions great.

Two months later, she was once again asked to infiltrate the Southern lines. This time, she traveled as a fat Irish peddler woman named Bridget O'Shea. She gained access to the Southern camps and sold some of her wares. She returned with valuable information and a beautiful horse named Rebel (Civil War Home).

As the battle in Virginia slowed, the Second Michigan was transferred to the Shenandoah Valley. Still dressed as a man, her reputation as a nurse and a spy followed her. In 1862, Private Thompson went behind enemy lines dressed as a black mammy. She became laundress at the camp. While cleaning and officer's coat, some papers fell out. She quickly snatched them and headed back to the Union side (Civil War Home). Union officers found that the information she obtained was extremely important to the cause.

At the end of 1962 her unit was transferred to the Ninth Corps near Louisville, Kentucky. Once Private Thompson's skill as a spy was called into action and he was asked to go ahead and uncover a spy network in the Louisville Area. Once, again, Private Thompson succeeded in her mission. After that Private Thompson worked in the military hospital, putting in long hours to care for others (Civil War Home).

However, her service in the hospital took its toll and she soon faced a serious problem. She had contracted malaria, but was afraid that to admit herself to the hospital would mean her discovery. She needed to leave camp to recover in a private hospital. The National Archives states that on April 19, 1963, Edmonds did something shocking for someone of her service record: she deserted. She once again became a woman and checked herself into a hospital in Cairo, Illinois, planning to return to duty after her recovery (Civil War Home). When she attempted to return to work, she saw a list of deserters in the store window and Private Frank Thompson's name was on the list.

Emma Edmonds used the last of her funds and took a train to Washington where she worked as a nurse until the war ended. However, she ended her career as a spy with eleven successful missions (Civil War Home). Emma later wrote her story into a best selling book entitled, "Nurse and Spy in the Union Army." She donated all of her funds from the book to the U.S. war relief fund.

Sarah returned home to Canada where she met L.H. Seelye. In 1967 she married L.H. Seelye, as Canadian mechanic. She raised three children. She was still haunted by being labeled a deserter and petitioned to have her case reviewed. In 1886 she received a government pension based on her military service. A letter from the secretary of war acknowledged her contributions to the effort. Sarah Edmonds Seelye died on September 5, 1898 in Texas (National Archives).