Females on the Line

[Dale Beasley]

While standing in formation last week in the Modern Army, I was wondering to myself "How many females stood in formation during the Civil War"

I went to the "Search Arrow" and found nothing.

I know there were some we will never know about, but how common was it?

[Johnny Lloyd]

Re: Females on the Line

While standing in formation last week in the Modern Army, I was wondering to myself "How many females stood in formation during the Civil War"

I went to the "Search Arrow" and found nothing.

I know there were some we will never know about, but how common was it?

Brother Dale-

There were about as many women in the ranks in the Civil War as black Confederates...

But that depends on who you talk to, of course... seems as though black Confederates and female soldiers were something a bit taboo for historians to write down for the past 140+ years. ;)

An interesting site:

http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1993/spring/women-in-the-civil-war-1.html

And Pics of Missouri Confederate cavalry-"woman" Francis Clayton...

-Johnny

[Rmhisteach]

Re: Females on the Line

Pards and Comrades ,

I looked up info on a local gal that I thought was interesting . She continued to hide her true identity until her death.

RM

http://www.historyswomen.com/earlyamerica/jennyhodgers.html

[crabby]

Re: Females on the Line

From what I have heard, don't have documentaion, probably 400 or less that were known or discovered.


Crabby

[Jen McGarrahan]

Re: Females on the Line

I am sure it had to have happened alot more than anyone will ever know.

[Danny]

Re: Females on the Line

Pards and Comrades , I looked up info on a local gal that I thought was interesting . She continued to hide her true identity until her death.RM

RM -

Our unit has been engaged again this year to help commemorate Jennie in her home town of Sounemin, Illinois. We will again stand as a living history from Aug. 22 - Aug. 24, in the park across the road from her grave. By all means come visit, in fact you're invited to muster in with your tent if you like. For this event we're mainstream, but a few of the infantry fellas came campaign-style in past years.

Sidebar: A few of us have serenaded her at grave in past years, and one year I SWEAR she visited us the next day in the form of a precocious (sp?) 11-year old girl who shadowed us in camp the entire next day, no other family in sight. She somehow had begged into a baggy uniform and was sharing yarns with us over the campfire by Sat eve. The significance didn't hit me til weeks later. Master Sargeant thinks I'm nuts to this day, but I'm just sayin'...

Dan Wykes
Battery G, 2nd IL Artillery

[Virginia Mescher]

Re: Females on the Line

While standing in formation last week in the Modern Army, I was wondering to myself "How many females stood in formation during the Civil War"

I went to the "Search Arrow" and found nothing.

I know there were some we will never know about, but how common was it?

There are a number of books recently written about female soldiers that have been documented.

Three that I can think of offhand are An Uncommon Soldier by Lauren Cook Burgess, She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers of the Civil War by Bonnie Tsui and the best book I have seen on the subject is They Fought Like Demons by DeAnne Blanton and Lauren M. Cook. I know that in the case of the last book that DeAnne did not include any female soldier that she could not document with several primary sources.

DeAnne will be speaking at the upcoming SWCW conference in July on additional research that she had done since the book was published in 2002. Further information on the conference may be found at www.swcw.org.

[Cfarrell]

Re: Females on the Line

For those Trans Miss fellers the book Uncommon Soldier is about a woman who served during the Red River Campaign and wore the blue. Its an interesting short read well worth the time.

Regards,

[DougCooper]

Re: Females on the Line

RM -

Our unit has been engaged again this year to help commemorate Jennie in her home town of Sounemin, Illinois. We will again stand as a living history from Aug. 22 - Aug. 24, in the park across the road from her grave. By all means come visit, in fact you're invited to muster in with your tent if you like. For this event we're mainstream, but a few of the infantry fellas came campaign-style in past years.

Sidebar: A few of us have serenaded her at grave in past years, and one year I SWEAR she visited us the next day in the form of a precocious (sp?) 11-year old girl who shadowed us in camp the entire next day, no other family in sight. She somehow had begged into a baggy uniform and was sharing yarns with us over the campfire by Sat eve. The significance didn't hit me til weeks later. Master Sargeant thinks I'm nuts to this day, but I'm just sayin'...

Dan Wykes
Battery G, 2nd IL Artillery

A noble thing Dan! I would add however that anyone participating in the ceremony ought to be in their best stuff - something like this is not mainstream vs campaign, its dress vs fatigue.

What is the status on her house?

[Dale Beasley]

Re: Females on the Line

Lots of positive feed-back...THANKS

[Rick Keating]

Re: Females on the Line

The village of Saunemin, Illinois is in the process of restoring Albert Cashier's (aka Jennie Hodgers) small house. They have acquired the property where the house was originally.

Our unit, the 104th Illinos Infantry, has participated in the Sauemin living history for the last few years. In fact, we recently donated $1500 to be used in restoring the house. The house is very small, really not to more than a one room shack.

Years ago it was moved to Pontiac and was in storage there for years. Recently it was moved back to Saunemin where it is now being worked on. It's in bad shape and has been dismantled so the repairs can be made.

On another note this August during the Saunemin living history there will be a ceremony a few miles away honoring Oscar Slagle who served with the 104th Illinois Infantry. He was awarded the Medal of Honor in 1896 for his actions at Elk River during the Tullahoma Campaign. He was part of a party of 10 men who stormed a stockade and drove off Confederate sharpshooters. General Beatty asked for volunteers and 10 men from Company D of the 104th stepped up. No one thought they would survive but not only did they survive but nobody got hurt.

The MOH ceremony will be August 23.

[Hagooder02]

Re: Females on the Line

Gents and ladies:

Florena Budwin presents an interesting case. She is, we think, the first female soldier to be buried in a national cemetery. She enlisted with her husband and successfully presented herself as a male during her stay in the Army. She and her husband were captured in the fighting around Atlanta and sent to Andersonville. In September of 1864, she and about 12,000 other prisoners were transported to a new stockade in Florence, South Carolina.

We know much about her ordeal through the words of her own diary. She was found out during a routine medical inspection held at the camp in December of '64. She died the next month at the tender age of 20.

Here is a link to a photo of her grave: http://home.att.net/~florencestockade/florena.htm

Here is more info about the Florence Stockade:

http://home.att.net/~florencestockade/friends.htm

Here is a site that lists a few more female soldiers, with references:

http://www.geocities.com/yosemite/2518/cladinuniform.htm

Regards,
Bruce Blackmon

[Bob 125th NYSVI]

Re: Females on the Line

I guess it boils to to this.

It happened and we will never know the actual number.

It happened because they were able to hide their gender from their pards and officiers

However even if it was several thousand it was statistically insignificant compared to the number of men enlisted. Read that to mean as a decimal point and several 0s to the right of the decimal point BEFORE you get to the first whole number.

All that being said, there are none in my unit and if one shows up in an opposing unit I'll shoot her just the same. Unless she's cute, then I might just be tempted to take a prisoner .... lol

[SCTiger]

Re: Females on the Line

Routine Medical Inspection? Hmmm. If we ever incorporate the "disguised female soldier", we will need to conduct that scenario for the prisoners. Jen, you would never get away with it. BTW rubber surgical gloves aren't invented until 1889, so keep that in mind.

[Jen McGarrahan]

Re: Females on the Line

No I don't think I could get away with it. How often were the Routine Medical Inspections? Maybe these women were able to avoid the situation some how.