Born: 1841, Canada
Died: 5 September 1898
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmondson, Sarah Seelye, Franklin Flint Thompson
The following is republished from the Library of Congress. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
In 1857, Sarah Emma Edmonds left rural New Brunswick, Canada to escape her abusive father and an arranged marriage. At age 16, she took a job as a travelling book salesman under the alias Franklin Thompson and found that customers readily accepted her disguised as a man. She later landed in Hartford, Connecticut and was hired by the American Publishing Company selling book subscriptions. In December 1860, when the country was on the brink of civil war, the company sent her west to Flint, Michigan. When war was declared in 1861, Edmonds enlisted in the Union army and she joined the Second Michigan Volunteer Infantry as Franklin Thompson. She was at the First Battle of Bull Run and at the Battle of Williamsburg. In 1862, Edmonds contracted malaria and began experiencing recurrent health issues. She decided she would need to desert in order to be treated without revealing her identity. She had originally planned to return to her regiment once she had recovered, but left her male disguise behind forever once “Wanted” posters appeared for Private Franklin Thompson for desertion. Edmonds eventually moved to Washington, DC and worked as a nurse at a military hospital. In 1865, she published a memoir of her adventures in which she claimed to have been a spy for Union army and that she carried out eleven missions behind enemy lines.
The following is republished from the National Park Service. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
The man known as Franklin Flint Thompson to his fellow soldiers was really a woman – Sarah Emma Edmonds – one of the few females known to have served during the Civil War. Edmonds was born in Canada in 1841, but desperate to escape an abusive father and forced marriage, moved to Flint, Michigan in 1856, where she discovered that life was easier when she dressed as a man. Compelled to join the military out of sense of duty, she enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry as a male field nurse, participating in several battles including Antietam, the First and Second Battles of Manassas, and the Vicksburg Campaign.
She is also said to have served as a Union spy and infiltrated the Confederate army several times, although there is no official record of it. One of her alleged aliases was as a Southern sympathizer named Charles Mayberry. Another was as a black man named Cuff, for which she disguised herself using wigs and silver nitrate to dye her skin. And yet another was as Bridget O’Shea, an Irish peddler selling soap and apples.
Malaria eventually forced Edmonds to give up her military career, since she knew she would be discovered if she went to a military hospital and her being listed as a deserter upon leaving made it impossible for her to return after she recovered. Nevertheless, she still continued serving her new country, again as a nurse, though now as a female one at a hospital for soldiers in Washington, D.C.
In 1865, Edmonds published her experiences in the bestselling Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, and went on to marry and have children. But her heroic contributions to the Civil War were not forgotten and she was awarded an honorable discharge from the military, a government pension, and admittance to the Grand Army of the Republic as its only female member.
The following is republished from the National Park Service. This piece falls under under public domain, as copyright does not apply to “any work of the U.S. Government” where “a work prepared by an officer or employee of the U.S. Government as part of that person’s official duties” (See, 17 U.S.C. §§ 101, 105).
From the Peninsula to Maryland: Edmonds’ role in the summer of 1862
The man known as Franklin Flint Thompson to his fellow soldiers was really a woman – Sarah Emma Edmonds – one of the few females known to have served during the Civil War. Edmonds was born in Canada in 1841, but desperate to escape an abusive father and forced marriage, moved to Flint, Michigan in 1856, where she discovered that life was easier when she dressed as a man. Compelled to join the military out of sense of duty, she enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry as a male field nurse.
As “Franklin Flint Thompson” Edmonds participated in several battles the took place during the Maryland Campaign of 1862, which included Second Battles of Manassas and Antietam. As a field nurse she would be dealing with mass casualties, especailly at Antietam which is known as one of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War.
She is also said to have served as a Union spy and infiltrated the Confederate army several times, although there is no official record of it. One of her alleged aliases was as a Southern sympathizer named Charles Mayberry. Another was as a black man named Cuff, for which she disguised herself using wigs and silver nitrate to dye her skin. And yet another was as Bridget O’Shea, an Irish peddler selling soap and apples.
Malaria eventually forced Edmonds to give up her military career, since she knew she would be discovered if she went to a military hospital and her being listed as a deserter upon leaving made it impossible for her to return after she recovered. Nevertheless, she still continued serving her new country, again as a nurse, though now as a female one at a hospital for soldiers in Washington, D.C.
In 1865, Edmonds published her experiences in the bestselling Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, and went on to marry and have children. But her heroic contributions to the Civil War were not forgotten and she was awarded an honorable discharge from the military, a government pension, and admittance to the Grand Army of the Republic as its only female member.