7. Sarah Emma Edmonds
Sarah Emma Edmonds was another woman who disguised herself as a man to join the American Civil War. Born in Canada, she served as a member of the Union army to become a male field nurse and spy. She was an ardent Unionist, and she wanted to fight for the cause, joining the 2nd Michigan Infantry.
Sarah was assigned to work as a mail carrier for the regiment. She was asked to conduct espionage missions. She wrote in her memoirs about her exploits behind enemy lines. She also worked as a stretcher-bearer and picked up wounded soldiers from the battlefield and later as a hospital attendant.
In 1863, Sarah Edmonds contracted malaria and tried to get a leave but was denied. She did not want to receive medical attention because she was afraid she would be discovered. She left her comrades and “Franklin Thompson” was charged with desertion.
Edmonds worked with the United States Christian Commission as a nurse from June 1863 to the end of the war. She published her memoir “Nurse and Spy in the Union Army” and donated the proceeds from the book to various soldier groups.
