In my research, I have discovered many things that have expanded my knowledge about daily life in the American Civil War. From hilarious school newspapers to sentimental letters, my discoveries have been crucial in changing my perspective about one of the bloodiest battles in history. However, my greatest discovery is something that I would have never expected, women going undercover in the Civil War disguised as men. I don’t mean a spy in disguise, I men mothers, sisters, and wives taking up uniforms of the deceased and posing as men to contribute to the war effort.
Most women who participated in the American Civil War did so at home, either as abolitionists or slaveholders. Some assumed missionary work and served as teachers. Very few of them actually fought in battle. On occasion, some women would serve as nurses and tend to the injured, but very few of them actually held a gun. These extraordinary women that I discovered fought in major battles and even held high ranks before being discovered!
Less of a mystery is Frances Clayton. She assumed the identity Jack Williams and sought to fight with her husband in Missouri’s artillary and cavalry units for the Union in 1861.
Despite being wounded after a three day battle, her true identity was not discovered until far later. Frances engaged in at least seventeen battles and once her husband died, she continued to fight without mourning. She was very well-trained as a horseman and a swordsman and was highly regarded among her regiment. Frances’ true identity was voluntarily revealed and she was later asked to resign despite her credentials as a soldier.
It is now estimated that over 400 women participated in the war effort by disguising themselves as men. Many of them grew to highly respected positions before being discovered and removed from regiments. Matthew Teorey’s article “Unmasking the Gentleman Soldier in the Memoirs of Two Cross-dressing Female US Civil War Soldiers” in the International Journal of Humanities gives a significant amount of insight to these incredible women who could assume the identity of both males and females.