Women in the Civil War

by Larry G. Eggleston

  Unaware that the Union army had fled the battlefield, Sarah continued working with the wounded. Once she realized that she was alone and mostly surrounded by enemy soldiers, she had to flee on foot. She worked her way through wooded areas and soon returned safely to the 2nd Michigan Regiment.

  Being assigned to General McClellan’s Army of the Potomac, Pvt. Thompson with the 2nd Michigan Infantry, participated in most of the major battles of the Civil War, including First Manassas/Bull Run, Fredericksburg, Antietam, Second Manassas/Bull Run, Vicksburg, Wilderness, Spotsylvania, Cold Harbor, and Petersburg.

  Over the course of the war, the 2nd Michigan Infantry Volunteers sustained a high casualty rate. Eleven officers and 214 enlisted men were killed in battle, 15 died in Confederate prison camps, 4 officers and 143 enlisted men died from disease, and 208 were discharged for wounds sustained. The regiment was mustered out of Federal service on July 28, 1865, at Delaney House, D.C., and discharged at Detroit on August 1, 1865.

  Sarah Emma Edmonds. Courtesy of the State Archives of Michigan.

  Private Franklin Thompson served in many different positions during the war. These positions included serving as a (male) nurse in the regimental hospital, serving as regimental postmaster, serving as a fighting soldier, and working for General McClellan as a spy.

  Private Thompson was assigned to be the regimental mail carrier on March 4, 1862. This assignment allowed her to be out of camp much of the time and thus lessened the chance of her gender being discovered. She often would sleep in the woods or alongside the road while on her mail runs. When she was not out on the road, she would work late hours tending the sick and wounded in the regimental hospital. This busy schedule found her going to bed late each night, after everyone else was asleep.

  On one occasion Pvt. Thompson was sent out to gather food supplies which were supposedly available at an area farm several miles from the camp. Upon arriving at the farmhouse, Pvt. Thompson inquired about the availability of eggs, meat, and fruit. The woman, who was alone in the house, agreed to supply the requested items. Pvt. Thompson noticed an uneasiness in the woman’s manner, as she took her time gathering the supplies.

  Pvt. Thompson told her he had to get back to his unit and if she didn’t have the supplies readily available he would only take what she had. She nervously apologized, and quickly gathered what she had and gave it to him.

  As Pvt. Thompson left and headed toward his horse, he heard the click of a gun. He drew his pistol and turned around to find the woman standing on her porch with a rifle aimed at him. He fired his pistol, hitting her in the hand. She fell down crying in pain. Pvt. Thompson quickly ran up to the woman and pointed his gun at her. She begged not to be killed and explained that her husband, a Confederate soldier, had recently been killed by Union troops and she somehow felt she had to do something to avenge his death.

  Pvt. Thompson bandaged the woman’s wound, then bound her hands and tied her behind his horse. While riding back to the Union camp it became clear that the woman would not make it back to the camp on her feet. Pvt. Thompson put the woman on the horse and, holding the reins, walked the horse back to the camp.

  During the long, slow walk, the woman began to talk about her beliefs, her life, and how glad she was that Pvt. Thompson had stopped her from killing him. The two talked openly and soon Pvt. Thompson began to understand the woman and trust her. The woman asked if instead of turning her in for trying to kill a Union soldier, if she could be put to use as a nurse in the regimental hospital, a job for which she was well qualified.

  Pvt. Thompson agreed, and upon entering the camp the woman was introduced as a volunteer nurse who wanted to help the wounded and sick soldiers. The wound to her hand was treated, but never explained. She was grateful to Pvt. Thompson and soon became a well thought of nurse.

  Pvt. Thompson’s service to General McClellan as a spy came about as a result of two unexpected events. The first event was when she decided to visit an old friend from Canada, James Vesey, who was in a nearby regiment. Upon arriving at his regiment she was informed that he was killed in an earlier skirmish and they were in the process of having his funeral. While in the camp attending the funeral, she was informed of a second event, which would change her life.

  One of General McClellan’s top agents was captured in Richmond and was to be hanged. This made an opening available in the general’s intelligence network. When word came out that the general was looking for another agent, Pvt. Franklin Thompson applied. He was called to Washington to be interviewed by generals George B. McClellan, Samuel P. Heintz, and Thomas S. Meagher. Pvt. Thompson was questioned about his political views, his reasons for wanting to become an agent, and his general knowledge of weapons and fortifications.

  The three generals were impressed with Pvt. Thompson’s answers and agreed to use him as an agent. Since the Union army was in the process of planning an assault on Richmond, they needed to know the fortifications and troop strength of Yorktown. Pvt. Thompson was assigned to infiltrate the fortifications and report the troop strength, gun placements, armament, and the layout of the defenses.

  She began her first spy mission disguised as a black slave named Ned. She covered her face, hands, and neck with walnut stain mixed with silver nitrate to change her skin color to a brownish gray. She dressed in slaves’ clothing and used a black wig to cover her cropped hair. Then, late that night, she quietly slipped across the enemy lines into the Confederate camp.

  When morning came she joined the other slaves and helped carry breakfast to the Confederate soldiers. If the others slaves realized that she was an imposter, they kept quiet and went along with her. It is hard to imagine that they did not realize that there was an imposter among them. Nevertheless, she worked alongside them in the camp and then accompanied them to Yorktown to work on the Confederate fortifications.

  While working at Yorktown, she was able to sketch the layout of the fortifications, including how many guns there were and how they were placed. She also noted the number of “Quaker guns” around the fortifications. (Quaker guns are wooden logs painted to look like guns to give a false impression of the strength of the fortification.)

  Later that day while serving food to the Confederate officers, she overheard talk about replacements, plans of attack, and plans to evacuate Yorktown. She recorded the information and concealed it in the insole’s of her shoes.

  After the officers were fed, she joined them with a pail of water and began filling their canteens. All at once she heard a familiar voice. When she looked up, she saw a peddler who frequently came into the Union camp selling his wares to the soldiers. He was showing the Confederate officers the layout of the defenses around Washington, including the placement of armament. He was a Confederate spy. She could not wait to return to the Union lines with this important information.

  Later that evening she made an attempt to cross back to the Union lines. When she reached the perimeter of the camp, a Confederate officer spotted her, handed her a rifle and assigned her guard duty. In the early morning hours she managed to slip away and return to her own lines, taking the Confederate rifle with her.

  The information she had gathered was well received and Pvt. Thompson’s daring and courage impressed General McClellan so much that he used her on ten other spy missions during her duty with the battalion.

  The other missions helped uncover several Confederate spies, as well as obtain much vital intelligence information needed by the Union army. While working these missions she became a master of disguise. She disguised herself as Ned the slave, a peddler from Kentucky, an Irish woman selling pies (complete with an Irish brogue), and a grieving widow, to name a few. Her greatest disguise, however, was as Pvt. Franklin Thompson for she was never discovered.

  Only one man knew her identity. He was her lieutenant and she became very fond of him. When she finally expressed her feelings and revealed her identity to him, he told her he was in love with another woman. However, he kept her secret and was soon transferr
ed out of the regiment.

  Shortly thereafter she became ill with malaria. Fearing that a long hospital stay would cause her gender to be discovered, she deserted the regiment on April 19, 1863. She did not consider herself a deserter because she planned to return to the regiment once she recovered. Upon leaving the hospital in Cairo, Illinois, she noticed Pvt. Franklin Thompson was on the desertion list. Therefore, she could not return to her unit for fear of imprisonment. Instead, she joined the United States Christian Commission as a war nurse under her true name, Sarah Edmonds. She served as a nurse for the remainder of the war.

  As the war was coming to an end, she was working as a nurse at Harper’s Ferry where she met an old acquaintance from New Brunswick. It was Linus H. Seelye, the young man who had given her his suit of clothing when she ran away from home. Linus was now a widower and was working as a carpenter at Harper’s Ferry.

  The war finally ended in April 1865 and Sarah returned to New Brunswick to visit her family. She found that both her father and mother had died and her brother and sisters were running the family farm. After visiting with her family for several months, she decided to enroll in Oberlin College in Ohio. She moved to Ohio and soon found that college was not very exciting. In the meantime, Linus Seelye had followed her to Ohio where he professed his love for her and asked her to marry him. She happily accepted and on April 27, 1867, they were married in Cleveland, Ohio.

  Sarah gave birth to three children. Linus Jr., born on April 14, 1869, lived only three years. Homer, who was born June 21, 1871, lived for only 24 hours. Alice Louise, born on August 12, 1874, lived only six years. The Seelyes then adopted two children. They were George Frederick, born 1872, and Charles Finney, born 1874. They raised these children as their own with loving care.

  Pvt. Thompson’s identity was not discovered until 1884 when she attended a reunion of the 2nd Michigan Infantry Volunteers. Though quite stunned, the regiment quickly accepted her and convinced her to apply for a pension for her service.

  Sarah Emma Edmonds. Courtesy of the State Archives of Michigan.

  Following their advice, she applied for a pension and requested that the charge of desertion be dropped. A letter from the Secretary of War helped her get the pension. The letter acknowledges her as “a female soldier who served as a private—rendering faithful service in the ranks.”

  On March 18, 1884, House Report No. 820 to accompany H.R. 5334 was introduced in the House Military Affairs Committee by Congressman Byron Cutcheon of Michigan. The bill was to remove the charge of desertion from the record of Franklin Thompson, alias S.E.E. Seelye. Two years later the bill was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Grover Cleveland.

  Also on March 18, 1884, House Report No. 849 to accompany H.R. 5335 was introduced in the House Invalid Pension Committee by Congressman E. B. Winans of Michigan. This bill was to grant Sarah E. E. Seelye, alias Frank Thompson, a pension for service with the 2nd Michigan Infantry. This bill was passed on July 5, 1884, and signed into law by President Chester Arthur. The pension was approved prior to the bill removing the desertion charge from her record. She was granted a pension of $12 a month, and subsequently received an honorable discharge.

  In 1893 the Seelyes lost their home and fell on hard times. They moved to LaPorte, Texas, at the request of their adopted son, George, and lived there comfortably until her death. Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmonds died on September 5, 1898, at the age of 59. She was buried in LaPorte, Texas.

  Prior to her death, she was officially mustered into the George B. McClellan Post Number 9 of the Grand Army of the Republic (GAR) in Houston, Texas. She is the only woman soldier to be mustered into the GAR.

  In 1901 the GAR exhumed her casket. In a special Memorial Day ceremony and with full military honors, it was re-buried in a GAR plot at Washington Cemetery in Houston, Texas. The headstone reads “Emma E. Seelye, Army Nurse.”

  Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmonds Seelye not only served faithfully and endured all the hardships of army life, but went far beyond the call of duty in her fearless activities to gather intelligence information for her adopted country. The courage and dedication she displayed make her one of the most extraordinary women of the Civil War.

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  Loreta Janeta Velazquez: Woman Soldier and Spy

  Not wealth, power, social status, or even family pressure could deter some of the courageous women from serving their country as fighting men. In many cases these brave women enlisted alongside their husbands or loved ones, and served bravely without being detected.

  One of the most remarkable women who fought in the Civil War was Loreta Janeta Velazquez, who joined the Confederate army to be near her husband.

  Loreta Velazquez was born in Havana, Cuba, in 1842. She was the daughter of a wealthy Cuban aristocrat. Her parents immigrated into the United States shortly after Loreta was born. The family settled in New Orleans, Louisiana, where Loreta was educated.

  In April 1856, when she was 14, Loreta’s family arranged a marriage for her to a prominent Spanish gentleman. Loreta was not in favor of this arrangement. She had already fallen in love with an army officer named William Rouch. To avoid the unwanted arranged marriage, she and William eloped. After their marriage they moved to Arkansas where they made their home. While living in Arkansas, Loreta and William had three children, all of whom had died by late 1860.

  When the Civil War began in early 1861, Loreta’s husband decided to enlist in the Confederate army. Not wanting to be separated from her husband, she decided to accompany him disguised as a man. After telling William of her plan, she was very disappointed to find that he was not in favor of the idea. He told her to forget such foolishness and directed her to stay at home while he was away.

  In June 1861, William departed with his troops for the Confederate encampment at Pensacola, Florida. Loreta, having no desire to stay at home alone, soon developed a new plan of action. She decided to use her wealth to finance and equip an infantry battalion, which she would take to Pensacola and present to William as his command. She thought this would please him and they would be able to stay together during the war.

  Over the next four days she had cut her hair short, purchased a Confederate officer’s uniform, purchased a false mustache and goatee, stained her face, neck and hands so she could look tanned, and assumed the name Lt. Harry T. Buford.

  Disguised as Lt. Harry T. Buford, she began to recruit her new infantry regiment. In just four days she was able to recruit 236 soldiers, which was enough for the base of a regiment. The newly formed group headed for training at Pensacola, Florida. Lt. Buford called the small regiment “The Arkansas Greys.”

  When she arrived in Pensacola, Florida, and presented the troops to her husband William, she did not get the reaction she had hoped for. William was quite angry that she had disobeyed his orders. However, his anger and her disappointment were both short lived, because soon after her arrival in Pensacola, William was killed in a gun accident during training.

  Devastated first by the loss of her children and then by the loss of her husband, she decided to remain in the Confederate army and do her part for the cause. She applied for a commission as Lt. Harry Buford and for assignment to a permanent regiment. When these requests were not approved she left the Arkansas Greys in the command of someone else and struck out on her own to find a suitable regiment.

  Still Lt. Harry T. Buford, she served in several different regiments, both infantry and cavalry. She participated in several major battles, including Blackburn’s Ford, First Manassas/Bull Run, Ball’s Bluff, Fort Donelson, and Pittsburg Landing/Shiloh.

  During the Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run, she was assigned temporary command of a company whose senior officer had been killed. While in this position she bravely led the troops into battle.

  The next major battle after First Manassas/Bull Run was the Battle of Ball’s Bluff on October 21, 1861. During this battle, the Confederate troops repelled a Union force trying to cross the Potomac River and scale a 70-foot
bluff into Virginia. She was appointed temporary commander of the company after all officers had been killed or were missing and presumed to be dead. After the battle ended in a Confederate victory, one of the missing officers showed up and assumed command of the company. He stated that he had been captured by the Yankees but had managed to escape. Loreta noticed the officer had a sheepish look on his face and suspected that he had hidden himself until the battle was over.

  Her luck in coming through several major battles without being wounded soon changed. During the Battle of Fort Donelson on February 13–16, 1862, Lt. Harry Buford was wounded in the foot and required medical treatment. Lt. Buford’s true gender was not discovered in the hospital. The wound was not serious and was healed in time for Lt. Buford to rejoin the regiment at the Battle of Pittsburg Landing/Shiloh on April 6, 1862.

  During the Battle of Shiloh, Lt. Harry Buford was assigned temporary command of her original unit, the Arkansas Greys, after the lieutenant in command of the company was killed. Lt. Buford reported to Captain C. De Caulp, who was a friend of her husband in Pensacola, Florida. When Captain De Caulp assigned Lt. Harry Buford to command the Arkansas Greys, he was still unaware that Lt. Buford was Loreta, the wife of his friend, William Rouch.

  Loreta Janeta Velazquez in uniform as Lt. Harry T. Buford. Courtesy of Leib Image Archives.

  After William’s accidental death in Pensacola, Florida, Captain De Caulp had stayed in touch with Loreta by mail. They had known each other from William’s early army days and after William’s death had fallen in love and were planning to be married after the war. Captain De Caulp did not know that he had fought alongside her at First Manassas/Bull Run, Balls Bluff and Shiloh. She did not reveal her identity to him, nor did he suspect that Lt. Buford was anything but a good fighting soldier and leader.