Women in the Civil War
Page 16
When the newly formed regiment was mustered in and arrived in Washington, Kady revealed her intentions to remain with her husband. The regimental commander, Colonel Ambrose E. Burnside, refused her request and sent her back to Rhode Island. She appealed strongly to Rhode Island Governor William Sprague for his assistance and support. Governor Sprague interceded on her behalf and she was allowed to return to Washington and rejoin her husband.
She was soon accepted by the regiment and named the Daughter of the Regiment. She dressed in a modified uniform—a knee length skirt, dark trousers, and boots. She carried a sword on her belt and a rifle, which she soon learned to use quite well. With dedicated practice she learned to use the sword and rifle as well as or better than any man in the regiment. Her regiment was quite impressed with the way she learned to use the weapons. She trained and marched with the soldiers and expected no special treatment because of her gender.
By the time the Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run commenced on July 21, 1861, the three-month enlistment of the 1st Rhode Island Infantry Regiment had expired. The regiment volunteered to stay in service until the northern Virginia campaign was over.
Kady’s first combat experience was at the Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run. When the battle commenced Kady positioned herself to guard the regimental flag and thus provide a rallying point for the troops. She stood firm throughout the battle and in the confusion of the retreat she had to be dragged to safety by a soldier from a Pennsylvania regiment. As Kady and the soldier fled toward the woods, a minié ball struck him in the back of the head, shattering his skull and splashing blood on Kady’s uniform. She found a stray horse, mounted it and made her escape toward Centerville.
On July 25, 1861, the 1st Rhode Island Volunteers were disbanded and the regiment and returned to Providence, Rhode Island, where on August 2, 1861, they were mustered out of service. Both Kady and her husband received an army discharge. The 1st Rhode Island Infantry Regiment had sustained 25 losses in the four months of service. The losses were one officer and 16 enlisted men killed or mortally wounded, and 8 enlisted men dead from disease.
Kady and her husband’s resolve was unshaken by the confusion at Bull Run and their loyalty to the Union prompted them to re-enlist in the newly organized 5th Rhode Island Infantry in October 1861. The 5th Rhode Island Regiment was mustered into Federal service on December 16, 1861.
With the 5th Rhode Island Regiment, under the command of Ambrose E. Burnside, Kady and her husband participated in the Battle of Roanoke Island on February 9, 1862. The regiment then marched South to capture and occupy New Bern, North Carolina. Kady requested that she be allowed to officially serve as the regimental color bearer during the upcoming battle. Her request was approved with the stipulation that she stop when the order was given to charge the enemy.
On the morning of March 14, 1862, as the Union forces were taking their respective positions in preparation for the battle, the 5th Rhode Island Regiment came out of a wooded area at an unexpected position. The other Union forces thought that these troops were Confederate soldiers preparing to attack and prepared to fire upon them. Kady, who had been returned to the rear of the regiment, immediately realized the danger her regiment was in. She raced forward into the clearing between the two Union regiments. She wildly waved the regimental flag until the attacking Union troops realized that they were not Confederate soldiers. Her heroic act, without consideration to her own safety, saved the regiment from being fired upon by friendly troops.
Kady Brownell. Courtesy of Louise Arnold-Friend Collection at U.S. Army Military History Institute.
During the battle at New Bern, Kady was reported to have disobeyed Burnside’s orders that she stay in the rear. She instead spent the whole time participating in the battle, tending wounded soldiers and displaying the regimental colors. While tending the wounded in the field, she came upon a wounded Confederate soldier. When she attempted to help him he cursed at her. She grabbed her gun and with the bayonet tried to stab him in the chest. A wounded Union soldier grabbed the bayonet and stopped her. He told her that it was wrong to kill a wounded soldier regardless of what he said. After she calmed down she was glad that the soldier had stopped her.
Later during the battle, she was said to have picked up another regiment’s flag when its bearer fell. While carrying the flag across the field she was wounded as a shell fragment grazed her leg. The wound was not serious and did not put Kady out of action.
Her husband, Robert, also received a wound during the battle; however, his wound was more serious. He was crippled for life when a minié ball shattered his hip. This crippling wound brought the Brownells’ military careers to an end.
Kady stayed for one month at New Bern nursing her husband. During this time, she also took food and coffee to the Confederate hospital for the wounded soldiers. They were transferred to Rhode Island and then to New York where Robert convalesced for several months at the Soldier’s Relief Hospital. Kady stayed with her husband and tended him personally during his convalescence. In early 1863, when it became apparent that Robert would not be able to fight again, the Brownells were discharged from the army. General Ambrose E. Burnside personally signed Kady’s discharge. Robert received a disability pension of $24 per month.
In 1884, after many years of living on the edge of poverty and Robert working at many different jobs, Kady applied for a pension in her own name and was granted a pension of $8 per month.
In 1905 a reporter on the New York Times interviewed Kady and published her story. The reporter published a letter to Kady from General Ambrose E. Burnside, dated 1868, in which he mentioned her heroic deed that saved the regiment from being fired upon by friendly troops. He also praised her devotion to the Union.
On January 5, 1915, just two years after her story was published in the New York Times, Kady Brownell died at the age of 72 at a Women’s Relief Corps Home in Oxford, New York. Robert petitioned the government for the expenses he had incurred during Kady’s illness. He followed her in death nine months later in September 1915.
30
Anna Blair Etheridge: Daughter of the Regiment
There are many accounts of the bravery and dedication of Anna Etheridge. Different accounts say she was a vivandiere, nurse, and Daughter of the Regiment. However, Anna Etheridge was much more than that. She marched into battle with her regiment while carrying the flag, nursed the wounded on the battlefields, participated in the capture of enemy prisoners, escorted captured soldiers to the Union authorities, and inspired the men of her regiment by her courage and dedication to duty.
Anna Etheridge was born Lorinda Anna Blair in 1840 in Detroit, Michigan. She married James Etheridge in 1860 at the age of 20. Anna was 21 years old when the Civil War began.
Anna’s husband James decided to enlist in the Union army in response to President Lincoln’s call for volunteers to put down the revolution and reunite the nation. He decided to enlist in the 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment, which was being formed at Fort Wayne in Detroit, Michigan.
Anna, not wanting to be left alone and having a desire to do her part, decided to accompany her husband into the 2nd Michigan regiment and serve as a Daughter of the Regiment and nurse. Anna and James were both accepted and enlisted in the regiment as it was being formed.
The 2nd Michigan Infantry Regiment was the first three-year regiment mustered in from Michigan. They were mustered into Federal service on May 25, 1861. The regiment consisted of 1,013 officers and men. After six weeks of training from the date it was formed, the regiment left for Washington, D.C., where it was first reviewed by President Lincoln and then assigned to the defense of Washington.
The 2nd Michigan regiment proceeded to Manassas on July 16, 1861. It occupied Fairfax Courthouse on July 17, 1861, and was at Blackburn’s Ford on July 18 when the Union reconnaissance forces came upon two Confederate brigades. The Confederate troops repulsed the Union army and claimed a victory. The Union troops lost 78 men while the Confederate troops lost 68.
/> This battle was a prelude to the Battle of First Manassas/Bull Run which occurred 30 days later on July 21, 1861. At First Manassas/Bull Run the 2nd Michigan Infantry was assigned to guard the escape route from Manassas back to Washington, D. C.
Shortly thereafter, Anna’s husband James deserted from the Union army. For some reason she did not go with him but stayed with the regiment. Anna and her husband were separated after less than two years of marriage.
In the spring of 1862, she left the 2nd Michigan Infantry and worked on hospital ships taking the wounded to the major hospitals in New York, Washington, and Baltimore. She worked on three different hospital ships, the Knickerbocker, the Louisiana, and the Daniel Webster.
She was a hard-working, dedicated nurse while serving on these ships, but she missed the regiment. On August 1, 1862, she returned to regiment life, but instead of re-enlisting with the 2nd Michigan Infantry, she enlisted with the 3rd Michigan Infantry Regiment. While with the 3rd Infantry she experienced some of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The 3rd Michigan Infantry Regiment fought at the following battles:
Battle of Groveton, August 29, 1862
Battle of Second Manassas/Bull Run, August 30, 1862
Battle of Chantilly (Ox Hill), September 1, 1862
Battle of Fredericksburg, December 11–13, 1862
Battle of Chancellorsville, May 1–4, 1863
Battle of Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863
Battle of the Wilderness, May 5–6, 1864
Battle of Spotsylvania, May 8–21, 1864
Battle of Bloody Angle, May 12, 1864
Battle of Cold Harbor, May 31–June 9, 1864
Anna was always on the battlefield during these bloody engagements. She would be tending the wounded, while the battles raged, without any thought for her personal safety. Her reputation for courage, patriotism and kindness earned her the nickname “Gentle Annie.” Anna’s clothing had many holes caused by bullets and shell fragments which barely missed her while she was helping fallen soldiers on the battlefields. Anna was wounded only once as a piece of shell fragment grazed her hand. The wound was not a serious injury and did not slow her down or hamper her work on the battlefields.
Prior to being killed at the Battle of Chantilly, General Philip Kearny stated that he would make Anna Etheridge a regimental sergeant so she could get sergeant’s pay and rations. He was impressed with her dedication and the fact that she never asked for special treatment. She endured all the hardships along with the rest of the regiment. She slept on the ground wrapped in a blanket with the rest of the troops. She cooked and did other chores for the men in her regiment as well as nursing the sick and wounded.
Anna Etheridge. Courtesy of the State Archives of Michigan.
On September 1, 1862, prior to General Kearny effecting the promotion for Anna, he was killed. Anna never received the promotion.
On June 10, 1864, the non-veterans of the 3rd Michigan Infantry were mustered out of service. The veterans, including Anna Etheridge, were transferred to the 5th Michigan Infantry Regiment. The 3rd Michigan regiment lost 249 men during its three years in service. Four officers and 154 enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded and two officers and 89 enlisted men died from disease.
While with the 5th Michigan Infantry, Anna took part in the Siege of Petersburg from June 16, 1864 to April 21, 1865. However, during the winter months of 1864–1865, Anna served as a nurse at the army hospital at City Point. She had returned to the regiment by the time Petersburg fell on April 2, 1865. Her unit was part of the troops that pursued General Lee to Appomattox Courthouse where on April 9, 1865, he surrendered his army to General Grant.
Prior to the end of the war, General David Bell Birney presented Anna Etheridge with the Kearny Cross for meritorious and distinguished service as Daughter of the Regiment. The Kearny Cross was established in memory of General Philip Kearny. The cross was awarded to non-commissioned officers and privates.
On July 5, 1865, the 5th Michigan Infantry Regiment was mustered out of Federal service. Gentle Annie wept as the regiment bid her farewell. The 5th Michigan regiment sustained losses of 454 men during the war. Sixteen officers and 247 enlisted men were killed or mortally wounded and 3 officers and 188 enlisted men died from disease.
General Philip Kearny. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
After the war Anna Etheridge took a position as a clerk in the United States Pension Office. In March 1870 she remarried. Her new husband was Charles E. Hooks, a veteran of the 7th Connecticut Infantry.
In 1886, Senator Thomas Palmer introduced a bill into Congress to grant Anna Etheridge a pension of $50 per month for her service during the Civil War. The bill was passed on February 9, 1887, but the amount was reduced to $25 per month.
Anna Etheridge died in 1913 as the age of 74 and was buried with honors in Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, D. C.
31
Marie Tepe: Vivandiere and Nurse
Without fear or regard for her personal safety, Marie Tepe was an inspiration to the Union troops as she braved the battlefield of 13 major Civil War battles tending her wounded comrades.
Marie Tepe is reported to have been born Marie Brose in France in 1834. In 1849 she immigrated into the United States and settled in Philadelphia. In 1854, at the age of 20, she married a Philadelphia tailor named Bernardo Tepe.
Prior to the beginning of the Civil War, in January 1861, Marie’s husband enlisted in Company I of the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry, which was called the “Washington Brigade.” Shortly after Fort Sumter, the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment returned to Philadelphia and reorganized into a three-year unit. The reorganized unit was mustered into service on May 31, 1861. Marie’s husband decided to re-enlist for three years and stay with the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry.
Bernardo wanted Marie to stay at home in Philadelphia and manage their small tailor shop. She refused and followed him into the regiment as a vivandiere and nurse. For her uniform she wore a blue Zouave jacket trimmed with red braid and a short (just below the knees) dress over red trousers. She had a red sash around her waist, wore boots, and covered her head with a sailor hat with the brim turned down.
Marie assumed the task of a female sutler and was a true vivandiere to the regiment. She sold the soldiers goods and supplies (including whiskey), cooked, washed clothes, and mended their uniforms. She also worked in the regimental hospital. Her untiring efforts were an inspiration to the regiment. The soldiers fondly nicknamed her “French Mary.”
Marie was on the battlefield at First Manassas/ Bull Run. She always went onto the battlefield during the fighting to tend the wounded and help give courage to the frightened young men. In late 1862 after being with the 27th Pennsylvania Infantry through many major battles, she transferred to the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiment—Clarence H. T. Collis’s “ Zouaves d’Afrique.”
Marie Tepe, known as French Mary, in uniform. Courtesy of the Gettysburg National Military Park.
The reason she transferred was that her husband and some of his drunken friends came into her quarters while she was out and stole $1,600 which she had earned being a vivandiere. The men were caught and punished but Marie would have nothing else to do with Bernardo. She did not want to be in the same regiment with him and asked to be transferred. When asked to stay with the 27th Infantry Regiment, she refused. She was then was transferred to the 114th Infantry Regiment and away from her husband and his mischievous friends.
In December 1862, she participated in her first battle with the 114th Infantry Regiment. She was on the field during the fighting at the Battle of Fredericksburg, which began on December 11th and ended on December 13th. On the last day of the battle she was wounded by a minié ball, which lodged itself in her left ankle. Although the wound healed, the minié ball could not be removed and she suffered the effects of it the rest of her life.
During the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 1 to May 4, 1863, she went onto the battlefield with her canteen to give the soldi
ers water and to tend the wounded. Her skirt was riddled with holes from bullets and shell fragments during the battle, but she was not harmed.
For her bravery Major General David B. Birney awarded her the Kearny Cross. She refused the medal and told the General to keep it because she did not want it.
By the end of the war she had participated in and been on the battlefield during the fighting in 13 major battles. Some of the more noted battles were:
First Manassas/Bull Run, July 21, 1861
Chancellorsville, May 1–4, 1862
Seven Pines, May 31–June 1, 1862
Fredericksburg, December 11–13, 1862
Spotsylvania, May 8–21, 1863
Gettysburg, July 1–3, 1863
Marie Tepe was mustered out of Federal service with the 114th Pennsylvania Infantry on May 29, 1865. After the war Marie settled in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she married Richard Leonard. Her first husband had been killed at Gettysburg. Her new husband was a veteran of Company K of the 1st Maryland Cavalry.
In 1893, at the age of 59, she went to Philadelphia for a reunion with her regiment and to celebrate the anniversary of the Battle of Fredericksburg.
In the last few years of her life she became an invalid. She suffered from rheumatism and great pain from the minié ball that was lodged in her left ankle. In the spring of 1901, when the suffering became unbearable, she committed suicide by drinking poison. She died on Rafferty’s Hill in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, and was buried in an unmarked grave.