Sarah Emma Edmonds

2007-04-12T00:20:33Z

Codenametiger:

[[Image:Sarah Edmonds lg sepia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Edmonds as Franklin Thompson]]

'''Sarah Emma Edmonds ''' (December [[1841]] – [[September 5]], [[1898]]), was a [[Canadian]]-born woman who lived to be about 56 and is known for serving with the [[United States|Union Army]] in the [[American Civil War]].
Edmonds was born in [[Magaguadavic Settlement, New Brunswick|Magaguadavic Settlement]], [[New Brunswick]], [[Canada]], but left home after her abusive father attempted to force her to marry a man she did not want. She worked for a time in New Brunswick selling [[Bible]]s but still afraid of being found by her father, she fled to the United States in [[1856]] where she settled in [[Flint, Michigan]]. During the Civil War, she enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry, disguised as a man named "Franklin T. Thompson." She at first served as a male [[nurse]], participating in several campaigns, including the [[First Battle of Bull Run]]. As Frank Thompson, she also served as a [[spy]], occasionally disguising herself as an [[African American]] or a woman, or sometimes both. At one point, she disguised herself as an [[Ireland|Irish]] peddler with the name of Bridget O'Shea.

Edmonds' career as Frank Thompson came to an end when she contracted [[malaria]]. Unable to go to the military [[hospital]], because she would be revealed as a woman, she left the army and checked herself in to a private hospital, intending to return to military life once she had recuperated. Once she was better, however, she saw posters looking for Frank Thompson as a deserter. Rather than return to the army as a woman, she decided to serve as a female nurse at a [[Washington, D.C.]] hospital for wounded soldiers run by the [[United States Christian Commission]].

After the war she used the [[pen name]] S. E. Edmonds to publish ''Nurse and Spy in the Union Army''. It was a huge success, selling in excess of 175,000 copies. In [[1867]], she married L. H. Seelye, a Canadian carpenter with whom she had three children, one of which was named Fredrich Seelye. In [[1886]] she received a government [[pension]] of $12 a month, rewarding her military service. Edmonds died in [[La Porte, Texas]], and is buried in Washington Cemetery, in [[Houston, Texas]]. She was inducted into the [[Michigan Women's Hall of Fame]] in [[1992]].

The [[PBS]] television network ran a program called "Canadians in the Civil war" that told Edmond's story. In [[Canada]], a documentary of Edmonds' life was produced in [[2004]] entitled ''[[The Unsexing of Emma Edmonds]]'', and a monument to her was being planned as of [[2005]].

== See also ==

* [[Sarah Taylor (soldier)]]
* [[Malinda Blalock]]
* [[Albert Cashier]]
* [[Loreta Janeta Velazquez]]
* [[Mary Edwards Walker]]
* [[Laura J. Williams]]
* [[Mollie Bean]]
* [[Ally Hamond]]

==External links==

* [http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USACWthompsonF.htm Biography from Spartacus Educational which has primary sources]
* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/SS/fse16.html University of Texas at Austin]
* [http://www.saltmag.net/givetous/Andrea_21405.pdf "What part am I to act in this great drama?"]
* [http://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1993/spring/women-in-the-civil-war-3.html DeAnne Blanton - Women soldiers of the Civil War (Part 3)]
* http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=moa;idno=ABV2963 Online version of "Nurse and Spy in the Union Army"
* [http://www.civilwarhome.com/edmondsbio.htm Comprehensive biography]
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[[Category:1841 births|Edmonds, Sarah]]
[[Category:1898 deaths|Edmonds, Sarah]]
[[Category:Female wartime crossdressers|Edmonds, Sarah]]
[[Category:Female wartime spies|Edmonds, Sarah]]
[[Category:Female wartime nurses|Edmonds, Sarah]]
[[Category:American Civil War spies|Edmonds, Sarah Emma]]
[[Category:Women in the American Civil War|Edmonds, Sarah Emma]]
[[Category:People from New Brunswick|Edmonds, Sarah]]
[[Category:People of Michigan in the American Civil War|Edmonds, Sarah Emma]]
[[Category:Canadian immigrants to the United States|Edmonds, Sarah Emma]]

[[pl:Sarah Emma Edmonds]]

Wikipedia - Benutzerbeiträge [de]

Sarah Emma Edmonds