Women at War

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WOMEN SOLDIERS, SPIES AND VIVANDIERES:
Articles from Civil War Newspapers

CHARLESTON MERCURY, May 14, 1861, p. 4, c. 3
Thirty women were discovered in Ellsworth's zouaves after the regiment arrived in Washington. They were sent home. The Zouaves, we fear, are not all of the highest moral character.

CHARLESTON MERCURY, May 23, 1861, p. 1, c. 7
The Vivandiere of the Monroe Rifles.--A noble spirited young lady--Miss Leona Neville--has volunteered her aid and services as nurse to the ranks of the Monroe Rifles, attached to Col. Hunt's Regiment. The ceremony of her formal reception to this sturdy band of soldiers took place at their headquarters on Julia street last evening, and was witnessed by a large number of ladies and gentlemen. She was presented to Lieut. Hinckly, of the Rifles, by their commander, Capt. Benjamin, in a very excellent and impressive speech, and the Lieutenant formally presented her to the soldiers, who welcomed her with all the deference and respect which careful, soldierly training can instill into the military man. The young lady had of her own free will chosen to brave the dangers of the battle-field, and must indeed be nerved by the fortitude of a--we like to have said, "hero"--well, "hero" be it, for she looked the hero, with her nicely-fitting black alapaca [sic] uniform.--N. O. Delta, 16th.

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, May 28, 1861, p. 2, c. 2
Two-Hundred Colt's Revolvers Under a Pretty Woman's Hoop.—A correspondent writes from Kentucky to a Cincinnati paper:
Over two hundred of the finest Colt revolvers I ever saw have been purchased in Cincinnati, at various times and places, within the last two weeks (no thanks to the Eggleston vigilance mob) and conveyed out of the city under the hoops of one of the fairest and most distinguished of Kentucky's daughters, and sent by trusty agents to her friends in the interior of the State.

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, June 5, 1861, p. 1, c. 3
An Amazon.—Mary W. Dennis, six feet two inches high, is 1st Lieutenant of the Stillwater company, Minnesota regiment. She baffled even the inspection of the surgeon of the regiment in discovering her sex, but was recognized by a St. Paul printer, who became shockingly frightened at her threats of vengeance upon him if he exposed her, and he decamped.

CAIRO [IL] CITY WEEKLY NEWS, June 13, 1861, p. 1, c. 5
An Incident of the War.--The following incident occurring, as related, at Camp Dennison, Ohio, probably has its parallel, at many other camps, even if not yet discovered:
"At Camp Dennison, the other day, a remarkably soft voiced young soldier begged the Colonel of his regiment to exchange him from a company in one letter of the alphabet to another. His associations were not pleasant.
Something in the demeanor of this young soldier interested the Colonel.--For a moment he scanned him with the eyes of the American eagle--and this, since the secession dust is no longer thrown in his eyes, is a very sharp-sighted bird--and thus said:
"Young man, you are a woman!"
The young woman burst into tears, and confessed that she was not what she seemed to be. It is not a strange story to be true! [sic?] She volunteered that she might follow her lover to the wars. She had been in camp three weeks, performing all the duties of a soldier. She had passed surgical inspection, and was regularly sworn into the service."

AUSTIN STATE GAZETTE, June 15, 1861, p. 4, c. 1
NEW USE FOR HOOPS.--A correspondent of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes the following:
Women, Pistols and Strategy!--Abolition Republicans are frightened at the shadow of a ghost, as was Lieutenant Jones at Harper's Ferry, and Commodore Pendergrast at Norfolk, the proof of which is now historic record. Let such men know that a fierce and bloody rencounter [sic] awaits them, when, I tell you that over two hundred of the finest Colt's revolvers I ever saw have been purchased in Cincinnati, at various times and places, within the last two weeks, (no thanks to the Eggleston vigilance mob) and conveyed out of the city under the hoops of one of the fairest and most distinguished of Kentucky's daughters, and sent by trusty agents to her friends in the interior of the State. Oh, crinoline, thou art a jewel!
A Kentucky Subscriber.

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY [ATLANTA, GA], June 25, 1861, p. 2, c. 2
This evening I had the pleasure of seeing two young ladies from Northwestern Virginia, who are worthy to be the sisters of these heroes. They are Miss Mary McLeod and Miss Addie Kerr, of Fairmount, in Marion county. Hearing that the enemy had reached Fairmount, en route to Philippa, they informed themselves of the number of his forces and the hour of his departure, and then mounted their horses and rode day and night, unattended, until they reached the doomed town. They were frequently stopped on the road, and various difficulties were thrown in their way, but brave and resolute as Nancy Hart, they surmounted every obstacle, and at last arrived at Philippa, having ridden a distance of thirty-five miles without once stopping for food or rest. Had their timely warning been heeded, Philippa might have been saved. But disastrous as the affair at that place was, it might have been much worse; for it has been ascertained, that but for the heroic conduct of these brave girls--not yet out of their teens--the whole Confederate force at Philippa would have been captured.
All honor to Mary McLeod and Addie Kerr!



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DUBUQUE HERALD, April 13, 1862, p. 2, c. 3
A Female Acting as Lieutenant on the Potomac.--The Troy Budget learns from a private correspondence that one of the companies on the Potomac has been for a short time in command of a good-looking Lieutenant, who turns out to be a lady from that city. Being a woman she could not well put away womanish ways, and she was arraigned before a military tribunal, where she plead guilty to the charge of belonging to what is generally denominated the softer sex. It would seem that she was engaged to the Captain of the company and adopted what she considered the best, if not the most proper way of manifesting her attachment to him. We presume that she was tendered leave of absence as a result of the investigation.

CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, April 18, 1862, p. 4, c. 2

A Romantic Female.

On Sunday evening as an officer of the North Division was patrolling his beat at a late hour of the night, his attention was called to a woman found standing at the corner of Chicago Avenue and Clark streets, having a small bundle in her arms. He accosted her, learned that she had no place to stay and kindly took her to the station house, where she was transferred to the Police Court, told her story, and was discharged, there being no testimony adduced that she was other than a poor but honest girl. Yesterday forenoon the same policeman, as he was passing along Rush street, near the bridge, had his curiosity considerably excited by something peculiar in the appearance of a man dressed in soldier's uniform, walking ahead of him. He followed the person into a saloon and there recognized the quasi soldier as the girl he had taken to the station on Sunday night. Of course he arrested here, charging that she was a woman in man's attire, which was at first stoutly denied, but afterwards confessed. Yesterday afternoon she was again brought to the Armory and upon being questioned, gave her name as Mary Fitzallan, said she was eighteen years of ate, unmarried, a native of Kentucky, and had under the title of Harry Fitzallan worn male habiliments for the past seven months, four of which she had passed as a Union volunteer in the 23d Kentucky regiment, and previously working as a hired hand on a farm near Newport, Kentucky. When asked as to her former history and what made her dress in clothes unbecoming her sex, she refused to be communicative, but answered that she had her peculiar reasons, and that her history would be of no avail to the Court. She is a girl of medium size, rather embonpoint, with heavy and not wholly unhandsome face, her features being more masculine than otherwise, and hair black, cut short in the present style, and parted on one side. Her eyes are blue. Her hands betray evidences of manual labor. She stood in the presence of the Magistrate with not a bold but confident air, answered the few questions she wished to respond to deliberately, and apparently truthfully, betraying but little of the modesty and shrinking nature we have been the habit of attributing to the share of the gentler sex.
Justice Akin, after giving the young woman some sound advice, fined her $20, under the ordinance, but suspended execution to allow her to get of the city, and she made her exit from the court room in her male attire, and deliberately walked down into the street. Whether she will take her departure for Canada, or remain here, hunting up a friend--or lover--and again get arrested, remains for the future to solve.

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, April 19, 1862, p. 1, c. 5

A Scene among the Female State Pris-
oners at Washington.

A Washington correspondent of the Baltimore News Sheet, communicates the following, which is rich enough:
While I think of it, I must mention a remarkable ride which occurred in the prison yard the day before yesterday. The lady prisoners are allowed a half hour's exercise in the narrow yard surrounding the prison every day. Mrs. Greenhow, who is remarkable for her cool courage and self possession, proposed to seize and appropriate the horse and market wagon of the Superintendent, which stood in one corner of the enclosure, and enjoy the novelty of a ride. The suggestion was instantly adopted, and the ladies, unmindful of the remonstrances of the sentinels, jumped into the wagon and whipped up. Mrs. Morris had been making a large and beautiful Confederate flag, and she stood now in the front of the wagon, waving it over the heads of the enraged sentinels, who followed the flying party around the enclosure, shouting and cursing, and making lunges at the horse with their bayonets, which only increased the mirth of the gay riders, and frightened the horse to his utmost speed. The uproar became terrible. First came the captain of the guard, shouting, at the top of his lungs, "stop that vehicle; it's contrary to the rules." All in vain. Mrs. Greenhow whipped up the harder, and cried out, "it's the Southern wagon—clear the way." Then the officer of the day rushed in, shouting, "What's all this?" followed by the soldiers from the neighboring guard house, who rushed madly forward to stop the flying animal. It was a scene altogether ludicrous and indescribable in the extreme and has made more comment in Washington than a little. The evacuation of Manassas is nothing to be compared to it.

DAILY CHRONICLE & SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], April 30, 1862, p. 2, c. 2
Female Soldier.--Yesterday a female, dressed in soldier's clothes, surrendered herself to the mayor, and was sent before the provost-marshal. She gave Arnold as her name.
We had not the pleasure of an introduction to this female patriot, but learn from those who were fortunate, that she appears to be a woman of intelligence and gentle breeding. She gave the names of respectable houses here in the city who knew her in her proper sphere, when she resided in Arkansas, where she says she owns a plantation. Her story is quite a romantic one.
She asserts that she was arrested at Richmond on suspicion of being unfriendly to the South, but was treated very civilly while held as a prisoner. She claims to have been in the battles of Manassas and Belmont, and to have been with the army in Kentucky.
She says she left here in response to the call of Gen. Beauregard for ninety days' volunteers, and that she was in the battles of the 6th and 7th, in which she was wounded in the foot and hand. She came back to the city with the wounded.
Her reason for the course she has adopted is, that she is collecting material for a history of the war, and that she adopted male attire as the plan best calculated to enable her to carry out her design.
She has no desire to abandon her project if permitted to prosecute it in her own way. There are others engaged with her, but their names she deems proper to withhold. That she is an extraordinary woman there is no question, and our curiosity is excited to know more of her history and her adventures in male attire.

DUBUQUE HERALD, May 1, 1862, p. 2, c. 3

A Woman Appointed Major.
From the Peoria Transcript.

Governor Yates has paid a rather unusual but well merited compliment to Mrs. Reynolds, wife of Lieut. Reynolds, of Co. A, 17th Illinois, and a resident of this city. Mrs. Reynolds has accompanied her husband through the greater part of the campaign through which the 17th has passed, sharing with him the dangers of a soldier's life. She was present at the battle of Pittsburg Landing, and like a ministering angel, attended to the wants of as many of the wounded and dying soldiers as she could, thus winning the gratitude and esteem of the brave fellows by whom she was surrounded.
Gov. Yates, hearing of her heroic and praiseworthy conduct, presented her with a commission as Major in the army, the document conferring the well-merited honor being made out with all due formality, and having attached the great seal of the State. Probably no lady in America will ever again have such a distinguished military honor conferred upon her. Mrs. Reynolds is now in this city, and leaves to join her regiment in a day or two.

CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, May 6, 1862, p. 2, c. 5
A Woman in Soldier's Clothes--Very Natural Surprise of a Reporter. [From the Detroit Advertiser, Saturday.]
Yesterday morning one of our vigilant police officers arrested a soldier dressed in the uniform of the Federal army, on Atwater street, in a state of blissful intoxication. He was conveyed to the lock-up, and placed in one of the cells. Our reporter happened to be present, and observing that the soldier appeared to be in an unconscious state, he feared that life had become extinct, and, opening the bosom of the apparently inanimate form to see if there was any appearance of life, the reader can judge of his astonishment on finding that it was--a woman. A few hours after she awoke from her deep sleep, and gave the following romantic account of her wanderings. She is a native of Scotland, but for many years lived with her family at London, C. W., where they now reside. About five years ago she left home and went to Kentucky, where, on the breaking out of the war, she became enamored with the military display and enlisted in a Kentucky regiment. She served in the army three months, she was present and took part in the battle of Somerset, and saw Gen. Zollicoffer fall. During her term of service she was often ordered to do extra service, and used frequently to steal out of camp at nights and fight on her own hook. At last she became tired of the drudgery she was called upon to perform, and made known her sex. She was immediately discharged, and arrived in our city on Thursday night.


DAILY CHRONICLE & SENTINEL [AUGUSTA, GA], May 15, 1862, p. 2, c. 2
A North Carolina Amazon.--The Charlotte Democrat has been informed by a soldier from Kinston, of rather a novel incident which occurred there recently. A short time ago some recruits were brought into camp for a company from Caldwell county, among whom was a man named Blaylow, who was drafted in Caldwell. Week before last Blaylow got a discharge, and immediately another soldier applied for a discharge, stating that he (or she) was the lawful wife of Blaylow. It appears that when Blaylow was drafted his wife cut her hair off, put on men's clothing and went with him into camps and enlisted for the war. She drilled with the company and was learning fast, when it became necessary to make her sex known in order to accompany her husband home. The boys were sorry to part with such a good soldier, but they are unable to determine which she loved best, Blaylow or the Confederacy; but it was unanimously voted that Mrs. Blayblow [sic?] was "some pumpkins."--Richmond Whig.

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CHICAGO TIMES, May 19, 1862, p. 1, c. 5
Mrs. Major Belle Reynolds, whose portrait we publish above, from a photography by Cole, of Peoria, Ill., is the wife of Lieutenant Reynolds, of Company A, Seventeenth Regiment Illinois Volunteers, and the daughter of W. K. Macumber, Esq. Her native place is Shelbourne Falls, Massachusetts. The Seventeenth, to which her husband belongs, is one of the most popular regiments in our western army, being one of the earliest in the field, and during the whole war has been in active service. They met the enemy in a terrible encounter, and vanquished him, at Frederickstown, Missouri. They early took possession of Cape Girardeau; they also bore a prominent part, and were terribly cut up at the battle of Fort Donelson, and were in the thickest of the fight at the battle of Shiloh or Pittsburg Landing. In these last two battles Lieutenant Reynolds was Acting Adjutant. During the greater part of the campaign Mrs. Reynolds has shared with her husband a soldier's fare in camp; many a night, while on long marches, sleeping upon the ground in the open air, with no covering other than her blanket, and frequently drenched with rain; and oftimes, to the order "Fall in," she has hurriedly mounted her horse in the darkness of the night, and made long marches without rest or food except such as she might have had with her. She has at all times exhibited a degree of heroism that has endeared her to the brave soldiers of the Seventeenth and other regiments that have been associated with them and to the officers of the army with whom she is acquainted.
Gov. Yates, of Illinois, and his staff were at Pittsburg Landing to look after the Illinois troops, who suffered so severely in that fearful struggle, and learning of Mrs. Reynolds' heroic conduct on the field, and untiring efforts in behalf of the wounded soldiers, he commissioned her Daughter of the Regiment, to take rank as a Major, "for meritorious conduct on the bloody battle-field of Pittsburg Landing." Mrs. R. left Pittsburg Landing a few days after the battle to attend some wounded soldiers to their homes by the rivers, leaving the last one at Peoria--Capt. Swain, of Illinois, who died as the boat touched the wharf at Peoria. She remained at Peoria a few days to recover from her fatigue, and has left again to rejoin the army.
The following letter has been addressed to Gov. Yates by citizens of Peoria:
"Peoria, April 27, 1862.
To his Excellency Richard Yates, Governor, etc. Springfield, Illinois.
Dear Sir--Permit us to thank you for the honor conferred upon Peoria by your voluntary act in commissioning Mrs. Belle Reynolds, of this city, to take rank as Major of Illinois State Militia, showing your appreciation of valuable services so nobly rendered by a lady on the bloody battle-field of Pittsburg Landing.
And we take pleasure in bearing testimony to the high moral and Christian character of the Major, believing that in whatever circumstances she may be placed she will ever honor her commission and the worthy Executive who gave it.
Respectfully yours,

CHICAGO TIMES, May 20, 1862, p. 4, c. 1

The Woman Major--A Row in the Family.

We have appropriately chronicled the fact that Gov. Yates has commissioned as Major in one of the Illinois regiments with Gen. Halleck the wife of a Lieutenant, who had shown both courage and devotion to the cause of humanity among the sick and wounded on the field in and after the battle of Pittsburg Landing. The correspondent of the Cincinnati Times tells us something further of her and the consequence of her appointment:
"I am sorry to inform you that there is at present some apprehension of a domestic difficulty, originating out of the late commission of a female to the rank of Major in the United States army.
"This worthy lady, whose bravery and Samaritan kindness to our wounded soldiers on the battle-field of Shiloh has won her the love and esteem of an appreciating public, and who has been promoted to rank by a grateful government is, I fear, about to fall victim to that most dreaded of delusions--jealousy. This lady is at present holding her headquarters on board on of the hospital steamers now lying at Pittsburg Landing, anxiously awaiting for the expected battle, to again render that comfort and aid known only to exist in the presence of angels and the attentions of lovely woman.
"But what is mot unhappy in the case of this lady Major is, that her once adoring and loving husband, who now holds the rank of Lieutenant, insists on being made a Colonel, and gives as a reason that his wife now commands him, from the virtue of her rank--being a Major--and that this is directly contrary to the original understanding existing between them at the day of their nuptials. From this protest of the Lieutenant I fear that all law abiding wives will hold up their hands and exclaim, "Oh! the brute."

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, May 23, 1862, p. 1, c. 4
A North Carolina Amazon.—The Charlotte Democrat has been informed by a soldier from Kinston, of rather a novel incident which occurred there recently. A short time ago some recruits were brought into camp for a company from Caldwell county, among whom was a man named Blaylow, who was drafted in Caldwell. Week before last Blaylow got a discharge, and immediately another soldier applied for a discharge, stating that he (or she) was the lawful wife of Blaylow. It appears that when Blaylow was drafted, his wife cut her hair off, put on men's clothing and went with him into camps and enlisted for the war. She drilled with the company and was learning fast, when it became necessary to make her sex known in order to accompany her husband home. The boys were sorry to part with such a good soldier, but they were unable to determine which she loved best, Blaylow or the Confederacy; but it was unanimously voted that Mrs. Blaylow is "some pumpkins."

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY [ATLANTA, GA], May 23, 1862, p. 2, c. 2

Our Special Correspondence from Rome.

Rome, Ga., May 15, 1862.
. . . A female woman arrived in our city a few days since, dressed in the male uniform of a Confederate soldier, accompanied by a gentleman who represented himself as an officer in the Confederate army. Suspicions were excited and the parties arrested and examined, when they told a plausible tale about being in pursuit of a spy, &c., and were released. I learn that they have since been arrested in Chattanooga, Tenn., and are now held in limbo. I am teetotally opposed to women "wearing the breeches," and hope our city authorities will permit no more feminines to pass through the city in that sort of disguise. It is an infringement upon the "rights of men" that ought not for a moment to be tolerated. . . .
What Not.

CHICAGO TIMES, May 24, 1862, p. 2, c. 4
Special Dispatch to The Chicago Times.
Cairo, May 23.
No news of importance from Pittsburg. ...
Gov. Yates and Mrs. Major Reynolds have arrived as passengers on the City of Alton.

DUBUQUE HERALD, May 25, 1862, p. 2, c. 4
Latest from Halleck's Army.--Gen. Halleck has recently ordered all newspaper correspondents from his camp. The reason for this step is not clear, but we will inquire if there is not a family by the name of Irwin residing at Savannah, Tenn., which has among its members three sisters who are very beautiful, and whose brothers are in the rebel army? Is not a correspondent of a certain paper in love with one of these sisters, and has he not furnished them will full information of General Halleck's movements, to be given to Beauregard? Who is this correspondent? Gen. Halleck has his hand on him.--Chicago Journal.

CHICAGO TIMES, May 27, 1862, p. 2, c. 5
Cairo, May 26.
Governor Morton, of Indiana, arrived this morning from Pittsburg Landing, and is stopping at the St. Charles Hotel.
Mrs. Major Reynolds is a guest of the St. Charles Hotel in this city, awaiting the return of Governor Yates, or the event of a battle near Corinth, it is not definitely known which.

CHICAGO TIMES, May 28, 1862, p. 2, c. 4
Cairo, May 28.
Mrs. Major Reynolds made a sudden departure to-day for St. Louis. Her tarry here, it is said, was the occasion of too much remark to please her.

CHICAGO TIMES, May 31, 1862, p. 1, c. 5
From the N.Y. Tribune of Thursday.
It is now well understood that "unauthorized hangers-on" were excluded from the Army of Tennessee by Gen. Halleck, because the rebels managed to obtain intelligence of the disposition of our forces through some one with the army. The leaky individual, according to the correspondence of the Cincinnati Times, is a brother of Gov. Yates, of Illinois. The rebel agents, two fascinating sisters named Irwin, whose father owns any amount of broad acres and almost countless contrabands, and who have the enviable reputation of being the "most elegant ladies in Tennessee," reside at Savannah, and since the occupation of the lace they have professed strong Union sentiments, and their parlor has been a general rendezvous for all the young gallants in the service.
No one questioned their loyalty, and in course of time they became as familiar with our position and strength as our own Generals. The principal portion of this intelligence was imparted by a brother of Gov. Yates, of Illinois. Immediately after an introduction to the Misses Irwin, he became fascinated, and from that moment his attentions to both in general, and one in particular, became unremitting, and the consideration he received, which he attributed to the high position of his brother and his own personal charms, led him to an indiscreet, not to say criminal, revelation of all he knew about the plans of the campaign and the strength of the army. He is reported as a vain man, and flattery rendered him loquacious, until the whole story was known to the sisters.
In the meantime the "erring brother" found the means of visiting his "loyal sisters" nightly, and what they learned during a day was known to Beauregard before a second dawned. Our authorities soon discovered that there was a leak somewhere, and the result was, a sort of persecution was instituted against newspaper correspondents, who are made to shoulder all the fatherless sins floating about the army. But after a while the whole matter was revealed, and the gallant young man found it very convenient to omit all further attention to the damsels, and seek a healthier climate further north.

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY [ATLANTA, GA], May 31, 1862, p. 2, c. 1
A North Carolina Amazon.--The Charlotte Democrat has been informed by a soldier from Kinston, of rather a novel incident which occurred there recently. A short time ago some recruits were brought into camp for a company from Caldwell county, among whom was a man named Blaylow, who was drafted in Caldwell. Week before last Blaylow got a discharge, and immediately another soldier applied for a discharge, stating that he (or she) was the lawful wife of Blaylow. It appears that when Blaylow was drafted, his wife cut her hair off, put on men's clothing, and went with him into camps and enlisted for the war. She drilled with the company and was learning fast when it became necessary to make her sex known in order to accompany her husband home. The boys were sorry to part with such a good soldier, but they were unable to determine which she loved best, Blaylow or the Confederacy; but it was unanimously voted that Mrs. Blaylow is "some pumpkins."

CHICAGO TIMES, June 6, 1862, p. 1, c. 8
Mrs. Major Reynolds.--Mrs. Major Belle Reynolds, who has been on Gov. Yates' staff, seems to be having rather a rough time. The recent reports concerning her and Yates have caused them to part company for the present, and she was last heard of in Missouri. The Hannibal Herald says that on Thursday evening, the 29th, two rowdies, formerly under Price's command, then under the influence of whisky, appeared at the quarters of Mrs. Major Belle Reynolds, at Hannibal, and demanded "an unconditional surrender," which was "declined." After taking another drink they proceeded to make "a regular investment of the Major's entrenchments," and, "having gained favorable positions," commenced an attack with brickbats and paving stones. While thus amusing themselves they were set upon by a detachment of police, captured and placed in limbo. The next morning the Major appeared against the miscreants, and they were fined according to their demerits.--Rock Island Argus.

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CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, June 7, 1862, p. 2, c. 6
The Enchantresses--A Times Sensation Knocked in the Head.
[Correspondence of the Chicago Tribune.]
Bloomington, June 5, 1862.
Seeing in your issue of yesterday an article copied from the Cin. Times in regard to Halleck's order excluding all civilians, and the cause of said order, I take the liberty to give you a few facts. There is an old saying, "Give the devil his due." So say I in regard to the Miss Irwins. They have been the fair damsels who have lured the true patriot to perform deeds of treason. Poor man, he is to be pitied! Could not withstand the fascinating Miss Irwins.
Any one would think these young ladies to be, not only beautiful beyond description, but to possess powers seldom given to any, a certain indescribable something, by the use of which they could convert almost instantaneously, the purest hearted patriot into the most despicable rebel.
From my knowledge of the young ladies, I think they are slightly over-estimated. That they are rebels, every one knows who ever entered their household. There are five sisters, one brother and their mother, these with two brothers in the rebel army constitute the family. The father who, according to the New York Times, "owns the broad acres," has been dead some years. The sisters are and always have been, outspoken in their views, telling everybody that visited them of their strong love for the South and hatred for the North. The only truth contained in the article, is that the house was the resort for our officers; to a certain extent this was true.
It was a curiosity, to most, to find anything like civilization on the Tennessee River. Here was not only some passably educated feminines, but they were secesh, sang southern songs, drank Jeff. Davis' coffee, and while entertaining you, told you every night they prayed for your overthrow. The novelty of the scene called a good many there, and if they ever obtained any information it was from those who, like some Chicago correspondent, were ever ready to show them that they had sympathisers [sic] in the North.
The author of the article either never was in Savannah or wrote what he knew to be false, for the purpose of injuring one who is dearer to the Illinois soldiers than any other--Gov. Yates.
M.

CHICAGO TIMES, June 11, 1862, p. 2, c. 5
Cairo, June 9.
Mrs. Major Reynolds arrived here to-day, en route from the Tennessee River to St. Louis. The Governor was not with her.

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, June 27, 1862, p. 2, c. 3
A Female Prisoner.—Some excitement was created on Thursday by the arrival of a female prisoner, in the uniform of a Fille du Regiment. She is said to have been for some months following the Third Regiment of East Tennessee Renegades in Kentucky. Her name we learn is Sallie Taylor; she is from Anderson county, where she has respectable relations. She was captured somewhere in the neighborhood of Jacksonboro. An examination before the Provost Marshall, we understand, elicited some valuable information from this romantic damsel, in regard to the movement of the enemy.
[Knoxville Register.

CHICAGO TIMES, August 14, 1862, p. 2, c. 6
One day last week the Washington Provost Marshal had before him two soldiers in uniform, of a light form, who excited his suspicions. After being questioned they admitted that they were females, and had been serving as privates in a regiment now in Pope's army for many months. They were furnished with proper apparel and sent northward.

WEEKLY COLUMBUS [GA] ENQUIRER, August 19, 1862, p. 3, c. 6
A Female Volunteer:--In calling the roll of a regiment of conscripts who had just entered the camp of instruction at Raleigh, N.C., last week, one more "man" was present than called for by the list. The Winston Sentinel says:
This, of course, involved an investigation, when it was discovered that the features of one claimed to be a conscript were quite too fair and fine for one of the sterner sex. The soldier was charged of being a female, when she confessed the truth and acknowledged that she had determined to accompany her friends in the perils of war, and avenge the death of a brother who fell in the fight near Richmond. We have heard nothing in any degree to implicate the good character and standing of this gallant heroine.

AUSTIN STATE GAZETTE, October 8, 1862, p. 1, c. 6
Another "Dangerous" Woman.—The special correspondent of the Philadelphia Press at Fort McHenry, gives the following information about Miss Susan Archer Tally, another of thee female spies:
Among the recent prisoners at this fort, has been until the 28th of June last, a lady, a Miss Susan Archer Tally, of Norfolk who attempted last year to take a coffin full of percussion caps through our lines to Richmond, alleging that the body of her brother was in it. Suspicion excited, the coffin was opened, and the lady incarcerated. It was afterwards found that she had acted as a spy between the pickets of the two armies. She was closely confined in her room during the day, with the exception of a walk in the balcony before her window, and a stroll around the ramparts, for an hour daily, with the officer of the day. She was about thirty years of age, and a very good amateur artist. She took from memory a very good crayon portrait of Gen. Morris, commanding the fort and presented it to him. Liberty having been given to her, she has gone to her home near Norfolk.

PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, November 6, 1862, p. 2, c. 2

Treason in Petticoats.

The New York Times' Washington correspondent telegraphed day before yesterday the following rather remarkable instance of female strategy:
We are informed that some employee in the War Department has forged a pass, permitting three men and a loaded wagon and a team to pass our lines. The wagon is said to be loaded with quinine and other articles of especial value to the rebels. It is expected that an effort has been made to capture the party.
LATER.—We have gained additional information in regard to the circumstances before mentioned of a wagon, with contraband goods, having gone through our lines, yesterday, towards Richmond. The precise facts are as follows:
The parties to the speculation are a person named Buck Bailey, who preached in one of the churches here on Sunday, and Miss Buckner, daughter of Mrs. Turner, who resides at Rectorville, Va., near Thoroughfare Gap.—These parties, who are related to one of the highest officers of the government, so worked upon his confidence as to procure his good offices in securing a pass for themselves, with which they succeeded in getting through our lines and within six miles of home before overtaken by the officers put on their track. On being arrested, which was accomplished about five o'clock this morning, Miss Buckner was consigned to the charge of some females in a dwelling near by, and searched. This proceeding resulted in discovering, in her bustle, of one hundred and seven ounces of quinine, together with a rebel mail—all intended for Richmond; and a further search at Fairfax Court-house brought to light a letter in secret cipher, concealed in her petticoat.
Mr. Bailey and Miss Buckner have been consigned to the old capitol prison, and Miss Turner, who is believed to be innocent, is permitted to remain in the family of her relatives.
Altogether, considering the high official character of three or four parties who have been unsuspectingly drawn into the affair, it is one of the most astonishing which has occurred during the rebellion.

PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, November 15, 1862, p. 2, c. 3

Adventures of a Loyal Maiden Among the Secesh.

Miss Fanny Britten some time since received a communication from the colonel of an Ohio regiment, then stationed at Lebanon Ky., to visit her brother there, who was in his command. Fanny was a resident of Cleveland, and availing herself of an opportunity to embrace a cherished relative, she made up a small bundle, put what she thought would be sufficient money in her purse, and started for the "debatable ground." Arrived at Lebanon she found that the regiment to which he belonged had changed its location, and uncertain how to proceed, she remained for a couple of weeks, until her money was almost exhausted, when she made up her mind to return homeward, and set out on foot for Paris, which, travel worn, she arrived at late in the evening, to find it in the hands of a large body of the enemy's cavalry. An entire stranger, she was taken into custody, and it being soon learned that she was an Ohioan, she was arrested as a spy and detained in the apartment of a house in the second story.
The guard, however, was rather loosely kept, and the next morning Fanny contrived to explore another room, where she contrived to discover a suit of masculine apparel, which she appropriated and found a tolerable fit. Thus disguised she made her way to the roof of the house, from which she managed to descend by means of a gutter-spout, when she went to an adjoining stable, and selected one of the best of a fine lot of blooded horses, with which she made her way undetected out of town.
She did not allow the grass to grow under the feet of her gallant steed, with which she soon reached Mayville, where she took a packet, and with her prize arrived safely in this city. Here she applied to the mayor to whom she related her adventures, and who recommended her to the Dennison House, where she was taken under the protection of the ladies, who supplied her with apparel suitable to her sex. She is a good looking, dashing girl, just such a one as it would be safe to bet upon coming out of a difficulty with eclat and enacting the role of a bold and fearless heroine. In the meantime the mayor, who has charge of the horse, which is a valuable Bucephalus, is in a muddle. It is a Bulwerian question, "what will be done with it?" but as we think the animal was, undoubtedly, at the time she captured him, in the hands of the secesh, he is Fanny's by all the articles of war. Let her carry him back to Cleveland as a trophy of her womanhood and daring.—Cincinnati Enquirer.

 

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PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, November 21, 1862, p. 2, c. 2
Charleston, Va., Nov. 14,1862.
. . . One of the phenomena of this [fold in paper] the development of an intense hate towards our troops and government exhibited by the female rebels. I am led to this statement from the positive evidences of the fact witnessed by me since my arrival there. These females have generally descended from the high and dignified spheres of the social circle and domestic fireside, and metamorphosed themselves into the shape and status of politicians, columniators and traducers of their country and its flag. Nor does the picture end here. It is from these females, who have played the successful scouts and spies, that the rebel leaders have gathered their best information. These women, practising a deception on our own generals, sometimes in the guise of ladies and again in the disguise of the rustic, have been permitted to pass our lines, visit our camps, and those of the first named have been feted by our officers. It is unnecessary to individualise instances of this kind in passing the subject. I will only mention the names of Belle Boyd and Mrs. Greenhow as heading the list of one hundred female rebels who have made for themselves infamous reputations. I have an instance fresh to my mind which was related to me recently by an officer of worth, who told me of a case in which one of our two star generals was deceived most egregiously by one of these female rebel adepts. He was enchanted, as it were, by her personal beauty, her volubility of language and innocent manner. She was allowed the liberty of the camp for several days; but suddenly she was non est inventus. She gained the information she came for, and her departure was as mysterious as her advent.
I will forbear to mention names or localities, as that general soon discovered his mistake, and has repented sincerely for his fatuity. In justice to the officers of this department I will say the affair did not occur in Western Virginia. To explain the phenomenon I have referred to still further, I will add from my own experience that I have seen young ladies in this town who at a superficial view, from their appearance, apparent intellectuality and exterior accomplishments, seemed an honor to their sex. Presto, and the scene is changed, the social picture is robbed of its charms, when I have seen some of them contort and set all sorts of gyrations with their faces, as an officer would pass along the road, in token of their depreciation of the defenders of our flag. The grimaces of these rebel ladies have been followed with scurrilous and low remarks, which in some stances would disgrace a cyprian. There is a family in town, the head of which once held a federal position. This gentleman is known here as a Union man, but his example has not comported to his professions. This gentleman has a son in the rebel army who recently resigned his commission and returned home. He has another child, a daughter of twenty summers. This young lady (?) is proverbially known throughout Charleston as a rabid secessionist.
Last winter, while a portion of our army was in town, her father frequently gave social parties to Federal officers. On these occasions she used to make them serve her to give vent to her secession proclivities, by innuendo and at times by downright insult to her father's guests. On other occasions, when Federal officers would visit her father's house, she would hide herself until they had retired. This young lady is considered a Virginian of the first water. She is known here as the mouthpiece of the whole family. The loyalty of all is very much questioned.

PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, December 17, 1862, p. 3, c. 2

The Adventures of a Rebel Female.

The New Orleans Delta tells the following curious story of the adventures of a rebel woman:
A day or two since an adventurous female named Anne Williams was brought before the provost court for trial. She is quite a character. It appears that she resided in this city several years ago in a house of questionable character, but managed by some defective arts, which are best known to women, to win the affections of an Arkansas planter, who married her. She soon tired of married life, however, left him, and next appeared with our army at Utah, where she became acquainted with many under the name of Mrs. Arnold.
The rebellion broke out and Mrs. Arnold, alias Mrs. Williams, was next found doing the duty of a private soldier in the battle of Manassas as a member of the 7th Louisiana regiment. She was brought into public notice again last spring, just after the battle of Shiloh, having been wounded in the engagement as a member of the 11th Louisiana. On that occasion she visited this city, and was arrested for appearing in male attire, but on account of what was then called her patriotic conduct she was dismissed with honor.
Nothing more was heard of her until about two weeks since, when a complaint was lodged to the effect that she had robbed a lady in whose house she had been furnished an asylum, of a gold watch and chain and a gold thimble.
The police at once got on her track, and officer Coner finally succeeded in arresting her at Camp Lewis, where she was living as the wife of a soldier named Williams. She is a little passe, but still quite a handsome woman, with a very masculine nature. She spoke right sharply in her own defence before the court—said that although she had been to Richmond and in the rebel army, and participated in several battles, she had never descended to play the spy. She declared that she was now strong for the Union, and was raising her children up to revere the old flag. The police accuse her of having been engaged frequently to run the blockade with letters by parties in the city, and say that she is a very dangerous character. The judge, after hearing the evidence in regard to the robbery of which she stood accused, concluded that she was guilty of the crime charged, and accordingly sent her to the Parish prison for six months. This is a rather unromantic termination to a most romantic career.

WASHINGTON [ARK.] TELEGRAPH, December 24, 1862

DIANA SMITH, THE HEROINE OF THE NORTHWEST.

A friend has kindly furnished us with some interesting particulars in the history of this young heroine.
She was born and raised in the county of Jackson. Her father is a consistent and pious member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was leading a quiet, peaceful, and useful life, until his country was invaded, when he called his country-men to arms, and raised the first company of guerrillas, which he commanded until his fall, when, by fraud and treachery he was captured, and ever since has been confined in a loathsome dungeon at Camp Chase, Ohio, without hope of delivery, unless our Government should interpose and procure his release.
Diana, his only daughter, is a beautiful girl, and has been tenderly raised, and well educated. She is also a member of the M. E. Church, and has always been regarded as very pious and exemplary. She is descended from a race of unflinching nerve, and satisfied with nothing less than freedom as unrestrained as the pure air of their mountain home.
Her devotion to the cause of Southern rights, in which her father had nobly engaged, has caused her, too, to feel the oppressor's power. Although a tender and delicate flower, upon whose cheek the bloom of sixteen summers yet lingers, she has been five times captured by the Yankees, and marched sometimes on foot, in manacles, a prisoner; once a considerable distance to Ohio, at which time she made her escape. She was never released, but in each instance managed to escape from her guard. She, too, has been in service; she was in several battles in which her father engaged the enemy. She has seen blood flow like water. Her trusty rifle has made more than one of the vile Yankees bite the dust. She left her home in company with the Moccasin Rangers, (Captain Kelser,) and came through the enemy's line in safety, and is now at the Blue Sulphur Springs.
She was accompanied by Miss Duskie, who has earned the proud distinction of a heroine. On one occasion this fearless girl was surrounded by fifty Yankees and Union men, when she went rushing through their ranks with a daring that struck terror to their craven hearts. With her rifle lashed across her shoulders, she swam the west fork of the Kanhawa river, and made her way to the Mountain Rangers; preferring to trust her safety to those brave spirits, well knowing that her sex would entitle her to protection from those brave mountaineers. These young ladies have lain in the mountains for months, with no bed but the earth, and no covering but the canopy of heaven. They have shared the soldier's rough fare, and his dangers, his hopes, and his joys.

CAIRO [IL] CITY WEEKLY NEWS, December 25, 1862, p. 1, c. 5-6

A Confederate Romance--History of Mrs. Anna Clark.

A Cairo correspondent of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes:
Among the prisoners brought here is a young person wearing the uniform of a private in the Confederate army.--Not above medium height, rather slight in build, features effeminate but eye full of resolution and spirit, the party is not disagreeable to look upon. The descriptive roll calls him Richard Anderson. A note to Gen. Tuttle, however, from the Provost Marshal at another point, explained that, for once, "Richard was not himself," but another personage altogether. In fact, that Richard Anderson was no less a personage than Mrs. Anna Clark, wife of the late Walter Clark. When requested to tell her story, she revealed the following incidents in her history. They may be true or untrue, but the relator appeared perfectly truthful and candid in her recital.
Mrs. Clark is a native of Iuka, Tennessee. Early in the war her husband joined a regiment, and left her at home to manage as best she could. She did not manage as a prudent wife should. She fell in love with a gallant hussar, belonging to a Louisiana regiment. She determined to follow this love. She dressed as a trooper, procured a horse, and enlisted in his company. For four months she remained attached to the cavalry service of the Confederate army, but the fatigues of that department were more than she could bear, and after one or two narrow escapes from serious fits of sickness, she resolved to leave the mounted service and enter the infantry branch, for which, she argued, she was by nature better fitted. Her exchange was effected. She left her trooper's command and joined a company in the Eleventh Tennessee infantry. In this regiment she served under the name of Richard Anderson, until the battle of Richmond, Kentucky, where she with others was made prisoner. Her husband was killed at Shiloh or Donelson, she never knew which. At the former battle, Mrs. Clark, according to her own story, performed prodigies of valor, frequently having to stand upon the dead body of a comrade to obtain a sight of the enemy, upon whom she continually emptied the contents of her musket.
Thus, for over ten months, as cavalry, and then as infantryman, then as prisoner of war, this woman endured the brunt war. The latter sphere she found irksome enough, and she desired nothing better than to be sent to Vicksburg, there to be returned to her friends, promising that she had had enough of this latter life, and would there again assume her apparel and the condition of her sex. Some benevolent ladies and gentlemen contributed to her purchase of a dress and other suitable clothing, and yesterday she was a woman once more. She was sent to the department of the Provost Marshal, and Gen. Tuttle will undoubtedly forward her to Vicksburg with the next batch of prisoners. Mrs. Clark is not yet thirty years of age, and dressed in the costume of a lady is not by any means an unpresentable woman. She is well informed upon politics, literature, and other general topics, and has less of the rowdy in her conversation and air than one would expect from her late associations.

 

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PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, January 4, 1863, p. 2, c. 2

A Female Soldier.

From the St. Paul Press.
Not long since there appeared a squad of men at Fort Snelling for the purpose of joining the regiment of Mounted Rangers, for Indian fighting. The Orderly in charge was very boyish looking, but of singularly neat and soldier-like appearance. The morning reports from this squad were neatly and correctly made out, and were always the first received at the headquarters of the Colonel, the young orderly taking them up and delivering them without a word, but giving always the proper salute in the most graceful manner. In like manner, too, the clothing and provision returns were also made out, and the necessary amount of food and raiment drawn by this young soldier for the squad he represented. Of course such apparently extreme youth and soldierly qualities did not escape the vigilant eye of the Colonel, who, believing the young soldier under eighteen, on two or three occasions, remarked to that effect; but the young man assured him that he was over eighteen, though he admitted, on further questioning to not being twenty-one. The Colonel made up his mind that he had run away from his parents, and so told him, but he assured him he would yet obtain the written consent to the enlistment. Thus matters passed along for several days.
About this time the highly esteemed daughter of a well to do and highly respectable farmer in an interior county in this State, suddenly disappeared, and no traces of her could be found. From remarks that she had made to her mother, wishing that she was a man, so that she could volunteer and hunt down the Indians, a suspicion was aroused that she had undertaken to carry her wishes into effect. Her father proceeded to Fort Snelling, where, in the person of our hero, he found his daughter. But how to bring her away was the next question, as neither of them wished the fact of her sex publicly proclaimed; so the old gentleman went to the colonel to get his son discharged on account of being under age; but the colonel told him he would have to take certain legal steps before she could be discharged. This would not do, as they would no sooner disclose her sex in court than in camp. As a last resort, the young man was introduced to the colonel as the daughter of the old gentleman, and she was then promptly discharged. The colonel has, however, kept their secret, and to this day the soldiers forming her squad don't know the facts about their young Orderly.

DALLAS HERALD, January 7, 1863, p. 1, c. 3

Diana Smith, the Heroine of the Northwest.

A friend has kindly furnished us with some interesting particulars in the history of this young heroine.
She was born and raised in the county of Jackson. Her father is a consistent and pious member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and was leading a quiet, peaceful and useful life, until his country was invaded, when he called his countrymen to arms, and raised the first company of guerrillas, which he commanded until this fall, when, by fraud and treachery he was captured, and ever since has been confined in a loathsome dungeon at Camp Chase, Ohio, without hope of delivery, unless our Government should interpose and procure his release.
Diana, his only daughter, is a beautiful girl, and has been tenderly raised, and well educated. She is also a member of the M. E. Church, and has always been regarded as very pious and exemplary. She is descended from a race of unflinching nerve, and satisfied with nothing less than freedom as unrestrained as the pure air of their mountain home.
Her devotion to the cause of Southern rights, in which her father had nobly engaged, has caused her, too, to feel the oppressor's power. Although a tender and delicate flower, upon whose cheek the bloom of sixteen summers yet lingers, she has been five times captured by the Yankees, and marched sometimes on foot, in manacles, a prisoner, once a considerable distance to Ohio, at which time she made her escape. She was never released, but in each instance managed to escape from her guard. She, too, has been in service; she was in several battles in which her father engaged the enemy. She has seen blood flow like water. Her trusty rifle has made more than one of the vile Yankees bite the dust. She left her home in company with the Moccasin Rangers, (Captain Kelser,) and came through the enemy's line in safety, and is now at the Blue Sulphur Springs. She was accompanied by Miss Duskie, who has earned the proud distinction of a heroine. On one occasion this fearless girl was surrounded by fifty Yankees and Union men, when she went rushing through their ranks with a daring that struck terror to their craven hearts. With her rifle lashed across her shoulders, she swam the west fork of the Kanhawa river, and made her way to the Mountain Rangers; preferring to trust her safety to those brave spirits, well knowing that her sex would entitle her to protections from those brave mountaineers. These young ladies have lain in the mountains for months, with no bed but the earth, and no covering but the canopy of heaven. They have shared the soldier's rough fare, and its dangers, his hopes, and his joys.—Virginia paper.

CHARLESTON MERCURY, January 8, 1863, . 1, c. 4
A Female Soldier.--Among the strange, heroic, and self-sacrificing acts of women in this struggle for our independence, we have heard of none which exceeds the bravery displayed and hardships endured by the subject of this notice, Mrs. Amy Clarke. Mrs. Clarke volunteered with her husband as a private, fought through the battles of Shiloh, where Mr. Clarke was killed--she performing the rites of burial with her own hands. She then continued with Bragg's army in Kentucky, fighting in the ranks as a common soldier, until she was twice wounded--once in the ankle and then in the breast, when she fell a prisoner into the hands of the Yankees. Her sex was discovered by the Federals, and he was regularly paroled as a prisoner of war, but they did not permit her to return until she had donned female apparel. Mrs. C. was in our city on Sunday last, en route for Bragg's command.
Jackson Mississippian.

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY [ATLANTA, GA], January 11, 1863, p. 3, c. 1
A Female Soldier.--Among the strange, heroic and self sacrificing acts of woman in this struggle for our independence, we have heard of none which exceeds the bravery displayed and hardships endured by the subject of this notice, Mrs. Amy Clarke. Mrs. Clarke volunteered with her husband as a private, fought through the battles of Shiloh, where Mr. Clarke was killed--she performing the rites of burial with her own hands. She then continued with Bragg's army in Kentucky, fighting in the ranks as a common soldier, until she was twice wounded--once in the ankle and then in the breast, when she fell a prisoner into the hands of the Yankees. Her sex was discovered by the Federals, and she was regularly paroled as a prisoner of war, but they did not permit her to return until she had donned female apparel. Mrs. C. was in our city on Sunday last, en route for Bragg's command.--Jackson Mississippian, Dec. 30.

PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, February 14, 1863, p. 3, c. 2
A girl soldier has been discovered in the camp of the 10th Ohio cavalry at Cleveland. She gave her name as Henrietta Spencer, and said that her home was in Oberlin, and that she enlisted to avenge her father and brother, who fell at Murfreesboro.

 

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WEEKLY COLUMBUS [GA] ENQUIRER, March 3, 1863, p. 2, c. 3

Letters from "J. T. G."

Knoxville, Feb. 21st, 1863.
Editor Enquirer: Since the departure of the important personages that have enlivened "all" Knoxville for the past ten days, the denizens have lapsed into their usual ways. However, the attractive, "dashing" Belle Boyd, once an inmate of Fortress Monroe upon the charge of being a Confederate spy, perambulates Gay Street in all her glory. . . . J.T.G.

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY [ATLANTA, GA], April 2, 1863, p. 2, c. 4
A Female Aid-De-Camp.--The Baltimore Clipper says Antonia J. Ford was the principal spy and guide for Capt. Mosby in his recent raid on Fairfax Court House, and aided in planning the arrest of Gen. Slaughter, Wyndham and others. She was arrested and brought to the Old Capitol Prison, on Sunday last, with $1,000 Confederate money on her person. The following is a copy of her commission:
To all whom it may concern: Know ye that, reposing special confidence in the patriotism, fidelity and ability of Antonia J. Ford, I, J. E. B. Stuart, by virtue of power vested in me as Brigadier General, Provisional Army Confederate States, hereby appoint and commission her my Honorable Aid de Camp, to rank as such from this date. She will be obeyed, respected and admired by all lovers of a noble nature.
Given under my hand and seal, Headquarters Cavalry Brigade, at Camp Beverly, 7th October, 1861, and first year of our Independence.
J. E. B. Stuart.
By the General:
L. T. Bryan, A.A.G.

WEEKLY COLUMBUS [GA] ENQUIRER, April 7, 1863, p. 3, c. 4
A Female Aid-de-Camp.—The Baltimore Clipper says Antonia J. Ford was the principal spy and guide for Captain Mosby in his recent raid on Fairfax C. H., and aided in planning the arrest of Gen. Slaughter, Wyndham and others. She was arrested and brought to the Old Capitol Prison, on Sunday last, with $1,000 Confederate money on her person. The following is a copy of her commission:
To all whom it may concern: Know ye that, reposing special confidence in patriotism, fidelity and ability of Antonio J. Ford, I, J. E. B. Stuart, by virtue of power vested in me as Brigadier General, Provisional Army Confederate States, hereby appoint and commission her my Honorable Aid-de-Camp, to rank as such from this date. She will be obeyed, respected, and admired by all lovers of a noble nature.
Given under my hand and seal, Headquarters, Cavalry Brigade, at Camp Beverly, 7th October, 1861, and first year of our Independence.
J. E. B. Stuart.
By the General,
L. T. Bryan, A. A. G.

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, April 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
A young woman has just returned to Altoona, Pa., after a service of eighteen months in the army without having her sex discovered. She took part in three battles, and was wounded twice, first about the eye and then in the arm, the latter wound compelling her to disclose her sex.

PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, May 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
Female Soldiers.—A Pennsylvania girl, who has been serving as a soldier in the Army of the West for ten months, says that she has discovered a great many females among the soldiers, one of whom is now a Lieutenant. She has assisted in burying three female soldiers at different times, whose sex was unknown to any one but herself.

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, May 18, 1863, p. 1, c. 5

Capture of Female Rebels.

From the Baltimore American, May 6.
Jennie D. Hart is the third party, and for some time past has been acting as the orderly sergeant of company D, Jenkins' cavalry, commanded by Captain White. She provided herself with male attire, and being rather masculine in her appearance, deceived the rebel recruiting officer, and was enlisted in the service...Jennie De hart was arrested about the first of April, in Fayetteville, Virginia...

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, May 21, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
Miss Fanny C. James, daughter of Mr. John James, of Baltimore, has been arrested in that city and committed to the Baltimore jail to be tried by the civil authorities under the treason act of Maryland, under the charge of giving aid and comfort to the rebels, in corresponding with a lady friend in the South.

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, May 22, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
The Arrest of Miss James.—The following is a copy of the letter to Miss James, of Baltimore, intercepted by the Federals, and upon which she is imprisoned in the Baltimore jail:
Richmond, Va., March 15, }
Tuesday Noon. }
My Dear Fannie:--Your letters have just been received, and the pleasure it gave us you cannot imagine. Harry was perfectly delighted with his uniform. The goods you spoke of in your last have been received, and were a perfect God send. The quinine and liquors were very much needed. Those I presented to our Government as you desired, and the other things were sold at cost. Will you please forward goods to the amount of the enclosed order immediately? We have great demands for several items in the list, as they are needed by our Government, and knowing your promptness in filling all such orders, we can rely on your dispatching the goods at the earliest possible moment. I received the carte de visite of ________, whom you suspect as a spy, and have given it to our authorities. There will be a strict eye on him. * * *

They request me to tell you, Fanny, to keep quiet, and don't let them have anything on you, as you can do much more for us where you are; and if they should find you out, why—take the Yankee oath three times a day if they wish it, just before every meal. You have taken many a bitter dose of medicine, and it won't taste a bit worse than the rest.

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, May 23, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
Released.—We are happy to record the arrival at this place of Mrs. Mary Samuel, her two daughters and son, who have recently been released from confinement in the bastille of the North, where they were subjected to treatment of the most brutal and outrageous character.
Mrs. Samuel and her daughters were arrested on the first of February, and her son was seized by the United States authorities on the 1st of January, 1863. They were dragged from their home in Nashville, while peacefully attending to their legitimate business, and without trial and upon a mere suspicion of disloyalty to the United States government, were incarcerated at Camp Chase, Ohio, for three months. They were afterwards transferred to Columbus, and from thence to Washington, D. C. At each of these places they experienced the worst of ill usage, poor fare, miserable accommodations, deprived of all clothing excepting such apparel as they wore, insulted by insolent and depraved soldiery, and made the objects of every indignity.
While in Washington, Mrs. Samuel had a guard stationed in her chamber night and day, and they were paraded in company with others three successive days through the streets of the city to induce the belief that new lots of prisoners had at each time arrived.
The family is destitute. Every thing valuable, money, clothes, jewelry—all has been taken.
They have come to cast their destiny among us rather than dwell with a people lost to every feeling of honor and humanity.—Atlanta Confederacy.

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, May 22, 1863, p. 2, c. 1
The Louisville Journal of yesterday says: A female soldier, who has been in service twenty-two months, reported at headquarters yesterday, for transportation to Minnesota, where she resides. She was in the battles of Shiloh and Stone River, and twice wounded severely. She enlisted in the same company with her husband, and was with him up to the time of his death, which occurred at Murfreesboro', when she concluded to leave the army and return to her friends.

 

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NASHVILLE DISPATCH, June 7, 1863, p. 1, c. 6

An Incident of the War.

A letter from Lake Providence, La., gives the following account of the adventures of a woman soldier:
The 1st Kansas regiment, of which I have spoken before, is encamped near us. One of the members of that regiment, a sergeant, died in the hospital two weeks ago. After death his comrades discovered that their companion, by the side of whom they had marched and fought for almost two years, was a--woman. You may imagine their surprise at the discovery. I went to the hospital and saw the body after it was prepared for burial, and made some inquiries about her. She was of rather more than average size for a woman, with strongly marked features, so that, with the aid of man's attire, she had quite a masculine look. She enlisted in the regiment after they went to Missouri, and consequently they know nothing of her early history. She probably served under an assumed name. She was in the battle of Springfield, where General Lyon was killed, and has fought in a dozen battles and skirmishes. She always sustained an excellent reputation, both as a man and a soldier, and the men all speak of her in terms of respect and affection. She was brave as a lion in battle, and never flinched from any duty or hardships that fell to her lot. She must have been very shrewd to have lived in the regiment so long and preserved her secret so well! Poor girl! She was worthy of a better fate. Who knows what grief, trouble, or persecution induced her to embrace such a life!

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, June 22, 1863, p. 2, c. 3
Shelbyville, June 18th.
. . . Forrest's forces on Friday last went in pursuit of a woman to whom suspicion had been attached. She had reached the Yankee pickets in front of Franklin when they came in sight, but on they dashed, driving in the Yankees and capturing their "booty." She proved to be a Miss Cushman, a theatre actress, claiming relationship with the celebrated Charlotte, and had upon her person plans and drawings of our fortifications, and the disposition made of the latter. It is said that she was a crinoline scout for McClellan in Virginia, and performed valuable services. Her fine talents are, doubtless, occupied at present time in planning an escape from Columbia, where she is under guard. . . . N.

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, June 24, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
[Article on Mary Walker--"A Female Surgeon in Male Attire"]

WEEKLY COLUMBUS [GA] ENQUIRER, June 30, 1863, p. 2, c. 7
Forrest's forces on Friday last went in pursuit of a woman to whom suspicion had been attached. She had reached the Yankee pickets in front of Franklin when they came in sight, but on they dashed, driving in the Yankees and capturing their "booty." She proved to be a Miss Cushman, a theatre actress, claiming relationship with the celebrated Charlotte, and had upon her person plans and drawings of our fortifications, and the disposition made of the latter. It is said that she was a crinoline scout for McClellan in Virginia, and performed valuable services. Her fine talents are doubtless occupied at the present time in planning an escape from Columbia, where she is under guard.—Chatta. Rebel.

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, June 30, 1863, p. 1, c. 3

Career of a Female Volunteer.

Among the registered enemies of the Unites States government who have been recently sent across the lines from New Orleans, there is now in Jackson, Mississippi, a lady whose adventures place her in the ranks of the Mollie Pitchers of the present revolution. At the breaking out of the war Mrs. Laura J. Williams was a resident of Arkansas. Like most of the women of the South, her whole soul was enlisted in the struggle for independence. Her husband was a Northern man by birth and education, and a strong Union man. After Arkansas seceded from the Union he went to Connecticut, he said, to see his relations and settle up some business. Mrs. Williams suspected his purpose and finally she received information that he had joined the Yankee army. The Jackson Mississippian gives the rest of her history:
She disguised herself in a Confederate uniform, and adopting the name of "Henry Benford," she proceeded to Texas, where she raised and equipped an independent company and went to Virginia with it as 1st Lieutenant. She was in the battle of Leesburg and several skirmishes, but finally, her sex having been discovered by the surgeon of the regiment—the 5th Texas Volunteers, to which the company had been attached—she returned to her home in Arkansas. After remaining there a short time she proceeded to Corinth, and was in the battle of Shiloh, where she displayed great coolness and courage. She saw her father on the field, but, of course, he did not recognize her and she did not make herself known to him. In the second day's fighting she was wounded in the head, and was ordered to the rear. She wrote to her father, and then came on down to Grenada, where she waited for some time, but never saw or heard from him.
She then visited New Orleans, was taken sick, and while sick the city was captured. On recovery she retired to the coast, where she employed herself in carrying communications and assisting parties to run the blockade with drugs and cloths for uniforms. She was informed on by a negro and arrested and brought before Gen. Butler. She made her appearance before Gen. B. in a Southern homespun dress. She refused to take the oath—told him she gloried in being a rebel—had fought side by side with Southern men for Southern rights, and if she ever lived to see "Dixie" she would do it again. Butler denounced her as the most incorrigible she rebel he had ever met with. By order of the Beast she was placed in confinement, where she remained three months. Some time after her release she was arrested for carrying on "contraband correspondence," and kept in a dungeon fourteen days on bread and water, at the expiration of which time she was placed in the State Prison as a dangerous enemy. Her husband, it so happened, was a Lieutenant in the 13th Conn. regiment, and on duty as provost guard in the city. He accidentally found her out and asked if she wanted to see him. She sent him word she never wanted to see him so long as he wore the Yankee uniform. But he forced himself upon her, tried to persuade her to take the oath, and get a release, when he said he would resign and take her to his relations in Connecticut. She indignantly spurned his proposition, and he left her to her fate. When Gen. Banks assumed command he released a great many prisoners, but kept her in confinement until the 17th of May last, when she was sent across the lines to Meadesville with the registered enemies.
An article was recently published in the New York World in relation to the part Mrs. Williams has played in the war, but the above is, we are assured, a true account of her remarkable career. We understand she has attached herself to the medical staff of a brigade now in this city, and will render all the assistance in her power to the wounded in the approaching struggle for possession of the great Valley of the Mississippi.

 

[thea_447]

DALLAS HERALD, July 1, 1863, p. 1, c. 1

Adventures of a Young Lady in the Army.

Among the registered enemies of the United States government who have been recently sent across the lines from New Orleans, there is now in this city a lady whose adventures place her in the ranks of the Molly Pitchers of the present revolution.
At the breaking out of the war, Mrs. James J. Williams (the lady of whom we alluded) was a resident of Arkansas. Like most of the women of the South, her whole soul was enlisted for the struggle for independence. Her husband was a Northern man by birth and education and a strong Union man. After Arkansas seceded from the Union he went to Connecticut, he said, to see his relations and settle upon some business. Mrs. Williams suspected his purpose, and finally she received information that he had joined the Yankee army. Possessing little of the characteristic weakness of the sex, either in body or mind, Mrs. W. vowed to offer her life upon the altar of her country, disguising herself in a Confederate uniform, and adopting the name of Henry Benford, she proceeded to Texas where she raised and equipped an independent company and went to Virginia with it as first Lieutenant. She was in the battle of Leesburg and several skirmishes, but finally her sex having been discovered by the surgeon of the regiment—the 5th Texas Volunteers to which the company had been attached—she returned to her home in Arkansas. After remaining there a short time she proceeded to Corinth and was in the battle of Shiloh where she displayed great coolness and courage. She saw her father on the field but, of course, he did not recognize her, and she did not make herself known to him. In the second day's fighting she was wounded in the head and was ordered to the rear. She wrote to her father and then came off down to Grenada where she waited for some time, but never saw or heard from him.
She then visited New Orleans, was taken sick and while sick the city was captured. On recovery she retired to the coast, where she employed herself in conveying communications, assisting parties to run the blockade with drugs and clothes and uniforms. She was informed on by a negro and arrested and brought before Gen. Butler. She made her appearance before Gen. B. in a Southern homespun dress. She refused to take the oath, told him she gloried in being a rebel—had fought side by side with Southern men for Southern rights, and if she ever lived to see "Dixie" she would do it again. Butler denounced her as the most incorrigible she-rebel he had ever met with. By order of the Beast she was placed in confinement, where she remained three months. Some time after her release, she was arrested again for carrying on "contraband correspondence," and kept in a dungeon fourteen days on bread and water, at the expiration of which time she was placed in the State prison as a dangerous enemy. Her husband it so happened, was a lieutenant in the 13th Connecticut Regiment, and on duty as Provost Guard in the city. He accidentally found her out and asked if she wanted to see him. She sent him word she never wanted to see him as long as he wore the Yankee uniform. But he forced himself upon her, tried to persuade her to take the oath, get a release, when he said he would resign and take her to his relations in Connecticut. She indignantly spurned his proposition, and he left her to her fate. When General Banks resumed command, he released a great many prisoners, but kept her in confinement until the 17th of May last, when she was sent across the lines to Meadesville with the registered enemies.
An article was recently published in the New York World in relation to the part Mrs. Williams has played in this war, but the above is, we are assured, a true account of her remarkable career. We understand she has attached herself to the medical staff of a brigade now in this city, and will render all the assistance in her power to our wounded in the approaching struggle for possession of the great Valley of the Mississippi.
Jackson, Miss., June 6, 1863
NASHVILLE DISPATCH, July 11, 1863, p. 1, c. 6

Cupid and Mars--The Adventures of a Female Soldier.

A few weeks ago a young woman arrived in Chicago from Louisville, Ky., whose history is thus recorded in the Post, of that city:
She gave her name as Annie Lillybridge, of Detroit, and stated that her parents reside in Hamilton, Canada. Last spring she was employed in a dry goods store in Detroit, where she became acquainted with a Lieutenant W-----, of one of the Michigan regiments, and an intimacy immediately sprang up between them. They corresponded for some time, and became much attached to each other. Some time during last summer Lieutenant W------ was appointed to a position in the Twenty-first Michigan Infantry, then rendezvousing in Ionia county. The thought of parting from the gay lieutenant nearly drove her mad, and she resolved to share his dangers and be near him. No sooner had she resolved upon this course than she proceeded to act. Purchasing male attire, she visited Ionia, enlisted in Captain Kavanagh's company, twenty-first regiment. While in camp she managed to keep her secret from all--not even the object of her attachment, who met her every day, was aware of her presence so near him.
Annie left with her regiment for Kentucky, passed through all the dangers and temptations of a camp life, endured long marches and sleeping on the cold ground, without a murmur. At last, the night before the battle of Pea Ridge, (or Prairie Grove,) in which her regiment took part, her sex was discovered by a member of her company, but she enjoined secrecy upon him, after relating her previous history. On the following day she was under fire, and from a letter she has in her possession it appears she behaved with marked gallantry, and by her own hand shot a rebel captain who was in the act of firing upon Lieutenant W-----. But the fear of revealing her sex continually haunted her. After the battle she was sent out with others to collect the wounded, and one of the first corpses found by her was the soldier who had discovered her sex.
Days and weeks passed on, and she became a universal favorite with the regiment, so much so that her Colonel (Stephens) frequently detailed her as regimental clerk--a position that brought her in close contact with her lover, who at this time, was major or adjutant of the regiment. A few weeks subsequently she was out on picket duty, when she received a shot in the arm that disabled her, and, notwithstanding the efforts of the surgeon, her wound continually grew worse. She was sent to the hospital at Louisville, where she has been ever since until a few weeks ago, when she was discharged by the post surgeon, as her arm was stiffened and rendered useless for life. She implored to be permitted to return to her regiment, but the surgeon was unyielding and discharged her. Annie immediately hurried towards home, and by the aid of benevolent strangers reached this city. At Cincinnati she told a benevolent lady her secret, and was supplied with female attire. She declares that she will enlist in her old regiment again if there is a recruiting officer for the twenty-third in Michigan. She still clings to the Lieutenant, and says she must be near him if he falls or is taken down sick, that where he goes she will go; and when he dies she will end her life by her own hands.

 

[raywilson]

Thanks, Thea. I know just the person who will enjoy reading these.

Ray

 

[johan_steele]

Well, done Thea. Something we keep forgetting to bring up, just how many women were directly involved in the War, often on the sharp end.

 

[thea_447]

My apologies for some paragraphs lapping over. Some of these articles were too long and I got the error message. In trying to start the next post I inadvertently put in a couple of paragraphs that are repeats. I did not mean to do that and will try to edit out my mistakes.

I too think that we sometimes overlook the efforts the women of this era took to be directly involved in the war.

But I was charmed too by the mental picture of Wild Rose Greenhow galloping around the prison grounds! Such spirit! <grin>

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[thea_447]

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, September 15, 1863,p. 2, c. 1
FEMALE SPY.--On Saturday last a female was brought to Nashville under guard from the front, charged with being a spy. An examination into the case, left the military authorities as much in the dark as before they questioned her, and she was consigned to the workhouse, to remain under the care of Mr. Dodd until further orders. We visited her yesterday, and learn from her that her full name is Serina Tabor, a native of Georgia, 27 years old, and unmarried. She has been laboring under a severe sickness for several weeks, and looks considerably emaciated; she represents that she was captured by the Federal troops on Wednesday night last, at Trenton, Ga., where she was sojourning a few days preparatory to visiting the springs for the benefit of her health. She does not pretend to be anything but "a staunch rebel," and says she thinks she "has a right to be a rebel if she chooses." When taken she was in full Confederate uniform, but she had with her female apparel, her homespun shawl representing the stars and bars of the Confederate flag in all but the colors. She has the appearance of having been an intelligent woman, but her rambling conversation, her restless manner, and the eccentricities of her dress denote an unsound mind, although occasionally she talks quite sensibly. We would judge the hospital or lunatic asylum to be the most appropriate place for her, at least at the present time. She appears to be disgusted with the obscene and blasphemous conversation of the workhouse women, and expresses a willingness to go anywhere among decent women. In course of conversation, Miss Tabor informed us that she lectured in Nashville two years ago on the great topic of the day, and that she had a copy of her lecture in her carpet sack, but "the darned Yankees took it from her!" We have not found any person who heard the lecture referred to.

DAILY INTELLIGENCER, [ATLANTA, GA], September 18, 1863, p. 1, c. 3
Charley Green.--Mrs. Irvin, or "Charley Green," the young girl who has been fighting, in nearly all of the big battles of the war, has at length, through the benevolence of a lady, resumed the dress of her sex, and hereafter will, if she is allowed, spend her time in the hospitals, nursing the soldiers.--Whatever may have been this girl's life previous to her enlistment and during her service as a soldier, she does not seem to have lost the finer points of her sex--and we are glad to be able to announce her redemption from a position that sooner or later would have demoralized her beyond all reach. Although she was in thirteen battles, she was wounded but once. She was also a prisoner at Alton, where her sex was never discovered.--Mobile Reg.



(Message edited by thea_447 on February 25, 2004)

 

[thea_447]

WEEKLY COLUMBUS [GA] ENQUIRER, March 3, 1863, p. 2, c. 3

Letters from "J. T. G."
Knoxville, Feb. 21st, 1863.
Editor Enquirer: Since the departure of the important personages that have enlivened "all" Knoxville for the past ten days, the denizens have lapsed into their usual ways. However, the attractive, "dashing" Belle Boyd, once an inmate of Fortress Monroe upon the charge of being a Confederate spy, perambulates Gay Street in all her glory. . . . J.T.G.

SOUTHERN CONFEDERACY [ATLANTA, GA], April 2, 1863, p. 2, c. 4
A Female Aid-De-Camp.--The Baltimore Clipper says Antonia J. Ford was the principal spy and guide for Capt. Mosby in his recent raid on Fairfax Court House, and aided in planning the arrest of Gen. Slaughter, Wyndham and others. She was arrested and brought to the Old Capitol Prison, on Sunday last, with $1,000 Confederate money on her person. The following is a copy of her commission:
To all whom it may concern: Know ye that, reposing special confidence in the patriotism, fidelity and ability of Antonia J. Ford, I, J. E. B. Stuart, by virtue of power vested in me as Brigadier General, Provisional Army Confederate States, hereby appoint and commission her my Honorable Aid de Camp, to rank as such from this date. She will be obeyed, respected and admired by all lovers of a noble nature.
Given under my hand and seal, Headquarters Cavalry Brigade, at Camp Beverly, 7th October, 1861, and first year of our Independence.
J. E. B. Stuart.
By the General:
L. T. Bryan, A.A.G.

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, April 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 5
A young woman has just returned to Altoona, Pa., after a service of eighteen months in the army without having her sex discovered. She took part in three battles, and was wounded twice, first about the eye and then in the arm, the latter wound compelling her to disclose her sex.

PEORIA (IL) MORNING MAIL, May 16, 1863, p. 1, c. 2
Female Soldiers.—A Pennsylvania girl, who has been serving as a soldier in the Army of the West for ten months, says that she has discovered a great many females among the soldiers, one of whom is now a Lieutenant. She has assisted in burying three female soldiers at different times, whose sex was unknown to any one but herself.

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, May 18, 1863, p. 1, c. 5

Capture of Female Rebels.

From the Baltimore American, May 6.
Jennie D. Hart is the third party, and for some time past has been acting as the orderly sergeant of company D, Jenkins' cavalry, commanded by Captain White. She provided herself with male attire, and being rather masculine in her appearance, deceived the rebel recruiting officer, and was enlisted in the service...Jennie De hart was arrested about the first of April, in Fayetteville, Virginia...

 

[thea_447]

WEEKLY COLUMBUS [GA] ENQUIRER, October 6, 1863, p. 3, c. 3

The Female Lieutenant.

The public will remember the numerous paragraphs published concerning one "Lieut. Harry Buford," nee Mrs. Williams, with a history romantic in war as that of Joan of Arc. Last summer the Lieutenant got into Castle Thunder, her sex not corresponding with the dashing uniform she wore. She was released, and went from Richmond to Chattanooga, where she joined Gen. Bragg's army, got upon the staff of Gen. A. P. Stewart, and for a time was employed in the secret service, effecting important arrests of spies, and doing some very daring things.
The other day she visited Richmond again, not as the gay Lieutenant, but in the garments more becoming her sex, and bearing the name of Jeruth DeCaulp, she having, in the interval, married an officer of the Confederate States Provisional army of that name, first obtaining a divorce from her first husband, Williams, who is in the army of General Grant.
In consideration of her services the Confederate Government has commissioned Mrs. DeCaulp with the rank of Captain, and since her arrival in Richmond, she has drawn $1,800 back pay.—She is now at the Ballard House, en route for Georgia, and the home of her new husband.
The heroine of this sketch is a native of Mississippi, and a devoted Southern woman.—Richm. Ex.

(This article is extremely long. Suffice it to say this young woman was quite the adventuress!)



(Message edited by thea_447 on February 25, 2004)

 

[thea_447]

SAVANNAH [GA] REPUBLICAN, May 23, 1863, p. 1, c. 4
Released.—We are happy to record the arrival at this place of Mrs. Mary Samuel, her two daughters and son, who have recently been released from confinement in the bastille of the North, where they were subjected to treatment of the most brutal and outrageous character.
Mrs. Samuel and her daughters were arrested on the first of February, and her son was seized by the United States authorities on the 1st of January, 1863. They were dragged from their home in Nashville, while peacefully attending to their legitimate business, and without trial and upon a mere suspicion of disloyalty to the United States government, were incarcerated at Camp Chase, Ohio, for three months. They were afterwards transferred to Columbus, and from thence to Washington, D. C. At each of these places they experienced the worst of ill usage, poor fare, miserable accommodations, deprived of all clothing excepting such apparel as they wore, insulted by insolent and depraved soldiery, and made the objects of every indignity.
While in Washington, Mrs. Samuel had a guard stationed in her chamber night and day, and they were paraded in company with others three successive days through the streets of the city to induce the belief that new lots of prisoners had at each time arrived.
The family is destitute. Every thing valuable, money, clothes, jewelry—all has been taken.
They have come to cast their destiny among us rather than dwell with a people lost to every feeling of honor and humanity.—Atlanta Confederacy.

NASHVILLE DISPATCH, June 7, 1863, p. 1, c. 6

An Incident of the War.

A letter from Lake Providence, La., gives the following account of the adventures of a woman soldier:
The 1st Kansas regiment, of which I have spoken before, is encamped near us. One of the members of that regiment, a sergeant, died in the hospital two weeks ago. After death his comrades discovered that their companion, by the side of whom they had marched and fought for almost two years, was a--woman. You may imagine their surprise at the discovery. I went to the hospital and saw the body after it was prepared for burial, and made some inquiries about her. She was of rather more than average size for a woman, with strongly marked features, so that, with the aid of man's attire, she had quite a masculine look. She enlisted in the regiment after they went to Missouri, and consequently they know nothing of her early history. She probably served under an assumed name. She was in the battle of Springfield, where General Lyon was killed, and has fought in a dozen battles and skirmishes. She always sustained an excellent reputation, both as a man and a soldier, and the men all speak of her in terms of respect and affection. She was brave as a lion in battle, and never flinched from any duty or hardships that fell to her lot. She must have been very shrewd to have lived in the regiment so long and preserved her secret so well! Poor girl! She was worthy of a better fate. Who knows what grief, trouble, or persecution induced her to embrace such a life!

 

[felinelady]

These are great! Thanks for sharing them Thea.

 

[CivilWarTalk]

Thea, can we use these in the archive? They'd go great with our Women and the Civil War section...

http://civilwartalk.com/cwt_alt/resources/women/index.htm

 

[thea_447]

Sure, Mike, I didn't even know about that section or I would have posted there. I have some stuff on Belle Boyd that I would like to add as soon as I finish this rather heated discussion I'm having with my service provider and Symantec! Apparently neither one of them wants to claim me. Imagine that! <grin>
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[thea_447]

Since I don't know how to add this to the site you directed me to,I will leave it to you to place it under Belle Boyd, if you think it worthy.
This is at the beginning of her life.

Notes from Belle Boyd on her first encounter with Federal troops.
(General Jackson's brigade of 5000 has retreated and the insurgence of 25,000 Federal troops begins this sally from young Belle Boyd. Belle's father was a soldier in the Stonewall Brigade.)

"Our insouciance was not of long duration. The advance of a Federal army was reported; and General Jackson, with a force amounting to 5000 men, marched out to reconnoitre, and, if possible, to check their aggressive movement. Our people encamped at "Falling Waters," a romantic spot, eight miles from Martinsburg and four from Williamsport; for at this point of the river, it was rumoured, the Yankees had resolved to force a passage.
It was early in the morning of the 3rd July that we "gude folks" of dear Martinsburg were startled by the roar of artillery and the rattle of musketry; and the intelligence was presently circulated that the Yankees were advancing upon us in force, under the command of Generals Patterson and Cadwallader. It turned out, however, that, at the moment of which I speak, their advanced guard only was in motion; but the skirmish between our people and the enemy was sustained during nearly five hours. On both sides some fell, and, besides the casualties of the Federals in killed and wounded, we took about fifty of them prisoners.

About ten o'clock General Jackson's army, in admirable array, marched through Martinsburg. They were in full retreat, their object being to effect a junction with the main body, under General J. E. Johnston, who had evacuated Harper's Ferry, and was falling back, by way of Charlestown, upon Winchester.

Jackson's retreat was covered by a few horsemen under the gallant Colonel Ashby; and scarcely were these latter disengaged from the streets of the town, when the shrill notes of the fife and the roll of the drum announced the approach of a Federal army, which proved to be 25,000 strong.

It was to us a sad, but an imposing sight. On they came (their colours streaming to the breeze, their bayonets glittering in the sunlight) with all the "pomp and circumstance of glorious war." We could see from afar the dancing plumes of the cavalry -

"the glittering files,
O'er whose gay trappings stern Bellona smiles;"

we could before long hear the rumbling of the gun-carriages, and, worse than this, the hellish shouts with which the infuriated and undisciplined soldiers poured into the town.


At the time of their entry I was in the hospital, with my negro maid and some ladies of my acquaintance, in attendance upon two of our Southern soldiers, who had been stricken down with fever and were lying side by side. These were the sole tenants of the hospital: all the others had been borne off by the retreating army.

I was standing close by the side of one of these poor men, who was just then ranting in a violent fit of delirium, when I was startled by the sound of heavy footsteps behind me; and, turning round, I confronted a captain of Federal infantry, accompanied by two private soldiers. He held in his hand a Federal flag, which he proceeded to wave over the bed of the sick men, at the same time calling them " - rebels."

I immediately said, with all the scorn I could convey into my looks, "Sir, these men are as helpless as babies, and have, as you may see, no power to reply to your insults."

"And pray," said he, "who may you be, miss?"

I did not deign to reply; but my negro maid answered him, "A rebel lady."

Hereupon he turned upon his heel and retired, with the courteous remark that "I was a - independent one, at all events."

I hope my readers will pardon my quoting his exact words: without such strict accuracy I should fail to do justice to his gallantry.

Notwithstanding this interruption to our "woman's mission," the ladies to whom I have before alluded and myself were not discouraged; and before long we contrived to get our patients moved to more comfortable quarters. They were taken away on litters; and, while they were in this defenseless condition, a condition which would have awakened the sympathy and secured the protection of a brave enemy, the Federal soldiers crowded round and threatened to bayonet them.

Their gesticulations and language grew so violent, their countenances, inflamed by drink and hatred, were so frightful, that I nerved myself to seek out an officer and appeal to his sense of military honour, even if the voice of mercy were silent in his breast. Let me do him the justice to say, he restrained his turbulent men from further molestation, and I had the unspeakable satisfaction of conveying my sick men to a place of safety. The satisfaction was immeasurable; for I never for one moment forgot that insults such as I had just seen offered to defenceless men might at any moment be heaped upon my own father."

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