International Womens Day Tribute Three

As the more enlightened of you might know the 8^th of March is International Women’s days. In honour of this, I will be writing a small article about 7 women whom I believe should be celebrated more for their achievements, and then posting one article each day in the week proceeding the 8^th of March. Now some of you might know a lot more about the subjects then I do, which is all well and good, remember these are women I believe should be more celebrated because I haven’t heard about them a lot. As the articles will be brief I ask you to look up more on these extraordinary women yourself.

Name: Sarah Emma Edmonds

Born: December 1841

Died: 5 September 1898

From: Canada

Should be known more for: Serving in the Union army and Spying

Sarah Emma Edmonds grew up reading the novel ‘Fanny Campbell, the female pirate captain’ by Maturin Murray Ballou. Where the eponymous heroine dresses up as a man and has many adventures. This must have had a profound effect on the young Edmonds. At the age of 16 escaping her abusive father and an unwanted arranged marriage she immigrated to the United States, where she disguised herself as a man called Franklin Flint Thomas and found work as a travelling bible salesman.

Then the American Civil War broke out and Edmonds chance to shine came. She enlisted into the Union army, under her alias of Franklin Thomas. Originally working as a male nurse Edmonds or Franklin took part in many battles in her capacity as a nurse. However it was her later career as a spy that would allow her to fully fulfil her inner adventuress. Infiltrating confederate camps in a wide range of disguises, such as a black man named Cuff, an Irish peddler woman named Bridget O’Shea, and a Black Laundress who bought back a packet of official papers she found in a confederate officers jacket and was congratulated for her fine work.

Edmonds career as a soldier spy came to an abrupt end when she contracted malaria and had to leave without permission to get treatment. She did not want to be treated by the army doctor out of fear of being found out as a woman, and an official request to leave had been denied. Upon return after her recovery she found out that her alias Franklin Thomas had been listed as a deserter, and that she would face harsh punishment if she came back. Instead she returned to working with the Union army as a female nurse until the end of the war. After the war she published her memoirs and was later granted an army pension for her service.