Nurse and Spy

[Dover]

Saw this cool book for sale on ebay. Thought I'd share:

http://cgi.ebay.com/1865-NURSE-SPY-IN-THE-UNION-ARMY-Leather-1ST-ED_W0QQitemZ160081551588QQihZ006QQcategoryZ29223QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

1865 - NURSE & SPY IN THE UNION ARMY

The True Story of a Woman, Disguised as a Man,
Who Served in Combat During the Civil War,
And Who Also Served as a Nurse and Spy.



About the author: Sarah Emma Edmonds was a Canadian who fought for the Union in the Civil War. She fled Canada to escape an arranged marriage and took up a new identity in the United States as a man, Frank Thompson. She sold bibles door-to-door. Heeding President Lincoln's call to arms, she joined a Michigan Infantry Regiment and fought well at Manassas and Bull Run.

Because of her diminutive size, she was given duties as a nurse and as a spy. As a woman pretending to be a man, she disguised herself as a woman to go behind Confederate lines. Other times she would disguise herself as a black man.

Edmonds deserted after catching a fever. She was afraid that her sex would be revealed, bringing shame upon her and her regiment. But she returned under her given name and served as a civilian nurse in aid to Federal troops.

She later married and had three children. And, her desertion was expunged from the records in recognition of her exemplary service.