Forbidden, Hidden, and Forgotten: Women Soldiers of the Civil War
Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of women disguised themselves as men and served in the Civil War. I present research, both previously published along with new discoveries, to document the lives and trials of these extraordinary women.
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Friday, February 16, 2024
Review of "Guts for Glory: The Story of Civil War Soldier Rosetta Wakeman"
There are a few books about women soldiers geared towards young readers. Courageous Women of the Civil War by Melinda Cordell comes to mind, as does I'll Pass for Your Comrade by Anita Silvey. Both books are suitable for youngsters around ten to twelve years old, and I thought both were well done and include information that adults would find interesting and useful.
Tuesday, January 16, 2024
Finding Mary Dennis
Mary Dennis - the tall, saucy lieutenant of Company B, 1st Minnesota Infantry. After her discovery in 1861, newspapers carried her brief entrance into history all over the country, like this one.
Monday, July 31, 2023
Recent Discovery of Possible Iron Age Woman Warrior in Bryher Grave
In a previous post, I discussed the discovery that the remains of a warrior buried in Birka, Sweden actually belonged to a woman. The Viking grave dated back to the 10th century and was originally excavated in 1878. Scientists believed the individual was a male due to the array of weapons included in the grave.....at least until 2017 when researchers reanalyzed the remains and determined that the individual was actually a woman.
Tuesday, May 30, 2023
A Woman Soldier Killed at the Battle of Big Black River Bridge - Video
The 160th anniversary of the Battle of Big Black River slipped past me! It was on May 17th. Here is a video I did last year about a woman killed there. She was the subject of a poem written by an Iowa soldier who was moved to do so after learning about the incident.
Wednesday, May 17, 2023
Elizabeth Quinn ("Frances Hook") and Ella Reno: Myths, Misconceptions, and Mistakes
I felt I needed to make this video sorting out all the garbled mess surrounding the accounts of Elizabeth Quinn, a.k.a. "Frances Hook," and Ella Reno. It ended up being longer than I originally planned, and even then I still didn't discuss all of the discrepancies in their stories.
My blog posts I referenced in the video:
Finding Frances: My Quest to Discover the True Frances Hook
A Monument to a Civil War Woman Soldier? .
I created a couple of documents which I hope will provide a helpful, organized summary of the information I discussed in the video.
Comparison between Quinn and Reno by topic:
Timeline:
Monday, March 20, 2023
Fearless & Proud Podcast
The first two episodes of the Fearless & Proud podcast are now available. They are arranged topically with insights shared by multiple historians, including myself. Check back as a new episode will be added each week.
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Fearless & Proud Podcast
Last month, I was approached by Fox Business News (no political comments please) about doing a podcast with Gerri Willis and John Toldi about women soldiers of the Civil War. I was honored to do so! So check it out wherever you get podcasts. The trailer is live and then beginning Monday, they will release one episode a week.
Friday, March 17, 2023
Friday, December 30, 2022
Does This Photograph Show a Woman Soldier?
Someone shared this interesting video with me showing a photograph of Confederates captured around Fairfax Courhouse, Virginia in June 1863. The gentleman in the video believes that one of the prisoners is a woman. I'm assuming the reason is because of the seemingly bulging chest.
What do you think?
Lots of other interesting information in this video beyond just the possible woman soldier part.