Sarah Emma Edmonds (December 1841 – September 5, 1898), was an Canadian-born woman who is known for serving with the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Edmonds was born in New Brunswick, Canada but left home after her mother and her verbally and physically abusive father attempted to force her to marry a man she did not love. She worked for a time in New Brunswick and New England selling Bibles and other odds and ends, but still afraid of ...
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Sarah Emma Edmonds (December 1841 – September 5, 1898), was an Canadian-born woman who is known for serving with the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Edmonds was born in New Brunswick, Canada but left home after her mother and her verbally and physically abusive father attempted to force her to marry a man she did not love. She worked for a time in New Brunswick and New England selling Bibles and other odds and ends, but still afraid of being found by her father, she fled to the United States in 1856 where she settled in Flint, Michigan.
During the Civil War, she enlisted in the 2nd Michigan Infantry on her first try, disguising herself as a man named "Franklin Flint Thompson." Extensive physical examinations were not required for enlistment at the time, and she was not discovered. She at first served as a male field nurse, participating in several campaigns under McClellan, including the First Battle of Bull Run, Antetim, the Pensilur Campaign, Vicksburg, and others.
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