Nellie Graves was a female soldier who served, in secret, in the Union Army during the American Civil War alongside her close friend Fanny Wilson. Both saw action at the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville. Their genders were shortly discovered while they were being treated for an illness. Both were discharged and went their separate ways for the rest of the war. Wilson chose to reenlist in disguise again. There is some speculation as to whether Graves did the same, but if she had reenlisted, she was not discovered for a second time.
Nellie Graves traveled with her friend, Fanny Wilson, to Lafayette, Indiana, in 1860 to visit Wilson's distant family members. During their stay, both women met and fell in love with two men, and exchanged letters with them for a year when the girls when back to New York. But as Civil War started brewing in 1861, Graves and Wilson received news from their lovers that stated their intention to enlist in the Union Army in the 24th New Jersey Infantry. [1] In response, both women plotted to enlist in the same regiment as their loved ones but in different companies to avoid being caught.
Graves and Wilson were quite content with Army life and training as long as they were close to their lovers. Their first assignment was to be part of the defense force in Washington D.C. The Regiment was then called into action at Fredericksburg from December 11 to 13 1862. The combat experience instilled new purpose in the women, and they became motivated to perform well for the benefit of the Union. [2]
On May 1 to 4 of 1863, their regiment took part in the Battle of Chancellorsville. Wilson's lover became mortally wounded and died while under her care. Shortly afterward, both women came down with an unknown illness and were sent to recuperate in Cairo, Illinois. It was in the army hospital there that they were discovered and discharged from the army. [3] [4] The two friends parted ways, and while Wilson reenlisted, it is unknown if Graves done the same.
Sarah Emma Edmonds was a British North America-born woman who claimed to have served as a man with the Union Army as a nurse and spy during the American Civil War. Although recognized for her service by the United States government, some historians dispute the validity of her claims as some of the details are demonstrably false, contradictory, or uncorroborated.
The Second Battle of Fredericksburg, also known as the Second Battle of Marye's Heights, took place on May 3, 1863, in Fredericksburg, Virginia, as part of the Chancellorsville Campaign of the American Civil War.
The 8th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It served in the Eastern Theater in a number of campaigns and battles, but perhaps is most noted for its actions in helping repulse Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg.
Frances Louisa Clayton, also recorded as Frances Clalin, was an American woman who purportedly disguised herself as a man to fight for the Union Army in the American Civil War, though many historians now believe her story was likely fabricated. Under the alias Jack Williams, she claimed to have enlisted in a Missouri regiment along with her husband, and fought in several battles. She claimed that she left the army soon after her husband died at Stones River.
Elizabeth Compton was a woman soldier fighting for the Union in the American Civil War. She enlisted at the age of 14, and served in seven different regiments until the conclusion of the war, thus holding the record for reenlisting in the most regiments. Compton fought at Mill Springs, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Gettysburg until the conclusion of the Civil War before moving to Ontario, Canada.
The 6th Vermont Infantry Regiment was a three years' infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Organized at Montpelier and mustered in October 15, it served in the Army of the Potomac (AoP). It departed Vermont for Washington, DC, October 19, 1861. It served in the Eastern Theater, predominantly in the VI Corps, AoP, from October 1861 to June 1865. It was a part of the Vermont Brigade.
The 22nd Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment in the Union army during the American Civil War. The 22nd Massachusetts was organized by Senator Henry Wilson and was therefore known as "Henry Wilson's Regiment." It was formed in Boston, Massachusetts, and established on September 28, 1861, for a term of three years.
The 20th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry, also known as the "Harvard Regiment", was a regiment of infantry in the American Civil War. The regiment was so nicknamed because the officers of the 20th were young Harvard graduates. In addition, some, but not all, of the private soldiers had attended Harvard. The 20th was organized at Camp Meigs in Readville, August 29 to September 4, 1861. After training they left Massachusetts for Washington, D. C., September 4. They would fight until the war's conclusion being mustered out on July 16 and discharged July 28, 1865. Fogel et al's Union Army Data urban sample suggests perhaps as many as two-thirds of the regiment's enlisted were immigrants with Irish immigrants making up half of the regiment's total.
Erastus Bernard Tyler was an American businessman, merchant, and soldier. He was a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War and fought in many of the early battles in the Eastern Theater before being assigned command of the defenses of Baltimore, Maryland. He briefly commanded the VIII Corps.
Lorinda Anna Blair Etheridge was a Union nurse and vivandière who served during the American Civil War. She was one of only two women to receive the Kearny Cross. She was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 2010.
Jacob Gellert Frick Sr. was a United States infantry officer who fought with several Union Army regiments during the American Civil War, including as lieutenant colonel of the 96th Pennsylvania Infantry and as colonel of the 129th Pennsylvania Infantry. He received his nation's highest award for valor, the U.S. Medal of Honor, for his gallantry during the battles of Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, Virginia. Grabbing the American flag from his regiment's color-bearer at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862, he inspired his men to move forward "through a terrible fire of cannon and musketry"; at Chancellorsville, he personally engaged in hand-to-hand combat on May 3, 1863, to retrieve his regiment's flag which had been captured by the enemy. He was 67 years old when his Medal of Honor was conferred on June 7, 1892.
The 66th Ohio Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was noted for its holding the high ground at the center of the line at Antietam as part of Tyndale's 1st Brigade, Greene's 2nd Division of Mansfield's XII Corps.
The 125th Pennsylvania Infantry volunteered during the American Civil War and served a 9-month term from August 1862 to May 1863. It selected the motto In God We Trust. The Regiment fought at the Battle of Antietam under the leadership of Colonel Jacob C. Higgins less than six weeks after being recruited in Blair, Cambria and Huntingdon Counties. The Regiment was noted for its charge through the East Woods, along the Great Cornfield, down Smoketown Road, past the Dunker Church, and into the West Woods. While in formation beyond the Dunker Church in an 'overextended' position, the Regiment repulsed four counterattacks at a price of 229 casualties within 20 minutes. A fifth, heavily reinforced Confederate counterattack forced a retreat with a desperate struggle to retain the Regimental colors. Two weeks before the end of their enlistment, the 125th Pennsylvania also occupied the perimeter of Chancellorsville, Virginia, during the Battle of Chancellorsville.
The 64th New York Infantry Regiment, the "First Cattaraugus Regiment", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 61st New York Infantry Regiment, also known as the "Astor Regiment", was an infantry regiment of the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Fanny (Fannie) Wilson, disguised as a man, enlisted as a soldier in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War with her close friend Nellie Graves. At the time, women were not allowed to serve in the Union Army so Wilson and Graves had to masquerade as men.
The 66th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
The 8th Pennsylvania Cavalry was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Marie Brose Tepe Leonard, known as "French Mary," was a vivandière of Franco-Turkish descent who fought for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Tepe served with the 27th and 114th Pennsylvania Infantry Regiments.