Cross-dressing is the act of wearing clothes traditionally or stereotypically associated with a different gender. From as early as pre-modern history, cross-dressing has been practiced in order to disguise, comfort, entertain, and express oneself.
Sarah Emma Edmonds was a Canadian-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.
Loreta Janeta , was an American woman who wrote that she had masqueraded as a male Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. The book she wrote about her experiences says that after her soldier husband's accidental death, she enlisted in the Confederate States Army in 1861. She then fought at Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, and Fort Donelson, but was discharged when her sex was discovered while in New Orleans. Undeterred, she reenlisted and fought at Shiloh, until unmasked once more. She then became a Confederate spy, working in both male and female guises, and as a double agent also reporting to the U.S. Secret Service. She remarried three more times, being widowed in each instance. According to William C. Davis, she died in January 1923 under the name Loretta J. Beard after many years away from the public eye in a public psychiatric facility, St. Elizabeths Hospital.
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.
Women have played a leading role in active warfare. The following is a list of prominent women in war and their exploits from about 1500 up to about 1699.
Women have contributed to military activities including as combatants. The following list describes women known to have participated in military actions in the 18th century. For women in warfare in the United States at this time, please see Timeline of women in war in the United States, Pre-1945.
The following is a list of women in war and their exploits from about 1800 up to about 1899.
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman was an American female soldier who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War under the male name of Lyons Wakeman. Wakeman served with Company H, 153rd New York Volunteer Infantry. Her letters written during her service remained unread for nearly a century because they were stored in the attic of her relatives.
During the American Civil War, sexual behavior, gender roles, and attitudes were affected by the conflict, especially by the absence of menfolk at home and the emergence of new roles for women such as nursing. The advent of photography and easier media distribution, for example, allowed for greater access to sexual material for the common soldier.
Cross-dressing as a literary motif is well attested in older literature but is becoming increasingly popular in modern literature as well. It is often associated with character nonconformity and sexuality rather than gender identity.
This article details the history of cross-dressing, the act of wearing the clothes of the sex or gender one does not identify with.
The Female Marine, or The Adventures of Lucy Brewer, was first published in 1815 as a series of pamphlets sold in Boston. The series is the supposedly autobiographical account of Lucy Brewer, although controversy has surrounded the true authorship of the story as some believe it was in fact written by Nathaniel Hill Wright.
This is a timeline of women in warfare in the United States before 1900.This list includes women who served in the United States Armed Forces in various roles. It also includes women who have been Warriors and fighters in other types of conflicts that have taken place in the United States. This list should also encompass women who served in support roles during military and other conflicts in the United States before the twentieth century.
This is a timeline of women in warfare in the United States up until the end of World War II. It encompasses the colonial era and indigenous peoples, as well as the entire geographical modern United States, even though some of the areas mentioned were not incorporated into the United States during the time periods that they were mentioned.
Sophronia Smith Hunt was an American woman who disguised herself as a man and secretly served as a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Her first soldier husband died after he was wounded at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry. They served in the 29th Iowa Infantry Regiment.
This is a list of works on the subject of wartime cross-dressing.
Bibliography of works on the United States military and LGBT+ topics is a list of non-fiction literary works on the subject of the United States Armed Forces and LGBT+ subjects. LGBT+ includes any types of people which may be considered "Queer"; in other words, homosexual people, bisexual people, transgender people, intersex people, androgynous people, cross-dressers, questioning people and others.
