This exciting new volume profiles several substantiated cases of female soldiers during the American Civil War, including Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (aka Private Lyons Wakeman, Union); Sarah Emma Edmonds (aka Private Frank Thompson, Union); Loreta Janeta Velazquez (aka Lieutenant Harry T. Buford, Confederate); and Jennie Hodgers (aka Private Albert D. J. Cashier, Union). Also featured are those women who may not have posed as male soldiers but who nonetheless pushed gender boundaries to act boldly in related military capacities, as spies, nurses, and vivandieres ("daughters of the regiment") who bore the flag in battle, rallied troops, and cared for the wounded.Examining the Civil War through the lens of these women soldiers who fought in the conflict offers valuable insight on existing historical work. This volume will acquaint readers with these women, offering in-depth biographies and behind-the-scenes information. While drawing from recent academic work, Women Soldiers of the Civl War is a lively text geared toward the general-audience reader.

Acknowledgments, Introduction, (1) Sarah Emma Edmonds, aka Private Frank Thompson, Union (2) Loreta Janeta Velazquez, aka Lieutentant Harry T. Buford, Confederate (3) Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, aka Private Lyons Wakeman, Union (4) Jenni Hodgers, aka Private Albert D. J. Cashier, Union (5) Frances Clayton, Florena Budwin, Mary Ann Clark, Mary Pitman, and Other Women Soldiers (6) "Daughters of the Regiment": The Role of Vivandieres in the War: Kady Brownell, Union; Annie Etheridge, Union; and Others (7) Spies: Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Belle Boyd, Pauline Cushman, Elizabeth Van Lew, and Harriet Tubman (8) Wartime Nurses: Clara Barton, Cornelia Hancock, Mary Livermore, Mary Anne Bickerdyke, Belle Reynolds, Sally Tompkins, and Kate Cummin (9) Bibliography (10) Index