Sarah Emma Edmonds

Sarah Emma Edmonds
Edmonds as Franklin Thompson
Nickname(s)	"Franklin Thompson"
Born	December 1841 Moncton, Colony of New Brunswick, British Canada
Died	September 5, 1898 (age 56) La Porte, Texas, U.S.
Buried at	Glenwood Cemetery Houston, Texas, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America Union
Service/branch	Union Army
Years of service	1861-1863
Rank	Private
Unit	2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry
Battles/wars	American Civil War

United States of America

Sarah Emma Edmonds (December 1841 – September 5, 1898), was a Canadian-born woman who is known for serving as a man with the Union Army during the American Civil War. A purported master of disguise, Edmonds exploits were described in the bestselling Nurse, Soldier, and Spy. In 1992, she was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.

Born in 1841 in New Brunswick, Canada, Edmonds grew up with her sisters on their family's farm. Edmonds fled home at age fifteen, however, to escape an early marriage. Aided by her mother, who herself married young, Edmonds escaped the marriage and ultimately adopted the guise of Franklin Thompson to travel easier. A male disguise allowed Edmonds to eat, travel, and work independently. Crossing into the United States of America, Edmonds worked for a successful Bible bookseller and publisher in Hartford, Connecticut.

Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmondson's interest in adventure was sparked by a book she read in her youth by Maturin Murray Ballou called Fanny Campbell, the Female Pirate Captain', telling the story of Fanny Campbell and her adventures on a pirate ship during the American Revolution while dressed as a man. Fanny remained dressed as a man in order to pursue other adventures, to which Edmonds attributes her desire to cross dress. During the Civil War, on May 25, 1861, she enlisted in Company F of the 2nd Michigan Infantry, also known as the Flint Union Greys. On her second try, she disguised herself as a man named "Franklin Flint Thompson," the middle name possibly after the city she volunteered in, Flint, Michigan. She felt that it was her duty to serve her country and was truly patriotic towards her new country. 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 General McClellan, including the First and Second Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, the Peninsula Campaign, Vicksburg, Fredericksburg, and others. However, some historians today say she could not have been at all these different places at the same time.