The Nurse, The Soldier, The Spy: Three Women of the American Civil War and the Primary Sources They Left Behind

Abstract

A portrait shows a sturdy-framed soldier with a dark Union jacket and turned-out toes in large boots holding a gun. Completing the uniform are baggy pants indicating shortness and lack of proper tailoring. A flat-topped hat typical of a Civil War soldier rests over slightly protruding ears. Small eyes below the hat's brim are light, flanking a distinctive Roman nose. The mouth is down-turned, crooked, and hugged by the shading of handsome cheek bones. A glance at this photo would not reveal anything out of the ordinary. But with further examination this soldier, Private Lyons Wakeman, in personal letters to family members, is revealed to be a woman.