Sarah Rosetta Wakeman

Wakeman disguised herself as a man in order to fight for the Union in the Civil War. The letters she wrote home were preserved by her family, but were not made public for nearly a century because they were stored in the attic of one of her relatives.

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, most often referred to as Rosetta, was born on January 16, 1843, in Afton, New York, to Harvey Anable and Emily Wakeman. She worked hard on her father's dairy farm to help support her family, and later worked as a domestic. Her father served as town constable, but was deeply in debt.

At the age of 19, Rosetta left home and traveled to the nearest large city, Binghamton, New York, looking for work. She soon realized that she could make more money by disguising herself as a man. She was hired as a boatman on a coal barge, and sent most of her earnings back to her family.

On her first trip up the river, Rosetta met several soldiers from the 153rd New York Regiment of Volunteers, who told her they had received a $152 signing bonus and were earning $13 a month in pay. Army recruiters assumed she was a male and asked her to join.

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Loreta Janeta Velazquez

Female Soldier Disguised as a Man

Loreta Janeta Velazquez was born into an aristocratic Cuban family in Havana in 1842. He father was a Spanish government official who owned plantations in Mexico and Cuba. As a young girl, Loreta developed an admiration for Joan of Arc, and expressed a desire to emulate her deeds and to make a name for herself as a woman of courage who would fight for a great cause.

In her early teens, Loreta was sent to New Orleans, where she attended Catholic schools and was educated in English, Spanish, and French. She met a dashing young officer in the United States Army named William. Since her family disapproved of the relationship, she eloped with him in 1856, and they spent the next few years at different army posts. Four years later in 1860 they were in St. Louis mourning the death of their three children. Loreta was 18.

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Jane Short

Female Soldier in the Union Army

Despite being injured at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862, Jane Short was not discovered as a woman until she became ill a few months later. After her discharge, she reenlisted and served until August 1864.

Image: Battle of Shiloh by Thure de Thulstrup

Many women who disguised themselves as men and enlisted during the Civil War did so to follow a loved one into battle. Others, like Jane Short, alias Charley Davis, were simply looking for adventure. Jane, who enlisted in a Missouri Union infantry regiment in 1861, later explained she was "pining for the excitement of glorious war."

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