Sarah Emma Edmonds
Sarah Emma Edmonds (1841–1898)
Born in Canada, Edmonds originally came to the United States to escape an abusive father and an arranged marriage. To travel and find better employment opportunities, she disguised herself as a man named Franklin Thompson.
At the beginning of the American Civil War in 1861, Edmonds was mustered into the 2nd Michigan Infantry as a 3-year recruit. She served as a mail carrier, orderly, and spy until she suffered serious injuries and contracted malaria.
Unable to obtain a furlough, Edmonds (still disguised as a man) was forced to desert. She returned to serve the Union in 1863 as a nurse under her own name. After the siege of Yorktown, Edmonds was asked to conduct espionage missions.
Edmonds's bestselling memoir, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, details her exploits behind enemy lines throughout the war, disguised variously as a male “contraband” and an Irish peddler.
This page features images and text from her memoir: Edmonds, S. Emma E. Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. Hartford, Connecticut: W. S. Williams & Co., 1865. SPC. 973.78 E24N1865