Sarah Emma Edmonds, born in December 1841, became a nurse, a soldier, and a spy during the Civil War.
Because her family lived on a farm, Sarah learned to dress like a boy and do work normally only done by men. The Edmonds family was a happy one, but because Elizabeth Leeper Edmonds, Sarah’s mother, had given birth to 5 girls and the only boy had epilepsy, Mr. Edmondson was generally upset with her because he wanted more men doing the farm work. At a young age, Sarah decided she never wanted to marry because she would not like any man treating her unfairly, like the way her father treated her mother.
When Sarah was 15, an older farmer asked her father if he could marry her. Her father did not just agree to their marriage, he insisted that it happen. He started making plans right away, and asked his wife to help. However, Elizabeth did not want Sarah to marry this farmer, and she knew Sarah did not want the wedding to happen either. So, instead of making plans for the wedding, Elizabeth Edmonson began making plans for her daughter’s escape. She arranged for a friend of hers who was visiting their town to take Sarah with her when she left.
When Sarah left home, she decided to change her last name from Edmondson to Edmonds; making it harder for her father to find her if he tried. Miss Annie Moffitt, the woman who had helped her escape, let Sarah work at her hat shop for 2 years. After a couple years living with Miss Annie Moffitt’s, Sarah received word that her father had pinpointed her location. Knowing that her father would make her marry the farmer, Sarah left Miss Moffitt’s hat store to hide a new place and disguised herself as a man, giving herself the name Franklin Flint Thompson. For several years she worked as a Bible salesman until a day when she lost all her money and had only one Bible left. She sold the Bible and used the money to cross the border from Canada into North America.
In 1861, when the Civil War began, Sarah, now Frank Thompson, saw a chance to give back to the country that had given her a new start. She began helping people in the Civil War as a Federal field nurse, later trying to become a soldier. Although there was no physical exam, she was rejected the first time she applied because she did not fit the standard height. At 5 ft. 6 in., she was 2 inches below the minimum height. Later, when the army was in desperate need of soldiers, Sarah was accepted as a 3-year recruit, along with many other boys who had not qualified before. When she was a soldier, many other troopers teased her about her small feet and compared her to a woman, but no one saw through her disguise. Sarah worked as a nurse on the battlefield but she did not get any fighting experiences until the Battle of Bull Run.
Later, Colonel Orlando M. Poe gave Sarah, or Frank, as everyone knew her, the job of being the regiment’s mail carrier. One night, after returning to camp from hunting for fresh food for a patient, Sarah learned that a close friend of hers had just been buried after having been shot. Sarah vowed to get revenge for his death. This man may have the only person who knew that Sarah was just a woman in men’s clothes.
In 1862, word got out that one of the best Federal spies had been discovered and killed. A trooper asked Sarah, or Frank, if he could recommend her to be the replacement. Sarah agreed and got the job. For her first mission, Sarah started by disguising herself as a slave who worked on a plantation on the enemy grounds. She worked with other slaves for a day and learned the weapons’ placements on the enemy grounds. On another mission, Sarah, or Frank, disguised herself as an Irish peddler by the name of Bridget O’Shea.
On April 19, 1863 Sarah Edmonds disappeared from the army because she had caught malaria and was too weak to continue working. When she recovered, she returned to working as a female nurse.
During the Civil War, Sarah Emma Edmonds helped many people by gathering information about the Southern states plans for war and by helping men hurt on the battlefield.
Sarah died on September 5, 1898.
Because her family lived on a farm, Sarah learned to dress like a boy and do work normally only done by men. The Edmonds family was a happy one, but because Elizabeth Leeper Edmonds, Sarah’s mother, had given birth to 5 girls and the only boy had epilepsy, Mr. Edmondson was generally upset with her because he wanted more men doing the farm work. At a young age, Sarah decided she never wanted to marry because she would not like any man treating her unfairly, like the way her father treated her mother.
When Sarah was 15, an older farmer asked her father if he could marry her. Her father did not just agree to their marriage, he insisted that it happen. He started making plans right away, and asked his wife to help. However, Elizabeth did not want Sarah to marry this farmer, and she knew Sarah did not want the wedding to happen either. So, instead of making plans for the wedding, Elizabeth Edmonson began making plans for her daughter’s escape. She arranged for a friend of hers who was visiting their town to take Sarah with her when she left.
When Sarah left home, she decided to change her last name from Edmondson to Edmonds; making it harder for her father to find her if he tried. Miss Annie Moffitt, the woman who had helped her escape, let Sarah work at her hat shop for 2 years. After a couple years living with Miss Annie Moffitt’s, Sarah received word that her father had pinpointed her location. Knowing that her father would make her marry the farmer, Sarah left Miss Moffitt’s hat store to hide a new place and disguised herself as a man, giving herself the name Franklin Flint Thompson. For several years she worked as a Bible salesman until a day when she lost all her money and had only one Bible left. She sold the Bible and used the money to cross the border from Canada into North America.
In 1861, when the Civil War began, Sarah, now Frank Thompson, saw a chance to give back to the country that had given her a new start. She began helping people in the Civil War as a Federal field nurse, later trying to become a soldier. Although there was no physical exam, she was rejected the first time she applied because she did not fit the standard height. At 5 ft. 6 in., she was 2 inches below the minimum height. Later, when the army was in desperate need of soldiers, Sarah was accepted as a 3-year recruit, along with many other boys who had not qualified before. When she was a soldier, many other troopers teased her about her small feet and compared her to a woman, but no one saw through her disguise. Sarah worked as a nurse on the battlefield but she did not get any fighting experiences until the Battle of Bull Run.
Later, Colonel Orlando M. Poe gave Sarah, or Frank, as everyone knew her, the job of being the regiment’s mail carrier. One night, after returning to camp from hunting for fresh food for a patient, Sarah learned that a close friend of hers had just been buried after having been shot. Sarah vowed to get revenge for his death. This man may have the only person who knew that Sarah was just a woman in men’s clothes.
In 1862, word got out that one of the best Federal spies had been discovered and killed. A trooper asked Sarah, or Frank, if he could recommend her to be the replacement. Sarah agreed and got the job. For her first mission, Sarah started by disguising herself as a slave who worked on a plantation on the enemy grounds. She worked with other slaves for a day and learned the weapons’ placements on the enemy grounds. On another mission, Sarah, or Frank, disguised herself as an Irish peddler by the name of Bridget O’Shea.
On April 19, 1863 Sarah Edmonds disappeared from the army because she had caught malaria and was too weak to continue working. When she recovered, she returned to working as a female nurse.
During the Civil War, Sarah Emma Edmonds helped many people by gathering information about the Southern states plans for war and by helping men hurt on the battlefield.
Sarah died on September 5, 1898.
Sarah Edmonds was born in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Sarah died at her home in La Porte, Texas.