history research paper

                   

The Life of Sarah Emma Edmonds, also known as Franklin Thompson

Angela Smith

Michigan History

Smith 2

Important men are always mentioned in the history books. Not too many women

are even mentioned by name in a history book. However, the name Sarah Emma

Edmonds is definitely a name worth mentioning. Canadian born, Sarah decides to enlist

into the Civil War because she feels like she needs to be a part of it somehow. In order

to enlist, she has to disguise herself as a man. Sarah’s early beginnings and childhood

has helped make an impact on her family, by being the first known woman to fight in a

war, and changing the role of women.

Sarah Emma Edmonds, born as Emma Edmondson, was born in New

Brunswick, Canada. She was the sixth and last-born child of her parents. Emma’s

mother, Betsy, was in her thirties and her body could not handle childbirth anymore. Her

father, Isaac Edmondson, was more than unhappy that his last child was a girl. Isaac

had a family farm, so he needed workers to help run it. The Edmondsons were a very

poor family, so they did not have a lot of money to hire workers for the farm. Thus, Isaac

wanted offspring so he would have free labor for the farm. This was a problem for Isaac

because out of the six children, he only had one son. The one son he did have was

really of no help for Isaac either. Emma’s brother was an epileptic, so Isaac did not even

try to put Thomas, her brother, to work. This caused Isaac to go into one of his common

rages.1

Isaac’s anger greatly influenced Emma’s view of men and, because of it, made

an impact on her family. Gansler mentions that her father’s rages helped her become

the woman she was. Emma was the one who always stood in front of her mother, trying

to block the blows from her father. Emma also hated how everyone would pick on her

                                                                                                                1  Laura Leedy Gansler, The Mysterious Private Thompson: The Double Life of Sarah Emma

Edmonds, Civil War Soldier (New York: Free Press, 2005), 1-2.

Smith 3

brother, so she would usually beat up his bullies. Through both of these cases, Emma

came to resent and distrust males.

Emma also began to have a very independent spirit. She loved to do anything

that involved the outdoors. This was not common for most girls in the 1800s. Girls would

learn how to sew and cook, how to be a housewife someday. However, by the age of

10, she rode a horse better than most boys. She also was a very good hunter and

fisherman. When the barn roof needed to be fixed, Emma was the one to do it. She was

not going to let anyone tell her what to do.2

Emma not only loved the outdoors, but she also developed a deep love for

reading. She was given her first novel by a travelling peddler that came to their house

one day. The novel was about a tough, strong heroine that was more manly than

feminine. Emma thought the character sounded just like her and was immediately

drawn to this story. Then the heroine falls in love, and has to save her love from trouble.

However, in order to save her love she has to dress up and impersonate a man. 3 This

novel becomes a major factor later in Emma’s life.

Emma became Sarah Emma Edmonds because she did not see marriage in her

near future. At the age of seventeen, her father decided she would be married. Isaac

arranged Emma to marry a neighbor that was quite older than Emma and recently

widowed. Emma did not want to be a housewife and live the life of her mother, so she

became emancipated. Her mother helped her escape to her friend’s house, and she

lived with her for a little while. Emma decided to change her name so would have a

                                                                                                                2  Ibid,  3-­‐4.   3  Ibid,  5-­‐6.  

Smith 4

better chance of her father not finding her, so she now was called Sarah Emma

Edmonds.4 Women during Sarah’s time did not go against their family and move away.

Sarah originally wanted to be a foreign missionary, but another job caught her

eye. She saw a sign for a travelling book salesman. The job required frequent travelling,

which would make it harder for her father to find her. It would also give her some

adventure, which was part of the appeal to be a foreign missionary. However, only men

could be travelling book salesmen. Immediately, Sarah thought of her favorite novel and

the heroine that reminded her so much of herself. So Sarah decided to apply for the job

under the name of Franklin Thompson. She wore men’s clothing and cut her hair to look

like a man.5 Little did she know that dressing up under the name Franklin Thompson

would make her famous in Michigan and women history.

In 1861, when the Civil War was beginning, Sarah was currently residing in Flint,

Michigan. She wanted to help in the war in whatever way she could because she was a

passionate Unionist herself. So she decided to enlist into the army, but not as herself

exactly. She enlisted under her alias name, Franklin Thompson, even though it was

illegal at the time to impersonate a man.6 She served in the 2nd Michigan Infantry and

was able to hide that she was actually a woman for two years.7 She served as a field

nurse, spy, soldier and a mail carrier.8 The only job that was common for women was

                                                                                                                4  Ibid,  6-­‐7.   5  Ibid, 8-9.   6  Civil War Trust, “Sarah Emma Edmonds,” Civil War Trust,

http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/sarah-emma-edmonds.html (accessed November 19, 2012).

7  Bruce A. Rubenstein and Lawrence E. Ziewacz, “In Defense of the Nation,” in Michigan: A History of the Great Lakes State, (Wheeling: Harlan Davidson, 2008), 108. 8  Clarke Historical Library, “Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye,” Michigan in Letters, http://www.michiganinletters.org/2009_07_01_archive.html (accessed November 19, 2012).

Smith 5

nurse, the other jobs were positions that women in the 1800s would never think of

having.

However, Franklin Thompson was not the only alias Sarah went under during the

Civil War. At one point during the war, Sarah dressed up as a black slave to be a spy for

the Union. She worked for the Confederate service so she could spy and hear their

plans and tactics.9 Not too long after, Sarah donned another outfit, and came up with

another alias. This time she dressed as an Irish peddler selling cakes. While she was an

Irish lady, she came to care for a wounded Confederate soldier.10 This act shows her

compassionate heart that she had ever since she was a child, even if she was helping

the enemy.

Sarah and the 2nd Michigan Infantry fought in many widely known battles. From

April 5 to May 4, 1862, they fought in the siege of Yorktown. Then immediately following

the siege, her regiment fought in the Battle of Williamsburg. During these two battles

she acted as a mail carrier, a soldier shooting a gun, and a stretcher-bearer, picking up

the wounded from the battleground. In August of 1862, Sarah and her comrades fought

in the Battle of Second Manassas. During this particular battle, she had to travel back

and forth first by horse, then by donkey after her horse was killed. On one of her trips,

the donkey threw her into a ditch, which resulted in many injuries. This incident resulted

in a broken leg and many internal injuries.11 This is one of the battles that changed her

life forever.

                                                                                                                9  Sarah Emma Edmonds, Memoirs of a Soldier, Nurse and Spy: A Woman’s Adventures in the

Union Army (DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 1999), 60. 10  Ibid, 83. 11  Civil War Trust, “Sarah Emma Edmonds,” Civil War Trust,

http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/sarah-emma-edmonds.html (accessed November 19, 2012).  

Smith 6

However, Sarah remained in the war. Sarah continued to relay messages back

and forth despite her terrible fall and injuries. Frequently, she relayed messages during

the Battle of Frederick. Later in the spring of 1863, Sarah’s 2nd Michigan Infantry was

allocated to the Army of the Cumberland and had to go to Kentucky. While Sarah was in

Kentucky, she caught malaria and asked to leave the service. She was denied, so she

secretly just left one day, so a doctor would not have to examine her and find her out.

This led Franklin Thompson to be charged with desertion.12

Sarah’s situations following her participation in the war would change the history

of women forever. Finally, in 1882, nineteen years after leaving the war, she applied for

a war pension. However, her application was under the name she was born with, not

her alias Franklin Thompson. It was not until two years later that she was given the

pension and became a member of the Veterans Association of the Grand Army of the

Republic. Sarah was the only woman in Michigan to become a member of a veteran’s

group.13

Even though Sarah did receive a pension, she had to fight to be able to increase

its amount. For example, Sarah had to compose a letter about a time she became

seriously injured in the war. Then her friend would be able to write a testimony to the

government in favor of her receiving an increase in her war pension, because she was

only receiving twelve dollars a month.14 This is a great model of how a strong American

woman should fight for what she deserved.

                                                                                                                12  Ibid.   13  Bruce A. Rubenstein and Lawrence E. Ziewacz, “In Defense of the Nation,” in Michigan: A

History of the Great Lakes State, (Wheeling: Harlan Davidson, 2008), 108.   14  Clarke Historical Library, “Sarah Emma Edmonds Seelye,” Michigan in Letters,

http://www.michiganinletters.org/2009_07_01_archive.html (accessed November 19, 2012).  

Smith 7

Sarah Emma Edmonds has made great impacts on many people throughout her

life. First of all, she had a huge influence on her own family. Her brother was ill, and

would be frequently teased, and Sarah was not ever afraid to stick up for him. Her father

would have many rages and would take out his anger on her mother. Sarah would stand

between her parents to make sure her father would not hurt her mother. Then, when

she moved away from home she began to make an impact on even more people. She

greatly changed women’s history because she was the first woman to fight in a war.

She also became the first woman to be recognized in a veteran’s group. For all these

reasons, Sarah was one of the first women to make an impact on the history of

Michigan.