Battle of Stones River - Frances Clalin

[PaigeBooth]

Women served both sides of the army in many ways. Some knitted socks and folded bandages at home, some nursed the wounded, some spied behind enemy lines, and some disguised themselves as soldiers and took to the battlefield dressed as men. Since soldiers did not bath or change their clothes often, this deception was possible. This was the case for Frances Clalin Clayton. When the war broke our in 1861, Frances decided to take up arms and fight in the Union army along with her husband, Elmer Clayton. For the first year and a half of war, Frances's secret was safe- no one was the wiser. She was a tall woman, and she played the part of a typical soldier rather well; she smoked, drank, and played poker. When the Battle of Stones River broke out, Frances and her husband fought side-by-side. It was here that her husband, Elmer, was killed. It is said that Frances stepped over his body and kept fighting.

[RJNorton]

Fascinating, Paige. Thank you for posting this. The Smithsonian has an article on women who concealed their identities and fought in the war here.

"Even though women weren’t legally allowed to fight in the Civil War, it is estimated that somewhere around 400 women disguised themselves as men and went to war, sometimes without anyone ever discovering their true identities."

[davg2000]

At the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, in Springfield, we have pictures of two women who fought as men--Frances Clalin and Jenny Hodgers. We have two pictures of Frances, one where she is in uniform and one where she is wearing a dress. She is fierce-looking dressed as a soldier. I have had women patrons, after looking at both pictures, tell me that Frances "makes a better man than a woman."

Jenny Hodgers, from Illinois, fought the war as Albert Cashier. When she was in an automobile accident early in the twentieth century, doctors discovered the truth.

A few years ago I talked about such women with a person who had written her dissertation on women who fought alongside men in the Civil War. She was adamant that women soldiers were uncommon.

[L Verge]

I guess compared to the hundreds of thousands of men who fought during the Civil War, 400 or so women soldiers would see like a small amount. There are some good books on this subject, and one of our programs at Surratt House this summer is entitled "Sister Soldiers of the Civil War."