Page:History of Woman Suffrage Volume 2.djvu/36

20 Gov. Yates, of Illinois, commissioned the wife of Lieut. Reynolds of the 17th, as Major, for service in the field, the document being made out with due formality, having attached to it the great seal of State. President Lincoln, more liberal than the Secretary

 in the army, one of them holding a lieutenant's commission, and had at different times assisted in burying three women soldiers, whose sex was unknown to any but herself.

The Ht. Louis Times, sometime after the war, referring to a girl called as a witness before the Police Court of that city, says:

"This lady is a historical character, having served over two years in the Federal army during the war; fifteen months as a private in the Illinois cavalry, and over nine months as a teamster in the noted Lead mine regiment, which was raised in Washburne district from the counties of Jo Daviess and Carrol. She was at the siege of Corinth, and was on duty during most of the campaign against Vicksburg. At Lookout Mountain she formed one of the party of eighteen selected to make a scout and report the position of General Bragg's forces. She was an attache of General Blair's seventeenth corps during most of the campaign of the Tennessee, and did good sen-ice in the recounoitering operations around the Chattahochie River, at which time she was connected with General Davis' fourteenth corps. She went through her army life 'under the cognomen of 'Soldier Tom.'"

The name of Miss Brownlow, of Tennessee, was familiar during the war for her daring exploits; also that of Miss Richmond, of Raleigh, North Carolina, who handled a musket, rifle, or shot-gun with precision and skill, fully equal to any sharp-shooter, and who was at any time ready to join the clan of which her father, a devoted Unionist, was leader, in an expedition against the rebels, or on horseback, alone in the night, to thread the wild passes of the mountains as a bearer of information.

Major Pauline Cushman and Dr. Mary Walker were also noted for their devotion to the Union. No woman suffered more or rendered more service to the national cause than Major Cushman, who was employed in the secret service of the Government as scout and spy. She carried letters between Louisville and Nashville, and was for many months with the army of the Cumberland, employed by General Rosecrans, rendering the army invaluable service. She was three times taken prisoner, once by John Morgan, and advertised to be hung in Nashville as a Federal spy, but she escaped by singular daring and courage. The third time she was tried and condemned, but her execution was postponed on account of her illness. After lying in prison three months, she had an interview with General Bragg, who assured her that he would, make an example of her and hang her as soon as she got well enough to be hung decently.

While she remained in this condition of suspense, the grand army of Rosecrans commenced its forward march, and one fine day the rebel town in which she was imprisoned was surprised and captured by the Union troops under General Gordon Granger, and she was released. After hearing an account of the sufferings she had undergone for the Union cause, General Granger determined to bestow upon her a testimonial of appreciation for her services, and she was accordingly formally proclaimed a Major of cavalry. The ladies of Nashville, hearing of this promotion, prepared a costly riding habit trimmed in military style, with dainty shoulder-straps, etc., and presented the dress to Miss Cushman.

Dr. Mary Walker gave her services on the field as surgeon, winning an acknowledged reputation in the Second corps, army of the Potomac, for professional superiority. She applied for a commission as assistant surgeon, but was refused by Surgeon-General Hammond because of her sex. Dr. Walker suffered imprisonment in Castle Thunder, Richmond, having been taken prisoner.

The special correspondent of the N. Y. Tribune, Headquarters Army of the Potomac, Sept. 15, 1868, said: "She applied to both Surgeon-Generals Finlay and Hammond for a commission as assistant surgeon. Her competence was attested and approved, yet as the Army Regulations did not authorize the employment of women as surgeons, her petition was denied. A Senator from New York, with an enlightenment which did him. honor, urged her appointment to the Secretary of War, but without success."