A Sly Spy

“I am naturally fond of adventure, a little ambitious, and a good deal romantic - but patriotism was the true secret of my success.” Sarah Emma Edmonds once said. Born in December 1841, as Sarah Emma Edmonds in New Brunswick, Canada, and in 1857, she ran away from her home to escape marriage to an older man. Coming to the United States she disguised herself as a men and went under the name of Franklin Thompson. When the Civil War started in 1861, Sarah was determined to be a soldier. She successfully registered into the 2nd Michigan Infantry as a 3 year recruit. After fighting for while, her skills were recognized and put to use in the battlefields hospitals. Sarah struggled to keep her true identity hidden, and almost got reveled on many occasions. Her next mission made it even harder to conceal her secret, to be a spy in the Confederates army while pretending to be a slave. But she completed her mission, and many others similar to it. In 1863, Sarah with the 2nd Michigan, were sent to Kentucky. While there, Sarah caught malaria, and requested a furlough (which was denied). Determined to not go to the soldiers hospital, in fear of being discovered, she left. After her recovery, she continued on serving in the war, not in disguise, as a woman nurse. She worked until the end of the war, and later married Linus Seelye and had three children. Sarah also wrote her autobiography called Nurse and Spy in the Union Army in 1864.