She gave as an excuse for adopting her soldier's toggery, that she was following her lover to shield and protect him when in danger. He had been killed, and now she made no objection to return to the more peaceful sphere for which nature, by her sex, had better fitted her. Upon the discovery of her sex Miss Johnson was removed from Belle Isle to Castle Thunder. She will probably go north by the next flag of truce. She is about sixteen years of age.
Regimental rosters are of little help.
Abner Small was not forthcoming with more information. Soldiers still fighting with the regiment most likely had no way of sorting out what became of their captured comrades. But the fact remains that Small did include this in his regimental history. Some investigation turns up a very similarly worded story about a young girl in a midwestern regiment. The true story of Mary Jane Johnson will probably never surface.