The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1870-01-25

On Monday evening masculine look
ing woman, named F. L. Siegel, came to
Meriden and asked for assistance from
the Grand Army of this city. She was
directed 10 s. A. Smith, Quartermaster
of Merriam Post, and committee inves-
tigated her claims. Her papers were
found to be quite correct, and the Post
paid her board for the night, and her
fare as far as Hartford. Her case is q
very extraordinary one, and she is q
very extraordinary woman;i If all told ct
her be true. She is German by birth,
but speaks very good English, is about
IS years of age, stnds nearly six feet
high, has dark hair and eyes, and is of
. rough, weather beaten complexion,
chews tobacco, and swenrs like pirate.
Her story is this: The beginning of the
war found her and her husband in Mis-
souri,, and ill prepared for the bad time
coming, so she dressed herself in male
attire and joined the Thirteenth Missou
ri Cavalry as a private. She served two
years, and ber sex never was suspected.
She fought in the battle of Shiloh and
Stone River, and took part in eighteen
skirmishes, being once wounded in the
arm. The gentlemen who favored us
with our information inquired If her sex
was not then discovered. She answered
in the negative, and, barring one of her
brawny arms. displayed a muscle navy
might envy. Her general Development
is like that Of a man, being fat breasted
and having scarcely any waist. She
admits that it is only by tight lacing she
can make herself at all of feminine ap-
pearance. During her career In the
army she had muss with one OF her
comrades, and they fought it out, the
woman proving the best man. Sha was
discharged at the end of two years SER
vice and produced her papers to our in
formant for examination, together with
other documents from we'll known men
in support of her story. On obtaining
her discharge she procured an engage
ment in the Government detective ser.
vice, in which she continued year, ar
resting bounty jumpers and deserters,
excepting three months Of the time,
when she was employed as nurse on
board the United States ship Tamerlane,
stationed at Galveston. Texas. We had
omitted to state that between her dis
charge and employment in the detective
service she was taken prisoner by rebel
guerrillas and kept for fifteen days. She
was then permitted to go on to Missouri.
deC uuSDduu IS HOW ia ANC" L W N, SAN'A
and without employment, and she is
striving to obtain funds to emigrate to
the West For this purpose she is now
on her way TO friends in Nassau, n. H.,
where she expects to obtain assistance.
A short time ago she was insulted in the
streets by a New York ruffian, but ad-
minis,ered terrific left handler on the
eye and put the orb into eclipse. Both
she and her assailant were arrested and
taken before Police Court. The Po-
lice Judge inquired with what weapon
she had struck the insulting individual,
and she replied, with natures weapon
displaying a fist that would fell an OK.
The Judge presented her with a haw-
thorn billy. loaded with lead, he had
just received from a prisoner, and told
her to use that in future when molested.
She handles the weapon like n Trojan,
and displayed it to great advantage
among the astonished boarders of the
hotel where she stopped last night. She
leaves this morning on the 8. As cars for
Hartford. where she will apply tor fur
ther assistance to aid her in reaching
Nassau.