Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1871-03-24
A Female Soldier.

narrative in the State Register:
"Not long since Adjutant General
Baker received 4 letter of inquiry
asking about a certain soldier in the
Twenty-Fourth Iowa Infantry. The
tone of the letter was so peculiar as
0 attract considerable attention
and create much comment in the
office. In reply the General stated
that the records of the regiment
were in his office, and the record OF
the soldier, whom, for the sake OF
convenience we will call Smith, al
though that is far from the real
name. A few days afterwards a
gentlemen from Northern Iowa ap-
peared at the office inquired for
Gen. Baker, found that character,
and was closctcd with him long
enough to divulge the following
singular tale: When the war broke
out Miss Mary Smith, daughter of
the Generals visitor, was residing
in Ohio, working for a farmer in
the kitchen. Her fathers family
had moved to Iowa the fall proceed
ing the attack on Sumter, leaving
Mary behind to follow in the spring,
Various causes conspired to delay
her departure for her new Iowa
home until autumn, and it was Sep
tcmber before she arrived mt Mus
catine, from which place she
expected to travel by land to her
fathers house. She was large
sized, hearty looking girl, eighteen
years Of age. Arriving at Musca-
tine some strange freak induced her
to assume mans apparel and enlist
in the Twentv-Fourth Infantry, then
in rendezvous in that city. She did
this without exciting any suspicion,
burned all her feminine garments
and papers, neglected to inform her
friends either in Iowa or Ohio, OF
her arrival on Hawkeyc soil, and
became soldier. Some comment
was elected by her beardless face
and girlish appearance, but as she
did her duty promptly and well, was
particularly handy in cooking and
taking care of the sick, the young
warrior speedily became a general
favorite alike with officers and men.
She passed through all the cam
paigns in which the regiment was
engaged without a scratch, except
a close call from a minnie ball at
Sabine's Cross Roads, which took
the skin off of the back of her left
hand, voted with the other men,
bers of the regiment for President
in 1864, and was finally mustered
out with her comrades at the close
of the war. When she was dis
charged she procured female APP
parel-although in doing SO she was
obliged to make confident of one
of her own sex-and procured work
in Illinois, not far from Rock Island.
Six months elapsed before the tan
of five summers wore off, and when
she had again become "white," and
had re-lcarncd the almost forgotten
customs Of womanhood, she pre-
scented herself at her fathers house,
where she was received with open
arms. To all the questions which
were asked by the various mem
bers of the family concerning her
whereabouts for SO many ye;ri's she
refused to make any answer, only
replying that she had been honestly
employed, and had never forsaken
the right way. She had been eco
nomicaf in the army, and invested
several hundred dollars in land in
Northern Iowa which rapidly APP
preciated in value, and to-day she
is well enough off to be beyond the
reach of want. With the remainder
of her money she attended school.
Last January worthy .man, who
had been in the same regiment, but
in u different company, made her an
offer of marriage. Like true wo-
man she was unwilling to bestow
her hand when any part OF her
former life was unknown, and be-
fore accepting the offer she made to
him full revelation of her soldier
DAYS. AT first he could not believe
it, but when she proceeded to mar
rate events and incidents which
could be known only to active par
in them, told Of marches,
camps, skirmishes, battles, and the
thousand and one things which
never appear in print, but which
ever remain living pictures with
sold soldiers" he was obliged to
accept the strange tale as true.
The story, however, did not lessen
his regard for her, and about the