Evening star., 1915-09-28
WOMEN IN Battle
DID PART bRAVE[Y
Only When Wounded, in Many
Instances, Was Sex
Discovered.

Drawn into the conflict, in many In
stances because some one dear to them
was fighting at the front. many women
put on male attire in order to be on the
firing line. War Department records
disclose many instances where women,
many times girls in their teens, shoul-
dered musket, stood the long marches
and fought with as much vigor as the
men. Then. too. there were many who
did not appear on the records. Discov-
cry that the women were parading in
false attire, In most instances, was
ed and were taken to q hospital. for
treatment. Then. of course. they were
forced to leave the firing line. many
times against their wishes.
Probably the best known. of those
Mary E. Walker. for many years a well
known figure on the streets of this
city. always dressed IN trousers. frock
coat and silk h&t. She was the only
fair sex.
Marriage Ends Enlistment.
One young girl who started in to be q
soldier had q brief but entirely eatis-
factory career. She enlisted at Blue
Lteks. KY. and was sworn into service
The physical examination amounted to
practically nothing, there being such a
demand for recruits that almost any
thing IN the shape of man was readily
and speedily accepted. Although togged
out In boys clothes, there was some
thing about the new recruit which con-
day that "he" was q woman. He asked
the girl why she wished to enlist. She
told him that the youth she loved waA
In the army, and that she proposed to
be as near him as possible The colonel
was made acquainted with the facts
young 9irl-soldier had so impressed
him that he discharged the young man,
The same day the pair became man and
wife. The husband re-enlisted later,
and made . good soldier.
When Col. Burke OF the 10th Ohio ex-
changed prisoners while near Chat
tanooga he saw q particularly nne-
looking young soldier, who was ex-
changed under the name Of Frank Hen
derson. Investigation developed that
she and her brother had enlisted at the
breaking out of the war in the 11th
Illfneis. The pair were orphans, and
the girl could not bear to be separated
from her brother. At the expiration Of
their three months. enlistment they
were discharged, and later entered the
Sd Illinois, where she made an excellent
record. She WAS wounded In one Of
the engagements In which she partict-
pated.
Taken Prisoner snd Wounded.
Discharged again. she re-enlistsd in
the same regiment. participating IN all
the battles Of Col. O'Mara's regiment.
She was taken prisoner at Holly
Springs, and transported to Atlanta,
Ga. While attempting to escape she
was hhot in the leg. but while In the
hospital her sex was not discovered.
Recovering from the wound, she was
sent to Graysville, where she was
again exchanged. This time she re-
Then there is the record Of the brave
Mary Owens. who under tho name of
John Evans. enlisted at Danville, Pa,
because she wanted to be On the firing
line with her husband. whom she had
Side by side the faithful pair fought
until q bullet Of the enemy's killed her
husband. Even then she did not give
up, but continued to night. However.
in the next battle she was wounded. and
sent home with the following inscrip-
faithful soldier never shouldered
musket."
Charles Martin" was the name given
by little girl of thirteen when she en-
listed in a Pennsylvania regiment as
drummer. She was a favorite with the
officers and men. not one Of whom sus-
pected that she was q girl. Stricken
with fever, her sex was discovered,
and she was returned to her home.
Thought She Had Mission.
A peculiar case was that Of q young
girl who enlisted at Brooklyn. N. T.. and
who was killed in the field Of battle.
She seemed to be laboring under the hal
lueination that she should go to the front
and see that the Union forces were led
to victory. Her parents sent her away.
that a change Of climate would
do her good. but she again enlisted. She
the Army Of the Cumberland. and at the
battle Of Lookout mountain she was Sc
verely wounded. The surgeon in making
an examination of the wound discovered
her sex. Realizing that the wound would
prove fatal. he told her she must tell
fought for long time against 1t, but
finally yielded She said she did not re-
gret the course she had taken. but that
she did hate to die before she had &C
cOfnpl1SneQ Der nlSSlOu.
Miss Ma tor Pa uline Cushman was one Of
the best known Federal scouts and spies.
and rendered excellent service to the gov
crnment She was an actress at the be-
ginning of the hostilities. and while play
Ing at Louisville was arrested by the fed
eral authorities because it WAS believed
that she was in the employ Of the south
This the little woman vehemently denied,
and when asked to prove her loyalty by
an appointment in the secret
service she accepted.
Twice Taken Prisoner.
After a short trial in work which re-
auired discretion and tact she was as
signed to Gen. Rosecrans. Time and again
she visited the enemy's lines. and made
herself familiar with all the roads In a
number of southern states. Miss Major
rushman was made prisoner twice, but
managed to escape without giving away
any of the secrets intrusted to her by the
federal government. Just after Nashville
while making a trip near the city. She
to escape, only to be recaptured
he following morning. They held to her
his time, and found in her garers papers
which proved eonclusively that she Was a
scout and spy.
Arrangements were being made to
lang her when the Union forces took
of the town. In the War
Depa rtment there are number of pa
,ers touching the splendid services of