Nurse, Soldier, Spy

The incredible true story of Sarah Emma Edmonds, who dressed as a man and fought in the Civil War. When she was 19 years old, Sarah Edmonds cut her hair, dressed in her brother's clothes, and fled Canada where her father wanted her to marry an elderly gentleman. In the USA, she went by the name Frank Thompson and signed up for the Army to fight the Confederates. Nurses then were primarily men, so she acted as a nurse on the battle field, dodging bullets. She took up arms and fought in battles, and because of her heroism was asked to become a spy. She went on many spy expeditions, but this book focuses on one: she blackens her face and hands and feet, dons a wig, and portrays a black slave working in the Confederate camp. Slaves were ignored by the white soldiers so Thompson was able to walk about the camp and note the various weapons, etc. etc. A fast-paced, high-energy picture book brought to life by John Hendrix. Edmonds is buried in a military cemetery, in a plot reserved for Civil War veterans--the only woman to have this honour.