Sergeant Jennie Gregg

According to her discharge document (1), Jennie Gregg was 4'10" with a dark complexion, black eyes, and auburn hair.  She enlisted in the 128th Ohio Infantry, Company K, on August 22nd, 1864, and was discharged at Johnson's Island on June 23rd, 1865, due to expiration of service. Her antebellum profession was listed as "lady." During the war, however, she apparently was a sergeant.  Supposedly, there is an accompanying Letter of Recognition and Recommendation also noting her rank as sergeant but lists her unit as company K, 82nd Ohio Infantry.(2)


As usual, research tends to raise more questions.  The name on the discharge document is Jennie R. Gregg.  There is no male alias listed, and there were no sergeants in the 128th Ohio with her name (There is a Sergeant Allen Sergeant and Segeant E. Scholly Sargeant, however. Heh).  And there are no soldiers whose details match Gregg's. 

Was she was discovered and her real name was recorded on the discharge document as opposed to the male alias she enlisted under?

The information on the document indicates that she enlisted in "Captain Sandford S. Parker's company."  The problem is that John Lewis was the captain of company K.  Sandford S. Parker wasn't even an officer.  He enlisted as a private on August 22nd, 1864, the same day as Jennie, and rose to the rank of corporal before mustering out with the company on July 13th, 1865.    Did he assist her in enlisting with him?  Is that the reason for noting that she enrolled in his company as opposed to naming the actual captain?  Or was she not a soldier at all but a cook or laundress whom Parker brought to join the company?

Was she a vivandiere who was assigned an honorary rank of "sergeant" by officials?  However, it was late in the war for daughters of the regiment to be present.  Was she a spy? 

As for this unit, companies A, B, C, and D were originally part of Hoffman's Battalion and were assigned to guard Confederate prisoners at Johnson's Island.   In January, 1864, six companies were added, and the unit was designated the 128th Ohio Infantry while continuing garrison duty.

"Johnson's Island Hoffman's Battalion ," in Ohio Civil War 150 | Collections & Exhibits, Item #1927, http://www.ohiocivilwar150.org/omeka/items/show/1927 (accessed November 19, 2015)

If Sergeant Jennie Gregg served as a soldier in male disguise, is she in this picture?  The time range given for the image is 1862-1865.  So it is possible.

 As for Gregg herself, genealogical research suggests that her real name was Rebeca Jane "Jennie" Gregg.  She was born November 15th, 1840 (or 1843 depending on the source).  According to her discharge document, she was born in Orange, Ohio.  But other genealogical sources list her birthplace as Savannah, Ohio, which is a little over 70 miles from Orange.  Both of her parents, who were Irish immigrants, had died by the time the war broke out, and she wasn't married.   As a matter of fact, she didn't marry until she wed Charles B. Francis on January 16th, 1886,  in New York City. (3)  She was in her mid-40's and he in his mid-50's.  Jennie died on March 15th, 1900, of consumption and is buried at Center Cemetery in Midway, Pennsylvania. 

From Find A Grave

Research is ongoing to see if this person was indeed the Jennie Gregg of the discharge document.

(1)  According to Blanton and Cook in They Fought Like Demons on p. 246, note 26, the original discharge document is in a private collection.  This is a copy that can be found on ancestry.com:

And this is supposedly a picture of her from an unknown date.  However, I cannot confirm whether this is the Jennie Gregg referred to in my post.  The image can also be found on ancestry.com.

(2) http://www.genealogy.com/forum/surnames/topics/gregg/729/

(3)"New York Marriages, 1686-1980," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F63Q-F9H : accessed 19 November 2015), Charles Brett Francis and Rebecca Jane Gregg, 16 Jan 1886; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 1,314,168.


Until next formation......rest.