Illinois Congressman Mentions Women Soldiers on the Floor of US Senate

William Richardson served in various political offices in Illinois beginning in 1836.  Ten years later, he enlisted in the military and fought in the Mexican War as a captain before earning a promotion to major.  After the war, he settled in Quincy, Illinois and then headed west to serve as governor of the Nebraska Territory in 1858.  Following his resignation, Richardson - a Democrat - went to Washington DC to serve in the US Congress.  In 1863, he was elected to fill the Senate seat previously held by Stephen Douglas.

William Richardson

In early July the following year, he gave a speech criticizing President's Lincoln's war policies, such as his suspension of the writ of habeas corpus, claiming that he trampled upon the rights of individuals.  Richardson also pointed out to fellow Senator Charles Sumner that his proposal to financially support blacks could bankrupt the country and that both he and Lincoln were dividing the North and uniting the South.  To Sumner specifically, he remarked:

Sumner's reaction to this specific point is unknown.  Was this just propaganda Richardson created to help support his cause?  Or did he really know there were women serving in the Confederate army?  Indeed, just two weeks after he gave his speech on the US Senate floor, approximately ten Southern women fell as casualties in the Battle of Peach Tree Creek during the Atlanta campaign.  Click [HERE] to read a blog post I wrote about them.   You can find more detail in my book, Behind the Rifle.

Regardless, Richardson's speech illustrates that the topic of women soldiers so permeated the American consciousness that even congressmen spoke of them in the halls of the US Senate.

Until next formation.....rest.