Video: Women Soldiers at Lake Providence, Louisiana

In this video, Mark and I talk about Federal efforts to dig canals to facilitate their goal of investing the city of Vicksburg, deemed to be the "key" to a Union victory by President Abraham Lincoln.  A camp was established at Lake Providence to serve as a base while these operations were going on.  Among the soldiers there were at least two women soldiers.  In this video, we talk about this location and the women there.

For more, read this previous blog post [HERE].

Animated Jennie Hodgers, alias Pvt. Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry

 Jennie Hodgers, an illiterate Irish immigrant, enlisted in Co. G of the 95th Illinois Infantry in August 1862. She was 19 years old, 5'3" with red hair and blue eyes. She was a veteran of such battles and campaigns as Vicksburg, Nashville, Red River, Brice's Crossroads, and Mobile. Upon the conclusion of her three-year-enlistment, she mustered out with her secret intact, which she preserved until 1911 when state senator Ira Lish accidentally backed over her with his car, breaking her hip. A doctor discovered her true sex, but those close to her agreed to keep her secret, which was maintained until 1913 when her story was leaked to the press. Soon, people from all over the world would read about Pvt. Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry. Hodgers died of an infection from a broken hip in 1915 and is buried in Saunemin, Illinois. She was given a full military funeral and was interred in her uniform. She had been a member of her local GAR post and received a pension for her military service. 

 

Search my blog for multiple articles I have written about her.

 

Animation made by My Heritage using an actual photo of Hodgers. The result is interesting because it shows a softness and femininity to her face.

 

 

Video: Women Soldiers at Spanish Fort - Mobile Campaign - 155th Anniversary

Today, March 26th, marks the 155th anniversary of the opening action that would culminate in the Siege of Spanish Fort and Battle of Fort Blakeley.  Also in this initial clash that occurred south of Spanish Fort, the Federals captured a Confederate woman soldier.  She was not the only female fighter involved in the Mobile Campaign.  On the Federal side was Jennie Hodgers, "Pvt. Albert Cashier," of the 95th Illinois Infantry.

In this video, fellow author Paul Brueske and I talk about the Mobile Campaign and these women soldiers.

Read previous blog posts I wrote about this topic [HERE] and [HERE].

Until next formation.....rest.

Video: A Woman Soldier Who Occupied Natchez With Her Unit in 1863

In 1863, the 95th Illinois Infantry disembarked at Natchez Under the Hill to occupy the city.  One of the soldiers in this regiment during this time frame was a woman named Jennie Hodgers who served as Albert D.J. Cashier.  In this video, I show you the areas she would have seen as she entered Natchez.

Hodgers was not the only woman soldier with a connection to Natchez, Mississippi.  Click [HERE] to watch another video I previously shared about "William Bradley" of Miles' Legion, whom I discuss in more detail in my book, Behind the Rifle.

Until next formation....rest.

Video: Jennie Hodgers's Name Etched on the Illinois Monument, Vicksburg National Military Park

Next time you visit the battlefield in Vicksburg, find the name of "Albert D. J. Cashier" on a tablet inside the Illinois monument.  That is the male alias of Jennie Hodgers who served throughout the war in the 95th Illinois Infantry.  In this video, I show you where it is.  How many more such names do we gaze upon that are actually hidden women?

Until next formation....rest.

Flags of the 95th Illinois Infantry

Civil War soldiers revered their battle flags.  Crafted by ladies from their homeland and presented in patriotic ceremonies, these banners were the lifeblood of the unit and tangible bridges to their loved ones soldiers left behind.  As a result, a soldier developed a fierce loyalty to his (or her) flag and would sacrifice life and limb to protect it as it became an embodiment of hearth and home.

Spanish Fort: Two Women Soldiers Experience One of the Last Engagements of the War

In the spring of 1865, the Confederacy was in its final death throes.  Lee was being run into the ground by Grant in the east.  And then in the west, the Federals had turned their attention to capturing Mobile, which was one of the best fortified cities in the Confederacy.  Admiral David Farragut damned the torpedoes and, on August 5th, 1864, made a run past Forts Gaines and Morgan which guarded the the entrance to Mobile Bay.   This is ironic because Farragut spent his childhood on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, about 30 miles from Mobile.  He was born in Tennessee but moved with his family to the Gautier area.  You can pronounce it as either GO-shay or GO-chay.  Both will work.  But some sources say it wasn't Gautier anyway but Pascagoula.  My research points towards Gautier.  There is a Farragut Lake north of Gautier, and there are still descendants of the admiral's in the area.  Matter of fact, I have played tennis with/against one.

Jennie Hodgers-After She Came Marching Home

After returning home to Illinois upon the conclusion of three years' service with the 95th Illinois Infantry, Jennie Hodgers relocated to four different towns before finally settling in Saunemin in 1869.  With her secret still intact, she maintained her male disguise and continued to take advantage of opportunities denied to women.  She voted in elections when it was still illegal for women to do so and worked at a variety of jobs including farmhand, day laborer, handyman, child sitter, janitor, property caretaker, and town lamplighter.  The ex-soldier was not only popular among her male comrades with whom she fought, but she was also respected and highly regarded by civilians she encountered during her post-war life.  One of the families for whom she worked, the Chesbros, even bought her a house, which still stands today and is open to tourists.   You can read a post about the house by clicking [HERE].

Babes on the Bluff: Women Soldiers at Natchez, Mississippi

Sorry for the title, but I couldn't resist.

Previously, I wrote about the life of William Johnson, the Barber of Natchez, who was a free black man and slaveowner.  Click (HERE) for the post.  This was part 1 of an article detailing forgotten or little known aspects of Natchez history.  Part 2 deals with women soldiers and their connection to the Bluff City.

Casting Their Lots

The women's suffrage movement began in 1848 when the initial women's rights convention was held at Seneca Falls, New York.  The right to vote was still a long time coming.  But that didn't deter some women.  In 1852, one appeared at the polls in New York disguised as a man.  However, her smooth face betrayed her and her ruse was discovered.

New Orleans Times Picayune, November 13th, 1852

Brave as a Lion:Alfred J. Luther....Or Someone Else?

On April 6th, 1863, while stationed at Lake Providence, Louisiana with the 1st Minnesota Light Artillery, Fred L. Haywood wrote to his sister, Loesa,

"One of the members of the 1st Kansas Reg't died in the Hospital yesterday after a very short illness.  After death the somewhat startling discovery was made by those preparing the body for burial, that their companion, beside whom they had marched and fought for nearly two years was a woman.  You can imagine their astonishment.  The Reg't is camped near us and I went to the Hospital and saw her.  She was of pretty good size for a woman with rather masculine features.  She must have been very shrewd to keep her secret for so long when she was surrounded by several hundred men.  The 1st Kansas was one of the first Regiments that entered the service two years ago.  This girl enlisted when they went to Missouri, so they knew nothing of her early history.  She doubtless served under an assumed name.  Poor girl!  Who knows what trouble, grief, or persecution drove her to embrace the hardships of a soldier's life.  She had always sustained an excellent reputation in the Regiment.  She was brave as a Lion in battle and never flinched from the severest fatigues or the hardest duties.  She had been in more than a dozen battles and skirmishes.  She was a Sergeant when she died.  The men in the company all speak of her in terms of respect and affection  She would have been promoted to a Lieutenancy in a few days if she had lived."

Women Soldiers of the 95th Illinois at Camp Fuller

Camp Fuller was established at Rockford, Illinois in 1862, following Lincoln's call for volunteers to serve the Union.  Soldiers began arriving in August.  In all, four regiments trained at the camp before being sent to the front.   One was the 95th Illinois Infantry which was mustered into service there on September 4th and began making preparations for war.  Camp Fuller "...became busy with the hum and tramp..." of "Squad drills, company and battalion drills, [and] dress parades...."   The 95th remained there until November 4th, 1862, when it was ordered initially to Cairo, Illinois, and thence to the front.    When the unit left Rockford, there were at least two, possibly three, women in the ranks.

Battle of Fort Blakeley-150 Years Ago Today

Today, April 9th, marks the 150th anniversary of the capitulation of Fort Blakeley and the end of the Mobile Campaign. At least one of the soldiers present was a woman, Jennie Hodgers, alias "Albert Cashier," of the 95th Illinois Infantry, which was commanded by Colonel Leander Blanden.

Hodgers, an Irish immigrant, had seen action with the 95th from the beginning and was involved in the unit's last engagements of the war. 

150th Anniversary of the Battle of Nashville

Today and tomorrow, December 15th and 16th, mark the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Nasvhille.  There was at least one woman soldier who participated: Jennie Hodgers, alias Albert Cashier, of the 95th Illinois Infantry.

Hodgers was an Irish immigrant who lived in male disguise before, during, and after the war.  With the 95th, she participated in over 40 battles and skirmishes yet somehow managed to escape unscathed and undetected, mustering out with her disguise intact.  Her true identity wasn't discovered until 1911 when she was accidentally backed over by a car, breaking her hip.  She died in 1915 due to complications of her injury.

Commanded by Lieutenant Colonel William Avery, the 95th Illinois was assigned to Colonel Leander Blanden's 2nd Brigade, General Jonathan B. Moore's  Third Division, General A.J. Smith's corps.