Randy Suits

She Fought Like a Man

Ewa, my Kochana,

I found this article about the a brave woman soldier in the Civil War, written by Fenian Graves. I thought I would share portions of the story with you tonight.
Jennie Hodgers was born in Clogherhead, Ireland, on Christmas Day, 1844. She sailed to America as a stowaway and settled in Belvidere, Illinois. In July of 1862, President Abraham Lincoln called for an additional 300,000 men to serve in the Union Army. On August 6, 1862, ninteen-year-old Jennie Hodgers enlisted in the Union Army as an infantryman in the 95th Illinois Infantry Regiment, using the name Albert D. J. Cashier. Jennie couldn’t read or write, so she marked an “X” on the enlistment papers and passed a physical examination – just a quick look at the eyes and ears, no undressing involved. Jennie Hodgers became Albert Cashier, Private First Class. She was five feet, three inches tall – the shortest person in her regiment – and weighed 110 pounds. The 95th Regiment became part of General Ulysses S. Grant’s Army of the Tennessee, originally assigned to the 1st Brigade, 6th Division, XIII Corps. Other soldiers thought that Hodgers was just a small man who preferred being alone. She endured long marches, lived in the open air, and performed all duties required of a Union soldier. Her comrades later recalled her as a skilled rifleman. The 95th Regiment fought in the Siege of Vicksburg, the Red River Campaign and the combat at Guntown, Mississippi, where they suffered heavy casualties. When Hodgers was captured by the Confederates during the Vicksburg Campaign, she managed to escape by grabbing a guard’s rifle and knocking him senseless with it. After serving for three years and 11 days in the ranks, she had marched thousands of miles, fought in more than 40 battles, and earned a reputation for bravery and tenacity under fire. She returned to Illinois where her regiment was honored with a huge public rally before returning to civilian life. Throughout the war she keep her identity and gender a secret. She worked as a man all her life and voted in elections, long before Illinois gave women the right to vote. When she applied for a veteran’s pension, it required a medical exam. She convinced the examining board not to divulge her secret and the pension was granted. In November 1910, Hodgers was at work picking up sticks at the home of Illinois State Senator Ira M. Lish. Not seeing her the senator backed his car down the driveway and struck her, breaking her leg. A doctor discovered her sex while examining her leg. She pleaded with the men to keep her secret, and they decided that no good would be served by making her true gender public knowledge. Hodgers never recovered fully from the accident, and within months, the Senator and doctor agreed that she needed institutional care, because she was totally disabled. On May 5, 1911, Hodgers was moved to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home in Quincy, Illinois, where she was admitted as a man. In 1914 Home the continuing decline in her mental health required placement in the State Hospital for the Insane. This required a court hearing, and although her gender was not referred to at the hearing, word got out and the press broke the story. At the hospital, she was forced to wear dresses for the first time in more than 50 years. Jennie Hodgers died at the Watertown State Hospital on October 10, 1915. Wearing her Union uniform, of which she was so proud and with her casket draped with an American flag, she was given a military funeral on October 12. She was buried as Albert. Upon the headstone over her grave was inscribed the masculine name she carried into battle and bore throughout her life. On Memorial Day, 1977, a larger monument was placed that bears the name Jennie Hodgers. Her name is also inscribed on the Illinois monument at Vicksburg. On Memorial Day, 1977, they erected a larger monument that bears the name Jennie. Other females dressed as men to fight in the Civil War but Jennie was the only one to serve for the full time that her unit served, and the only one to survive the war without anyone discovering her gender. Sooner or later, all the other women were found out and told to go home, or served as nurses in field hospitals. Jennie was a woman with a warriors heart. You also have a warriors heart my Kochana. You stand firm on your principles and persist until you have the victory. You’ve never looked, sounded or acted like a man. You are content being the person and gender which the Most high God created. You are all the woman God intended for you to be. You have always been proud to be a woman. Other men look at you and realize what a blessed and fortunate man I am to have you as my wife. I know our God is pleased with you and I am proud of you as well.

I will always be proud that you are mine, Kochany