All the Daring of the Soldier

Book excerpt: A fascinating account of women who defied convention to do battle for their causeDuring the Civil War, women worked as spies and sometimes disguised themselves as male soldiers to play an heroic part in the conflict. Historian Elizabeth D. Leonard has combed archives, memoirs, and histories to unearth the stories of these hidden and forgotten women who risked their lives for the blue and the gray. Here are the stories of Belle Boyd, Confederate loyalist and key player in Stonewall Jackson's struggle to hold the Shenandoah Valley, and Sarah Emma Edmonds, who enlisted as "Franklin Thompson," and fought at Fredericksburg. Leonard includes many other courageous women, investigates why they chose unconventional ways to help their cause, and shows how they were able to break through the traditional barriers of Victorian womanhood.