Women Soldiers
Today, woman soldiers in the Civil War. The University of Houston presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.
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The true number of women who fought in the Civil War is not known. Likely somewhere between five hundred and a thousand. Of course they masqueraded as men. But how well-kept was the secret of their gender? Well, that’s unclear. And it surely varied from case to case.
Frances Clayton acting as a man
Take one case to get a sense of how complex it could be: Malinda Blalock of North Carolina. She and her husband, Keith, both opposed the Confederate cause – especially Keith. He joined the Confederate army hoping to desert it, to the Union. Then, she too enlisted – as a man named Samuel.
Malinda Blalock
She was hit by a bullet in her shoulder. Her gender revealed in the surgery. So husband Keith rolled in poison ivy to fake a contagious disease. Each was discharged. Each fled. And each took up arms against the Confederates. Each was again wounded. Yet they survived and lived into the twentieth century.
Then there’s the case of Fanny Wilson and Nellie Graves. Each had fallen in love with a young man who’d joined the Union Army early in the War. So, each decided to join their lovers’ regiments. They managed to do so, and all four fought at the Battle of Chancellorsville. But Wilson’s lover died there.
Soon after, Graves’s lover appears to’ve been killed as well. Next each woman fell ill, and their gender was outed. Wilson left, performed as a dancer for a while. Then once again joined the army. Once again was wounded – not seriously. Back into the war. But the Army finally learned of her gender and discharged her. She now lies in the Memphis, Tennessee, National Cemetery under her female name and the inscription: U.S. Private, Civil War.
Certain things emerge as we look through the online histories of these women. Many were following husbands or lovers. Many pairs of friends went off together. Many were wounded. And many died either in combat or of wounds received in combat. One actually had to serve as a prison guard where some prisoners were women convicted of impersonating male soldiers.
A woman named Annie Lillybridge served in this 21st Michigan Infantry unit. We have not found which “man” she might be.
Another wrinkle in this odd detour into Civil War history. Some Black women served as men. One Cathay Williams served as a male Yankee soldier in the years just after the Civil War. And, today, a bench bearing her name sits on the Walk of Honor at the National Infantry Museum.
One thing is evident as we scroll through this portion of history. These women were no less courageous, no less resourceful, than men. It was as late as 2016 when that fact was fully put to use. When women were finally accepted in all occupations of the US armed services – ground combat included.
I’m John Lienhard, at the University of Houston, where we’re interested in the way inventive minds work.
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Wikipedia is rich with source material:
List of female American Civil War soldiers - Wikipedia
Fanny Wilson (U.S. Civil War) - Wikipedia
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman - Wikipedia
This Episode first aired on October 13, 2026.