1865 CIVIL WAR Woman SPY Blackface CONFEDERATE Nurse SECRET SERVICE Union MEMOIR
Nurse and Spy in the Union Army. Comprising the Adventures and Experiences of a Woman in Hospitals, Camps, and Battle-Fields.
Rare first edition of this civil war woman's memoir. NURSE AND SPY tells the incredible adventures and experiences of a Secret Service female spy, Sarah Emma Edmonds, during her military service in Hospitals, Camps, and Battlefields during the Civil War. In Nurse and Spy, Edmonds tells the record of events which transpired in her experience under the observation on the field, where she participated in numerous battles--among which are the first and second Bull Run, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the Seven days in front of Richmond, Antietam and Fredericksburg--serving in the capacity of Spy and as field nurse for over two years.
While in the Secret Service as a Spy, which was one of the most hazardous positions in the army, she penetrated Confederate lines, in various disguises, no less than eleven times; always with complete success and without. One disguise required Edmonds to use silver nitrate to dye her skin black, wear a black wig, and walk into the Confederacy disguised as a black man by the name of Cuff. Yet another time she was "working for the Confederates" as a black laundress when a packet of official papers fell out of an officer's jacket. Another time, she worked as a detective in Maryland as Charles Mayberry, finding an agent for the confederate. Edmonds was referred to as a "frank and fearless" soldier and was active in every battle her regiment faced.
In 1897, she became the only woman admitted to the Grand Army of the Republic, the Civil War Union Army veterans' organization. Here her entire memoir is presented filled throughout with numerous engravings.
Original well worn pebbled cloth with wear/peeling at the edges of joints and boards/spine, some staining and discoloration and light warping, but the boards still attached at the hinges/joints. Gilt titled to the spine, some losses at the extremities. In decent shape within with some foxing and light staining, a few gatherings pulled, really the only complaints within; attractive calligraphic inscription on front blank from Jane Faust of Catasauqua, Lehigh Co PA (b1845), as shown, else unmarked.
Measures 8.5" x 6" x 2.5. 4 Jun 1919 (aged 74). The item "1865 CIVIL WAR Woman SPY Blackface CONFEDERATE Nurse SECRET SERVICE Union MEMOIR" is in sale since Sunday, December 16, 2018. This item is in the category "Books\Antiquarian & Collectible". The seller is "mantosilver" and is located in Spencerport, New York.
This item can be shipped worldwide. Williams & Co