Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years
Published in the Interest of the Staunton Community for Over 143 Years
Woman who posed as a man for three years of service
By Tom Emery
Of the 2.2 million men who fought for the North in the Civil War, most were indeed male. Some only pretended to be.
A few women made their way into Civil War ranks, and the best known example in Illinois is Jennie Hodgers, who enlisted in Company G of the 95th Illinois under the name “Albert D.J. Cashier.”
Why Hodgers enlisted as a man is unclear. Born in 1843 in Clogerhead, County Louth, Ireland, Hodgers stood five-foot-three, weighed 110 pounds, and had auburn hair with blue eyes.
Unable to read or write, she was living in Belvidere in northern Illinois when she enlisted in the...
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