An Uncommon Soldier By Sarah Rosetta Wakeman

Matthew Ciotti

An Uncommon Soldier Summary

Great people often arise from unlikely places. During the civil war women were barred from serving in the army; however, women did sometimes disguise themselves as men and enlisted in both the Confederate and Union armies. During the Civil War years of 1861 to 18-65, soldiers under arms mailed countless letters home from the front. There are multiple accounts of women serving in military units during the Civil War, but a majority of these incidents are extremely hard to verify. Nevertheless, there is the one well-documented incident of the female Civil War soldier by the name of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman.

In the year 1862 she left her home in Afton, New York with the intention of disguising herself as a man and gaining employment as a laborer on the Chicago canal project. She ended up enlisting in the 153rd Regiment of the New York State volunteers under the alias of Private Lyons Wakeman. This was the first step in her short but harrowing life as a female civil war soldier.

During her deployment she wrote a series of letters home detailing her experiences in the military. The first letter Wakeman sent home contained information about why she left home and what she was doing. Wakeman often sent money home because she wanted to pay off family debts. Interestingly, Wakeman used her birth name every time she signed her letters. If the Union post officials had seen any of these letters her military career would have been short lived.

In many of her letters home Wakeman speaks of her love for her family and her overwhelming pride for her patriotic military service. She also states that army life has changed her in certain ways. Right around Christmas eve 1863 she ...

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...eated mentions the premonition of her own death. This unfortunately came to fruition on June 19, 1864. Sarah Rosetta Wakeman died in a hospital in New Orleans. She was at Chalmette National Cemetery where her tombstone bears the name Lyons Wakeman, her assumed identity. It seems here secret was made safe even in death.

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman's tale is not unusual. Wakeman was one of many who died from chronic diarrhea. Eventually dysentery would kill nearly half a million soldiers during the war. The Civil war was a terrible, bloody war, and many facts are still unknown or unconfirmed, Wakeman’s letters offer a rare glimpse into civil war life that is confirmed and accurate. This is true simply because her letters were written during her serving actively in the army, rather than a set of memoirs or stories compiled after the fact for publication purposes.