Satronia Smith Hunt
Satronia Smith Hunt or Sophronia Hunt[note 1][2][3] (née Allen; c. 1844—August 1, 1928) was an American woman who secretly served as a soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. She lost her first soldier husband and served at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry herself as a disguised soldier. They served in the 29th Iowa Infantry Regiment.[2]
Civil War service
DeAnne Blanton writes that the existence of women soldiers such as Hunt "was no secret during or after the Civil War"; however, newspaper articles about them provided "few specific details about the individual woman's army career".[4] According to the Sioux City Journal, "Hunt was one of an estimated 400 women who dressed as a man and served on the front lines for the Union Army during the Civil War."[5]
Hunt enlisted in an Iowa Regiment alongside her first husband.[4][6][7] She served in the army disguised as a male soldier for about two months before being discovered.[8] During that period her regiment fought at the Battle of Jenkins Ferry.[2][9][page range too broad] After being found out, Hunt was allowed to remain with the regiment as a battlefield nurse.[8][1] After her husband lost a leg in battle[5][10] and died, Hunt left the army,[8][11] never having been wounded in battle.[4][6]
Tim Gallagher writes in the Sioux City Journal:
"The details come from Shirley Sides, a historian who focuses on the people and places in and around Dakota City, Nebraska, her home. Sides' interest and pursuit helped get a headstone in place for this Civil War veteran on Veterans Day some 88 years after her death.
"'They asked if the stone should say Civil War nurse,' Sides said. 'I said, "Heck no! It darn well better say, 'Civil War veteran."'"'
"The obituary Sides unearthed comes from the Aug. 9, 1928, edition of the South Sioux City Eagle newspaper. It notes that young Sophronia's use of a manly disguise in the Civil War hid her identity for one month of fighting.
"'She carried a gun just as other soldiers did,' Sides said with conviction. 'But she didn't have a headstone all these years.'"[1]
Later life, death, and memorial
After mustering out, Sophronia married John Hunt,[11] another Iowa veteran of the war.[12] The couple had eight children, only one of whom lived to the time of Sophronia's death.[1][13]
She died August 1, 1928 at Sioux City, Iowa[13][14][15] at age 84.[3] Installed 88 years after her death, her headstone carries the words: "Civil War Veteran."[5]
See also
- Bibliography of works on wartime cross-dressing
- Timeline of women in war in the United States, Pre-1945
- Female wartime cross-dressers in the American Civil War
Notes
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Gallagher, Tim (November 20, 2016). "Siouxland woman who fought in Civil War receives headstone". Sioux City Journal. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Harriel-Hidlebaugh, Shelby (December 3, 2016). "Searching for Sophronia: Sophronia Smith Hunt, 29th Iowa Infantry". Forbidden, Hidden, and Forgotten: Women Soldiers of the Civil War – via Blogspot.[self-published source]
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Dakota County pioneer dies". Sioux City Journal. 3 August 1928. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Blanton (1993).
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Gallagher, Tim (October 22, 2017). "GALLAGHER: 'Serving Her Country,' series details work of women in military". Sioux City Journal. Serving Her Country: Women in the Military. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Leonard (1999), p. 224.
- ↑ Jensen, Anika N. (6 November 2015). "Ready, Aim, Feminism: When Women Went Off to War". The Gettysburg Compiler. Gettysburg College. 116.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Blanton & Cook (2002), p. 117.
- ↑ Nicholson (1914), pp. 505-519.
- ↑ Nicholson (1914), p. 519.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Bronski (2011), pp. 46–47.
- ↑ Blanton & Cook (2002), p. 167.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 "Woman who served as Civil War soldier dies". The Coleridge Blade. Coleridge, Neb. August 16, 1928. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Two Women Were Enlisted Men in United States Wars". Garrett Clipper. Garrett, Ind. 16 Aug 1928. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Lady Soldiers". The Indiana Gazette. Indiana, Penn. 8 Aug 1928. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
Works cited
- Baker, Thomas R. (2016). The Sacred Cause of Union: Iowa in the Civil War. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 978-1-6093-8435-7. Search this book on
- Blanton, DeAnne (Spring 1993). "Women Soldiers of the Civil War". Prologue Magazine. National Archives and Records Administration. 25 (1). OCLC 929686890.
- Blanton, DeAnne; Cook, Lauren M. (2002). They Fought like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2806-6. Search this book on
- Bronski, Michael (2011). A Queer History of the United States. Boston: Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-4439-3. Search this book on
- Frank, Lisa Tendrich , ed. (2008). Women in the American Civil War, Volume 1 (Ebook). Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO . ISBN 978-1-85109-600-8. Search this book on
- Hall, Richard (2006). Women on the Civil War Battlefront. University Press of Kansas. ISBN 978-0-7006-1437-0. Search this book on
- Leonard, Elizabeth D. (1999). All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies (1st ed.). W.W. Norton & Co. ISBN 0-3930-4712-1. Search this book on
- Nicholson, William L. (1914). "The Engagement at Jenkin's Ferry" (PDF). Annals of Iowa. 11 (7): 505–519. doi:10.17077/0003-4827.3959. ISSN 0003-4827.
Further reading
- Leonard, Elizabeth D. (2002). "To 'Don the Breeches, and Slay Them with a Will!' A Host of Women Soldiers". In Barton, Michael; Logue, Larry M. The Civil War Soldier: A Historical Reader. New York University Press. pp. 69–81. ISBN 0-8147-9879-9. JSTOR j.ctt9qgfhv. Search this book on
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