Story from National Public Radio by Linda Paul May 24, 2009: Albert D.J. Cashier was the shortest soldier in the 95th Illinois Infantry. In one of the few existing photographs of Cashier during the Civil War, you can faintly detect the outline of breasts under his uniform. But thats if youre looking for it. And the military apparently was not. They didnt conduct physical exams in those days, the way the military does now, says Rodney Davis, a retired professor of history at Knox College in Galesburg, Ill. What they were looking for was warm bodies. Jennie Hodgers, masquerading as Cashier, marched thousands of miles during the war. She was at the Siege of Vicksburg and the surrender of Mobile. Her regiment took part in more than 40 skirmishes and battles. Albert Cashier seems to have been in [the war] from the beginning to the end, Davis says. She stuck it out. Davis own great-grandfather was Cashiers commanding officer and one of several former comrades who rallied to Hodgers defense when officials considered taking away her veterans pension for identity fraud. After her secret was discovered, she reportedly told one newspaper that lots of people had enlisted under fake names, and she did, too. The country needed men, and I wanted excitement, she said. Hodgers was an immigrant from Clogherhead, Ireland, who couldnt read or write. At the end of the war, she had to make some tough decisions about her identity. If she continued as Albert Cashier, it was more likely she would find work, keep the friends she had made during the war and be part of a respected community of Civil War veterans. She can have a bank account. She can vote in elections -– and she did, by the way, Blanton says. Or, if she goes back and puts on a dress and tells everyone that shes Jennie, she has just lost her entire life. Hodgers decided to continue her life as a man. A few years after the war, Cashier made his way to Saunemin, Ill. He worked many jobs, including a stint as a farmhand and the town lamplighter. The town was not especially proud of Cashier, says Cheryl ODonnell, a church secretary and Cashier proponent. Since the 1960s, a handful of locals have been trying to save Cashiers house. Over the years, the house has been moved at least eight times. The house was saved thanks to Betty Estes, the tourism director of a town just down the road. She began bringing busloads of people over to Saunemin to view Cashiers grave. The city board of Saunemin seemed to take notice, and now there are big plans to finally reconstruct the old house and put it close to the spot where Cashier used to live. If things go according to plan, Hodgers secret will soon be exposed to a larger audience. Visitors will be able to come to her grave site — and to her old house — to hear all about her remarkable and complicated life.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 21:05:47 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015