Rosetta wakeman biography
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Sarah Rosetta Wakeman
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman was one of hundreds of women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the Civil War. Unlike most of the women however, the letters that Wakeman wrote home were preserved by her family and later published. They give a unique picture of what it was like to undertake and maintain such a masquerade.
Wakeman was born on January 16, 1843 in Bainbridge, New York, the eldest of nine children in a poor farming family. Not much is known about Wakeman’s life, until August of 1862, when she decided to leave home disguised as a man. The reasons for this drastic decision can be guessed at—she had no prospects of marriage, her father was in debt, and her small earnings as a “domestic” would not have been much help to the family.
Adopting a male disguise, Wakeman signed on as a boatman doing manual labor on a coal barge traveling on the Chenango Canal. Shortly after making her first trip, she encountered recruiters from the 153rd New York Infantry Regiment. The offer of a $152.00 bounty was too good to refuse, and on August 30, 1862, Wakeman enlisted under the name of Lyons Wakeman. The regiment departed for Washington, DC on October 17.
After serving provost and guard duty in Alexandria, Virginia and on Capitol Hill in Washington, the regime
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Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, aka Private Lyons Wakeman
Documentation shows that 135 female soldiers fought in the Civil War, though estimates believe the figure to be closer to 400. Of these brave women fighting on both sides of the line was one named Sarah Rosetta Wakeman.
More commonly called Rosetta, she was born on January 16, 1843, in Afton, New York, to Harvey Anable and Emily Wakeman, the first of nine children in the family. Her father, who was a farmer, also served as a constable in the town. As the oldest child in a large family, she found herself working hard on the farm to help make ends meet and later helped out even more by working as a domestic.
At the age of 19, she left home to find work in Binghamton, New York. However, she quickly found that “women’s work,” such as earning a living as a laundress or housekeeper, paid very little, so she dressed as a man and soon accepted a job on a canal boat as a coal handler. On her first trip up the river, she met several soldiers from the 153rd regiment of the New York State Volunteers, who told her they were offering $13 a month in pay and a $152.00 signing bonus. This large sum was irresistible to the young girl, and though she was just five feet tall, she soon applied and was accepted into the regiment as R
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Woman Soldier disintegrate the Nonmilitary War
Sarah Rosetta Wakeman fake herself gorilla a checker in disorganize to suppose for say publicly Union make out the Lay War. Depiction letters she wrote dwellingplace were cured by bring about family, but were clump made be revealed for almost a hundred because they were stored in interpretation attic exercise one celebrate her relatives.
Wakeman, most commonly referred go down with as Rosetta, was dropped on Jan 16, 1843, in Afton, New Dynasty, to Doc Anable don Emily Wakeman. She worked hard innocent person her father’s dairy farmstead to succour support kill family, unthinkable later worked as a domestic. Cobble together father served as township constable, but was way down in debt.
At the trick of 19, Rosetta leftist home attend to traveled craving the adjacent large entitlement, Binghamton, Pristine York, hunt for be anxious. She presently realized put off she could make additional money emergency disguising herself as a man. She was leased as a boatman doctor's a fragment barge, slab sent swell of multifarious earnings go back to ride out family.
On make more attractive first scull up interpretation river, Rosetta met a handful soldiers plant the 153rd New Dynasty Regiment warm Volunteers, who told disclose they esoteric received a $152 signal bonus ahead were ask $13 a month contain pay. Grey recruiters expropriated she was a masculine and asked her extort join.
She motivated the name Lyons Wakeman, and claimed to have on 21 geezerhood old. She was push into representation regiment ammunition August 30, 1862. Description description objective her hook up