Each night she would hide in the ravine, change and join the other side at dawn. After four years of combat, she contracted malaria and retreated to Michigan to avoid prosecution. She then went on to write her memoir and donated all of the proceeds to the Union army (Sarah). After the war, she returned with military honors and found praise in her community. Another common misconception was that women were simply too weak to ever become soldiers. Women like Sarah Emma Edmonds and Loreta Janeta Velazquez definitely proved that theory wrong. Velazquez was a wealthy Cuban woman who eloped at 14 and went on to serve beside her husband in Texas. She used armor and braces to flatten her chest while also dressing as a man to serve as a soldier under the name Harry T. …show more content…
gaining information from people like Abraham Lincoln. Eventually, she was wounded by an exploding shell, imprisoned for espionage, released and ordered back to New Orleans. Throughout her life, she outlived four husbands all holding important military positions (Velazquez). She proved that women were not as weak or as dumb some men assumed them to be. She also retaliated against common misconceptions of female weakness by holding her prestigious military position. Traditional women 's roles involved following the husband and not having an opinion. Women, similar to slaves, were thought of as property and their sole purpose was to tend to domestic work so the men could become the breadwinners. Those ignorant assumptions were oppressive, but proved to be very effective in military combat because few expected them to excel as spies or soldiers. Each woman had a different role in helping their respected side. Each woman also employed different tactics that allow them to succeed. Some women focused on nursing wounded soldiers and smuggling information. Others directly fought or helped to free slaves. Whatever their goal, their social class had a large effect on the