Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy

“Female nurses were also needed at hospitals in big cities like Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. It was all good work, important work—useful work that would trap her on the sidelines, far away from the realities of the war.”

As Emma thinks about how to serve the Union cause, she immediately rejects the traditional female roles available to her. Ladies don’t take up weapons, which means that they serve only in supporting roles. Emma wants to take a leading role in the drama of the war and of her own life.

“He had always wanted a son and could never forgive her for being female. She’d tried hard to please him and to win his approval, but without success. Her father had acted as though the whole thing were her fault.”

This passage explains Emma’s core motivation for passing as a man. Ironically, her father’s rejection is what drives her to do more than her traditional gender role allows. Her father’s resenting her for being born female proves her greatest asset in years to come.

“The first involved a Union agent who had been working in Richmond as a spy for McClellan […] The second event involved a Union patrol setting out that very night […] Taken together, these two events played a major part in her future, starting her on a path filled with risk and danger.”

Throughout the story, fate randomly works in Emma’s favor. These sometimes even resemble acts of divine intervention or the orchestrations of luck. This is the first instance of two unrelated events that provide a catalyst to launch Emma into her new career as a spy.