January 12 - From Slave To Lawman: The Story Of Bass Reeves

   On January 12, 1910, one of the most prolific and successful  U.S. Marshals, Bass Reeves, died at the age of 71 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Reeves served as a U.S. Marshal for more than 30 years and arrested over 3,000 wanted men, and was respected for his superior marksmanship and tracking  capabilities, despite being born (in 1838, exact date unknown) a slave in Crawford County, Arkansas.

   He was owned by Arkansas state legislator William Steele Reeves and was the servant for Williams' son, George R. Reeves. George was a Colonel in the Confederate army during the Civil War. It was during the war that Bass "parted ways" with his owner after he beat up George during a dispute over a card game. George went on to become Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives until his death in 1882 from rabies. Bass hid out until 1865 when slavery was abolished. During that time he lived with Cherokee, Seminole, and Creek Indians, learning their culture and languages. Bass Reeves then moved to Arkansas to be a farmer with wife Nellie Jennie and their eleven children.

   Reeves and his family farmed until 1875, when famed federal judge Isaac Parker directed U.S. Marshal James F. Fagan to hire 200 deputy U.S. Marshals. Fagan sought out and recruited Bass Reeves (for Reeves' knowledge of Indian Territory and Indian languages) making Reeves the first black deputy west of the Mississippi River.

    For over thirty years as a U.S. Marshal, Reeves captured over 3,000 felons, and killed fourteen outlaws in self defense, amazingly he was never wounded despite having his hat and belt shot off on separate occasions. After 32 years as a Marshal, Reeves retired at 68, and became an officer of the Muskogee, Oklahoma police department until his death on this date in 1910.

Image: Bass Reeves (public domain photo)

March 17: A Girl Named Frank

On March 17th, 1908 Frances 'Frank' Hook died at age 60 or 61. Her exact birthdate is unknown, except that it was sometime in 1847 in Illinois. When she was three years old both of her parents died, leaving her older brother to raise her. At the time the Civil War began Hook and her brother were living in Chicago, Illinois when her brother decided to enlist the Union Army. Frances, only 14, and not wanting to be parted, enlisted as well, disguised as a man and claimed to be 22.

The brother and sister served with the blue coats for 3 years, Frances reenlisting under various versions of a male personality named Frank every time she was discovered as a female disguised as a man.  After her brother was killed she was taken prisoner by the Confederate army and her true identity was discovered. The grey coats were so impressed by her courage that Confederate President Jefferson Davis offered to make her a lieutenant if she joined his army. In true Yankee form, Hook declared she'd rather be a private in the Union Army than a lieutenant for the Rebels. The press found out about the bravery of a young female soldier and interviewed her.  Her heroics were written about in periodicals but the Union Army refused to reinstate her. She promised reporters she would head home, but with no home to return to, many speculated that she again reenlisted under a new name. 

Later in life she married and had a child, Maggie, who wrote to the War Department after her mother's death seeking confirmation of her mother's military service. The letter was forwarded to the Adjutant General's Office, who was able to confirm Hook's service in the Union Army. 

Photo: Frances 'Frank' Hook (Public Domain)

November 11: A Medal Of Honor Recipient By Any Other Name

On November 11, 1865, Mary Edwards Walker became the first woman to receive the U.S. Congressional Medal of Honor, The United States of America's highest military honor. 


Mary Edwards Walker was born in the Town of Oswego, New York on November 26, 1832. Raised by progressive christians that nurtured her defiant spirit, They let her wear traditionally male clothes; she refused to wear dresses and corsets even in school.

Mary first attended Falley Seminary in Fulton, New York before receiving her medical doctorate at Syracuse Medical College, even though women at the time were discouraged from pursuing medical degrees.  While at Syracuse she met and married another doctor, Albert Miller. At the wedding Walker wore trousers, refused to include "obey" in her vows, and retained her last name. All of which Albert seemed fine with, but he was unfaithful so the marriage ended. 


When the American Civil War began, she volunteered for the Union Army. At the time the U.S. Army had no female surgeons, and at first she was allowed to practice only as a nurse before her skills and demand superseded social restrictions.

In September 1863, she was employed as a "Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon" becoming the first female surgeon employed by the U.S. Army. During her time as a surgeon in the Civil War she came across female soldiers dressed as men. There are 400 documented cases from both sides of the conflict with evidence supporting that up to an additional 1,000 other cases of female soldiers that were either not discovered, or were to some degree but were kept secret by fellow soldiers due to skill and camaraderie.  


One such soldier was Frances Hook, whom served with the blue coats for 3 years (reenlisting every time she was discovered, under various versions of a male personality named Frank). Hook and her brother enlisted together, she was only 14 at the time of enlistment but claimed to be 22. After her brother was killed she was taken prisoner by the Confederate army and her true identity was discovered. The grey coats were so impressed by her courage that Confederate President Jefferson Davis offered to make her a lieutenant if she joined his army. In true Yankee form, Hook declared she'd rather be a private in the Union Army than a lieutenant for the Rebels. When Mary Walker found out about it she campaigned for the Union to reinstate her as lieutenant.  When they declined Walker alerted the press about the bravery and heroics of a young female soldier. Hook gave interviews and was written about extensively but the army again refused to reinstate her. She promised reporters she would head home, but with no home to return to, many speculated that she again reenlisted under a new name.  


Walker continued as a surgeon for the union, inspired by female Union spies (such as Sarah Emma Edmonds, a white Canadian woman who spied on the rebels disguised as a black man) Walker requested the War Department employ her as a spy. Records show she was denied but In 1864, she was captured by Confederate troops, and arrested as a spy, just after she finished helping a Confederate doctor perform an amputation. It wasn't uncommon for Walker to cross enemy lines to tend to the wounded no matter who they fought for. Regardless, she was imprisoned at Castle Thunder in Richmond, Virginia, until she was released in a prisoner exchange.

After the war Walker was recommended for the Medal of Honor for bravery 'above and beyond the call of duty', by Generals William Tecumseh Sherman and George Henry Thomas.  
On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson signed a bill to award her the medal, becoming the first woman to receive the Medal of Honor.  
In 1917, her name was dropped from the official Medal of Honor Roll (along with over 900 others) when the U.S. Congress created a pension act for Medal of Honor recipients. Walker still proudly wore her medal on the lapel of her 'masculine' suits. 


On February 21, 1919, Walker died at the age of eighty-six. She was buried wearing one of her trademark black suits (see photo). 

In 1977 her medal was restored posthumously by President Jimmy Carter.

Mary Edwards Walker is still the only woman to receive the Medal of Honor.  

Mary Edmunds Walker in her trademark black suit
with her Medal of Honor on the lapel (Public Domain Photo)

October 10: American War Hero Forced To Dress As A Woman Against His Will Is Rescued By Town

On October 10th, 1915, Civil War veteran Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry died at the age of 72 and was laid to rest at Sunny Slope Cemetery in Saunemin, Illinois.

     Although the shortest soldier in his regiment, Private Cashier was a capable fighter and admired by his peers, serving a full 3 year enlistment and fighting in over 40 battles. Cashier at one point became a prisoner of war but escaped by overpowering a prison guard. Surviving the war, Cashier settled in Saunemin, living a quiet life on his military pension supplemented by working as a handyman. At the age of 66, while working for Illinois State Senator I.M. Lish, Cashier suffered a broken leg while doing yard work (hit accidentally by a car Lish was driving) and was taken to the local hospital where it was discovered that Cashier was in fact a woman. Hospital employees did not divulge Cashier's secret and sent him to the Soldiers and Sailors Home in Quincy, Illinois to recover.      
Cashier remained a resident of the Home until 1913, when he was sent to a state hospital for the insane due to the onset of dementia. Attendants there discovered Cashier was a woman and forced him to give his birth name and information (Jennie Hodgers born December 25, 1843 in Louth, Ireland) as well as forcing him to wear a dress,  which was upsetting and confusing to the aging Soldier who had lived as Cashier for 50 years. When word got out about the cruel treatment of the Civil War veteran many of his friends and former regiment soldiers protested his treatment at the state hospital, surprised but not deterred by his secret identity, and demanded the veteran be acknowledged and treated with respect.
When Cashier died on October 10th, 1915, he was buried in his Military uniform with his name and military rank on the tombstone.

Union soldier Albert Chashier. 

Editor's Note: There are 400 documented cases of women assuming males identities in order to fight in the Civil War. Historians believe as many as 1,000 Women (or more) bravely fought on the front lines, many successfully keeping their male identities in tact after the war. Research looking into the hundreds of these soldiers shows different motivations for assuming male identities and joining the fight. Many were discovered after being killed in battle so little else is known about them.  Others wrote books and did interviews after the war  explaining motivations such as the patriotic call to duty; others joined so they could fight along side of their lovers, husbands, and brothers (two women were cousins and joined together) and resumed their previous identities after the war. One woman joined and fought along side her husband, and after the war they became marauders terrorizing small towns in the Appalachian region. 
Others, like Cashier, identified as men and remained so for the rest of their lives (Cashier identified as a man long before he enlisted). The part of story I left out in the article is that more than 50 years after Cashier's death a second tombstone was added next to the first inscribed with his birth name (of Jennie Hodgers). Given that the town and his fellow soldiers fought to preserve his name and legacy, adding the second tombstone could be seen as disrespectful, but because I do not know what the motivation was for doing so I personally reserve judgement.