A Woman Wounded in Battle by Annie Wittenmyer
A woman who had disguised herself as a private soldier is severely wounded, captured at Chickamauga, and returned under a flag of truce after Confederate surgeons discover her sex. Her regiment protests that, despite serving with them for more than a year, she had marched, stood picket duty, chopped wood, and fought without arousing suspicion. In hospitals at Chattanooga and Nashville, she tells the narrator she enlisted simply because she thought she would like camp life, and her chief regret is that she cannot return to the army. She refuses to reveal her real name or home. Given women’s clothing and photographed in both uniform and civilian dress, she sells the portraits to raise money. When she must leave the hospital, she finally entrusts her name and destination to the narrator after receiving a promise of secrecy. She is sent to her home in the Northwest, and the narrator never learns what became of her.
By Annie Wittenmyer · First published 1895 · Genre: Civil War literature, Historical nonfiction, War memoir · 1,074 words
First lines
A woman who had served as a private soldier in the ranks was severely wounded and taken prisoner at Chickamauga. She fell in a charge made upon the Confederates; and as the troops immediately fell back she was left with the other wounded on the field, in the enemy's lines. As she was dressed as the other soldiers were, her sex was not discovered till she was under a surgeon's care in the hospital. She was wounded in the thigh. No bones were broken; but it was a deep, ugly flesh wound, as if torn by a fragment of a shell.
A day or two afterwards she was sent with a flag of truce into the Union lines.
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Genres
- Civil War literature — The account centers on a woman who secretly serves as a Union private, is wounded at the Battle of Chickamauga, and is treated in wartime hospitals.
- Historical nonfiction — It presents a purportedly factual wartime incident through the observations and conversations of Annie Wittenmyer, including military, medical, and social details.
- War memoir — The first-person narrator recounts her own encounters with the wounded soldier while performing Civil War hospital and relief work.
- Biographical sketch — The narrative constructs a brief portrait of an anonymous woman soldier, describing her service, injury, appearance, motives, and uncertain later life.
Tags
American Civil War · Battle of Chickamauga · Union Army · woman soldier · female soldier in disguise · cross-dressing · gender concealment · women in combat · military service · battle wound · Confederate capture · flag of truce
What this Textopian page supports
A Woman Wounded in Battle is listed on Textopian as a historical account by Annie Wittenmyer, dated 1895 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Historical account
- Author: Annie Wittenmyer
- Date: 1895 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Civil War literature, Historical nonfiction, War memoir, Biographical sketch, Women's history
- Length: 1,074 words
- Structure: 1 section, 27 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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