ABSTRACT
The Civil War was fought in eighteen states, in ten territories, on hundreds of battlefields. It was fought amidst heavy forest, on mountainsides and bayous, across open plains, on waves and beaches, in rural hamlets and in major cities. In classically American fashion, Civil War commanders, engineers, and innovators placed greater emphasis on the practical than on the theoretical when it came to waging war. The emerging forms of warfare also changed the experience of combat for American soldiers, particularly infantry, who found themselves in battle environments for which they were necessarily ill-prepared. Sarah Emma Edmonds was just one of a number of women—hundreds, perhaps thousands—who participated actively in the war by posing as male soldiers, working as couriers, or engaging in espionage. The battle was won, and victory crowned the Union arms. The rebels were flying precipitately from the field, and showers of bullets thick as hail followed the retreating fugitives.
