Letter From Emma

War Department,

              My name is Emma Edmonds and I had served in the war for 2 years under the alias of Franklin Thompson. I recently found out that I was listed as a deserter in the army records and was known as a dishonorable discharge. I am very unhappy about this and think that I deserve to have my name cleared of that label. I had helped the army in many ways and should not be remembered like this. I was one of the reasons we won the war because I retrieved loads of information about the enemy and found out many of their plans. I think that I should have my rights restored and I will tell you why.
             On my first mission I disguised myself as a slave named Cuff and went behind rebel lines. As I was working and walking around I saw some very interesting and important things about the enemy’s plans. I listed down the artillery and earthworks that I saw and hid it in my shoe (50). I later escaped from behind rebel lines and brought back the information I had written down to McLellan. He personally thanked me for my service and told me that my contributions were very important in helping the Union. I could have been caught at any moment if the silver nitrate I had put on my face and body came off, but thankfully it didn’t and I was able to safely return back to my camp.
              I also think I should be reinstated because when I disguised myself as Bridget O'Shea, I rode with a rebel sergeant and found out lot’s of information while talking to him. His name was sergeant Parks and he told me about the heavy guns they were hiding in the woods and how we were going to march straight into an ambush. Sergeant Parks left me for a minute to get a dead body inside an abandoned house. When he left I rode away on the horse I was sitting on and went back to the Union camp. I got to keep the horse for myself as a reward for doing so well on my mission (82-83).
             Another reason is that McLellan put me on furlough for 2 weeks for working hard and doing well on my missions. I also hurt my arm during a mission so he was letting me give it a rest. During my break I explored the city for a while but then decided to volunteer at 2 hospitals nearby. I did not have to help out at the hospitals but I did anyway because I felt it was my duty to help out the Union soldiers while I was resting (91-92).
             One of the most important reasons that I think I should be reinstated is when I disguised myself as a black woman and found very crucial documents in an officers dress coat. As I was doing the laundry it slipped out of the inside pocket of the dress coat and I put them under my skirt and did not look at them till I got back to camp. They had secret Union plans on them and the names of 2 agents that were pretending to be a sutler and a photographer. We captured the agents so they could not hear any more information about our plans in the war (95 and 113).
             As you can see, I have helped the army a lot in the Civil War and that is why I should not be labeled as deserter and have a dishonorable discharge. I hope you make the right choice by reinstating me and erasing those horrible things from the army records.
   
                                                             Sincerely, Emma Edmonds (Franklin Thompson)