Loreta Janeta Velazquez

Loreta Velazquez was born in Cuba in 1842, the daughter of a government official. She went to finishing school in New Orleans and lived with her aunt. Her parents arranged a marriage for her, but she fell in love with a school friend's boyfriend. They contrived to meet in secret, and decided to get married. He wrote her father asking fir her hand, but her father refused, so the couple eloped. Her family cut her off, but years later they reconciled. Loreta's husband was an Army officer, and she accompanied him to several frontier Army postings and endured the hardships of Army life. She had three children but all three died. When the Civil War began, Loreta's husband and his Army friends sided with the south. As he prepared to join the Confederate Army, Loreta tried to persuade him to allow her to accompany him, disguised as a man, so that they could experience the war together. He refused, saying that the life would be too hard for a delicate woman. After he left, she defied him and disguised herself as a man. She used some sort of glue (never identified) to afix a mustache and beard on her face. She followed her husband and caught up with him. He was teaching new officers the skills involved in fighting. At first he did not recognize her, so he had to admit she was very good at her disguise. Loreta's husband was killed when a gun discharged while he was demonstrating how to load it. This freed her from any remaining encumbrances. Although never specifically stated, she appears to have had access to ready cash, aand was determined to do all she could while in uniform to aid the Confederacy. She particiapted in several battles, acquitted herself well, as was wounded twice. She then began spying for the Confederacy, dressing again as a woman because it was easier for women to pass through enemy lines. Throughout the rest of the war she moved from job to job, changing her gender at will. Several times she was suspected of impersonating a man and arrested. When that happened, she simply changed locals. Velasquez first published her book in 1876, and from that time forward historians have been divided as to the books authenticity, many believe that most of it is simply fantasy. The story does appear to be hard to believe - Velasquez traveled at will constantly all over - so that her experiences and jobs are almost too wide ranging. She met so many famous generals and politicals officials that surely one of them should remember meeting her (or her alias Lt. Harry T. Buford) but none do. Any military orders, letters, etc. that refer to her no longer exist. Is her story true or fiction? Regardless, it makes good reading, and one can learn a great deal about women's place in society during the Civil War by reading this memoir.… (mais)