Sarah (Edmonds) Seelye
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Sarah Emma (Edmonds) Seelye (1841 - 1898)

Pvt. Sarah Emma "Franklin Flint Thompson" Seelye formerly Edmonds aka Edmondson
Born in Magaguadavic, New Brunswick Province, Canadamap
Daughter of and [mother unknown]
Wife of — married 27 Apr 1867 in Cleveland, Cuyahoga, Ohio, United Statesmap
Died at age 56 in La Porte, Harris, Texas, United Statesmap
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Profile last modified | Created 3 Feb 2018
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Biography

Notables Project
Sarah (Edmonds) Seelye is Notable.
Private Sarah (Edmonds) Seelye served in the United States Civil War.
Enlisted: May 25, 1861
Mustered out: April 1863
Side: USA
Regiment(s): 2nd Regiment, Michigan Infantry

From her Memorial page: "Civil War Union spy. Sarah Seelye was born Sarah Emma Edmundson in Magaguadavic Settlement, New Brunswick, Canada. Running away from home disguised as a boy to avoid a forced marriage, she sold Bibles in New Brunswick until fear she would be discovered by her family caused her to flee to Flint, Michigan in 1856. She continued her disguise as a boy and worked as a publisher's agent until May 1862, when she enlisted in Company F, 2nd Michigan Volunteer Infantry, as Franklin T Thompson. For almost two years she served in the Union army as a male nurse, participating in the First Battle of Bull Run, the Battle of Blackburn's Ford, Antietam and Fredericksburg, among others. She also served as a spy, ironically disguising herself as a woman or as a slave, infiltrating the Confederate camps while working in the fields with the rest of the servants. In 1864 Sarah contracted malaria, and fearing her exposure as a woman, deserted. After she was cured, she served the Union army again as a female nurse in a Washington DC hospital. After the war, Sarah wrote of her adventures in a book titled "Nurse and Spy in the Union Army" under the pen name S. E. Edmonds, in 1865. The book was hugely popular, but caused the government to cancel her pension on grounds of desertion. She went on to marry a childhood friend, Linus Seelye, and had three children with him. A Congressional bill in 1884 reinstated her pension in 1884 in recognition of her wartime service, and the charge of desertion was removed from her record. In 1897, Sarah Seelye joined the McClellan Post and became a member of the Grand Army of the Republic - the only woman ever admitted. She died in La Porte, Texas, September 5, 1898. At the insistence of her fellow GAR members, her remains were moved to the GAR plot in Washington Cemetery three years later."

"Sarah Edmondson was born December 1841 in Moncton, Colony of New Brunswick, British Canada, she was a daughter of Isaac and Elizabeth (Leeper) Edmonson, a resident of Scotch Settlement, Queensbury parish, New Brunswick. [1] [2]

Sarah Edmondson ran away from home when she was 15 to Salisbury and worked as a milliner, and changed her surname to Edmonds. [page 27]. She immigrated to the United States and disguised herself as a man named “Franklin Thompson.”

Sarah Edmonds enlisted in the Union Army on 25 May 1861, and was mustered into the 2nd Regiment Michigan Infantry as a 3-year recruit. Although she didn’t participate in the Battle of First Manassas, she nursed wounded soldiers after the fight and became a hospital attendant. Throughout the war, she would act as a nurse and as a mail carrier for her regiment. [3]

In the Spring of 1862, Sarah Edmonds was first asked to conduct espionage missions. Although there is no definitive proof that Sarah Edmonds ever acted as a spy, her memoirs detail several of her exploits behind enemy lines throughout the war.

On 29 August 1862, the 2nd Michigan Regiment took part in the Battle of Second Manassas, with Sarah Edmonds acting as a courier. During the battle, she was thrown into a ditch, breaking her leg and suffering internal injuries. These injuries would plague her for the rest of her life.

In the Spring of 1863, Sarah Edmonds contracted malaria and requested a furlough, which was denied. Not wanting to seek medical attention from the army for fear of discovery, Sarah Edmonds left her comrades in mid-April, never to return. “Franklin Thompson” was subsequently charged with desertion.

"Franklin Thompson, Company F, 2nd Regiment Michigan Infantry, enlisted on 25 May 1861 at Detroit, Michigan ... deserted at Lebanon, Kentucky on 22 April 1863."[4]

After her recovery, Sarah Edmonds, no longer in disguise, worked with the United States Christian Commission as a female nurse, from June 1863 until the end of the war. In 1864, she wrote and published her memoirs, “Nurse and Spy in the Union Army.”

She returned to Canada and married Linus Seeyle and they lived in many different places in the United States. Their family included two adopted sons.

  1. Frederick George born in 1872 George (Fred) Seelye
  2. Charles Finney born in 1874

In 1875 the family moved to Lateche, St Mary's Parish, Louisiana

then to California, Missouri
then to Fort Scott, Kansas

W. T. Seelye, 47 yrs, wife Emma 41 yrs, George 7 yrs, Charles 7 yrs, resided in 1880 in California, Moniteau, Missouri, United States. [5]

In 1876, she attended a reunion of the 2nd Michigan and was warmly received by her comrades, who aided her in having the charge of desertion removed from her military records and supported her application for a military pension.

S. Emma E. Seelye of Fort Scott, Bourbon, Kansas, filed an application for payment of back pay on 24 March 1882. [6]

After an eight-year battle and an Act of Congress, “Franklin Thompson” was cleared of desertion charges and awarded a pension in 1884. After a full review of her Civil War Pension case, the House of Representative granted a full pardon on 28 March 1884.

She lived the rest of her life in La Porte, Texas. She is buried in the military section of Washington Cemetery in Houston, Texas. She is the only female member of The Grand Army of the Republic.

In 1897, Sarah Edmonds was admitted into the Grand Army of the Republic, the only woman member. One year later, on 5 September 1898, Sarah Edmonds died at her home in La Porte, Texas. In 1901, she was reburied with military honors at Washington Cemetery in Houston. "

Burial: Washington Cemetery , Houston, Harris County, Texas [7]

Sources

  1. "She Rode With the Generals; The True and Incredible Story of Sarah Emma Seelye, alias Franklin Thompson" by Sylvia G. L. Dannett, published 1960, Page 15 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015046371871&view=1up&seq=19&size=125
  2. Womens History Month:
  3. Compiled military service record for Franklin Thompson, Second Michigan Infantry; and Enlisted Branch file 3132 C 1884, both in Record Group 94, US National Archives.
  4. John Robertson Adjutant General of Mchigan [Page 250]
  5. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M6XR-P5Y : 14 August 2017), George Seelye in household of W T Seelye, California, Moniteau, Missouri, United States; citing Enumeration District ED 204, sheet 452B, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,254,704.
  6. Application of Sarah Emma Edmond Seelye, Discharged Soldier, for Arrears of Pay; 61 pages, https://catalog.archives.gov/id/306649
  7. Find A Grave: Memorial #6843300 Sarah Emma Seelye




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Edmondson-1507 and Edmonds-1987 appear to represent the same person because: same person
posted by Aaron Gullison
edited by Aaron Gullison

Rejected matches › Sarah (Edmonds) Aves (1833-1892)