Loreta Janeta Velázquez was a Cuban-born woman who masqueraded as a male Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. After her soldier husband's accidental death, she enlisted in the Confederate States Army in 1861. She then fought at Bull Run, Ball's Bluff, and Fort Donelson, but was discharged when her gender was discovered while in New Orleans. Undeterred, she reenlisted and fought at Shiloh, until unmasked once more.
Background
According to her autobiography, Velazquez was born in 1842 into a Cuban plantation-owning family. Her mother was the daughter of a French naval officer. She writes about being sent to New Orleans for her education and about her fixation with the idea of being a man. In an early display of the independence that would characterize her life, she ran away from home at age 14 to marry William, a U.S. Army officer. In her book we learn that they had three children, who by 1860 had died of unknown causes.
Education
Velázquez learned the English language at school in New Orleans in 1849, while living with an aunt. Her father's wealth as a plantation owner allowed her this opportunity to travel and continue her education. While in New Orleans, Velázquez took to fairy tales and stories of heroism, citing Joan of Arc as a particular inspiration.
Career
Velazquez's adventures as a soldier started in 1861, the first year of the American Civil War. At the time it was common for wives to accompany their husbands into battle to care for them. Velaquez's husband, who had resigned his commission and joined the Confederate Army, however, would not go along with her scheme of infiltrating the armed forces disguised as a man. Once he left for the war, Velazquez's wealth allowed her to hire a Memphis, Tennessee, tailor who made her two Confederate uniforms that concealed her female characteristics.
For women, joining the army during the Civil War was not a difficult feat. It is believed that over 750 women served during the war. There were no standardized medical exams, and most recruiters looked for visible disabilities such as deafness or poor eyesight. In addition, this was the Victorian era; men were modest by today's standards. Soldiers slept in their uniforms, and many refused to use the odorous and revolting open-trenched latrines of the camps. It was not unusual for soldiers to saunter into the woods to relieve themselves or leave camp before dawn to bathe privately in a nearby stream. Velazquez, wearing her specially tailored uniform and a false mustache, and with a well-developed masculine gait, successfully managed to enlist under the name of Lt. Harry T. Buford. Her uniform was padded to make her look more muscular, and she had become skilled at smoking cigars.
In her book she states that she recruited over 200 men and dispatched them to Pensacola, Florida, her husband's military post. She presented him with the recruits for his command, but while training them in the use of arms he was accidentally shot and killed. Free from her husband's restraining concern, she was now able to fulfill her desire to display her military talents. Her career as commander of the grays in the front lines began at the First Battle of Bull Run. She also served in battles in Tennessee during the surrender of Fort Donelson and in Kentucky.
After being wounded twice, she joined another activity in which an elite group of southern women participated: espionage. During this time she was a drug smuggler, a blockade-runner, and a double agent. She traveled to Richmond, Virginia, where she worked as a spy in the secret service, traveling freely between the North and South. During this time she met Captain Thomas DeCaulp, whom she married and whose widow she became a short time later. From spying she moved on to travel. She visited Canada and Europe and returned to New York City the day after General Lee's surrender. Her post-war narrative claims that she again traveled to Europe. On her return she lived in Salt Lake City, where she had a baby, and a shortly thereafter married an unnamed gentleman, left him, and took off with her baby. The Woman in Battle ends with the hope that the public will buy the book so that she can provide for her child.
Membership
She became very active in public life and politics, and was particularly involved in grand speculative schemes around mining and railway building, as well as being involved in journalism and writing. Her biographer William C. Davis suggests that her actions were generally fraudulent, intending to raise money for herself and associates, although such schemes were typical business practices at that date. Some press accounts were impressed by her vitality and business acumen, such as in a 1891 account from the New York Herald reprinted in the Saturday Evening Mail Terre Haute. Here Velázquez was described as "a woman of business, a woman who can 'run things like a man.'"
Personality
Quotes from others about the person
The veracity of Velazquez's narrative remains to be determined. However, there are historians who have found evidence to support some of her claims, although there are data that cannot be corroborated. In some cases she is historically accurate in her placement of people in certain events, but in other cases, the names and activities are very vague. Nevertheless, some say that the importance of Velazquez's narrative lies in how her accounts shed light on gender roles and relations of that time.