Albert Cashier, the trans man who fought in the Civil War
One of several hundred women who disguised themselves as men in order to fight on both sides
Albert Cashier was born as Jennie Hodgers in Ireland in 1843, was assigned female at birth, and is one of the most famous women who disguised themselves as men and fought in the Civil War. What makes Albert Cashier different, however, is that he continue to live as a man after the war and his gender identity was never discovered until two years before his death in 1913.
Although the inherently clandestine nature of the activity makes an accurate count impossible, conservative estimates of female soldiers in the Civil War puts the number somewhere between 400 and 750. Long viewed by historians as anomalies, more recent scholars argue that the women who fought in the Civil War shared the same motivations as their male companions.
Some women went to war in order to share in the trials of their loved ones. Others were seeking adventure, the promise of steady pay and reliable wages, or an ardent feeling of patriotism. In the words of Sarah Emma Edmonds, also known as Franklin Flint Thompson of the 2nd Michigan Infantry: "I could only thank God that I was free and could go forward and work, and I was not obliged to stay at home and weep."
Albert Cashier, then Jennie Hodgers, immigrated to the US from Clogherhead, County Louth, Ireland, and lived in Illinois at the commencement of hostilities in 1861. On August 6, 1862 Jennie Hodgers became Albert Cashier and enlisted with the 95th Illinois Infantry. Although the shortest soldier in his regiment, he was considered a good soldier and fought in over 40 engagements, including the Siege of Vicksburg, the Battle of Nashville, the Red River Campaign, and the battles at Kennesaw Mountain and Jonesborough, Georgia.
Women who disguised themselves as men and fought as soldiers were less likely to be discovered as one might think, as Victorian sentiments of modesty at the time insisted that soldiers sleep fully clothed, bathe separately, and avoid public latrines. Clothing was heavy and ill-fitting, and the inability to grow a beard was attributed to youth. Discovery of women soldiers usually only happened upon their death on the battlefield or if they were wounded and treated at field hospitals, and most were sent home without punishment though some were imprisoned or were sent to psychiatric institutions.
Albert Cashier, however, served a full three year enlistment and mustered out when his unit was disbanded at the end of the war. Albert, however, was not ready to go back to life as a woman. Instead he settled down in Saunemin, Illinois. Here he took many jobs typical of a Civil War veteran, including farmhand, church janitor, cemetery worker, and street lamplighter. He was even able to vote in elections, which was still restricted to men at the time.
In November 1910 Albert Cashier’s assigned birth gender was discovered after he was hit by a car and his leg broken. Staff at the local hospital sympathized with his situation and did not divulge his secret and he was sent to the Soldiers and Sailors Home in Quincy, Illinois to recover.
However several years later Albert fell into dementia and was sent to a state-run psychiatric hospital that forced him to wear a dress due to his assigned birth gender. Soon afterwards the press found out about his story and the nation learned the truth of Private Albert Cashier.
Despite this revelation the men of his own regiment protested his treatment at the state hospital and on October 10, 1915, Albert Cashier was buried with full military honors in his uniform and given a male tombstone and inscription.