“Albert D. J. Cashier, birth name Jennie Irene Hodgers (December 25, 1843 – October 10, 1915) was an Irish-born soldier in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Cashier was biologically female, but lived as a man.”
“On August 6, 1862, Hodgers enlisted into the 95th Illinois Infantry Regiment using the name Albert Cashier and was assigned to Company G. The regiment was part of the Army of the Tennessee under Ulysses S. Grant and fought in approximately forty battles, including the siege at Vicksburg, the Red River Campaign and the combat at Guntown, Mississippi, where they suffered heavy casualties.
Other soldiers thought that Cashier was just small and preferred to be alone, which was not that uncommon. He was once captured in battle, but escaped back to Union lines after overpowering a prison guard.”
I heard of Cashier from the book Tishomingo Blues (spoilers) by Elmore Leonard. The book deals somewhat heavily with Civil War re-enacters, so there are many references to actual Civil War events and people throughout the book, including Cashier. At first I thought the story sounded far-fetched, a real-life Eowyn in the Civil War. But, I looked it up and it’s true. Fascinating.
The article above also leads to a list of wartime cross-dressers.
