A most unusual “veteran” of the Civil War was Belle Boyd. In 1861, when she was seventeen years old, she raised money to arm Confed- erate soldiers and later, served as a spy. Boyd was able to flirt with Union officers and obtain in- formation that was valuable to the Confeder- ate Army. Her talents included her prowess as a horsewoman; she used her knowledge of the Shenandoah Valley to ferry information and act as a courier.


It


is also believed that she smuggled in needed supplies, including quinine. She was discovered as a Confederate spy, captured and punished (including prison time) on more than one occasion. De- spite being on the losing side, after the war, she wrote and lectured on her ex- ploits.


Although her offer to help President McKinley prior to the Spanish-American War was not accepted, in 1898, famous sharpshooter and star of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, Annie Oakley wrote to the President and offered her services and the services of other women:


Dear Sir, I for one feel confident that your good judgment will carry America safely through without war. But in case of such


Oct/Dec 2014


an event I am ready to place a company of fifty lady sharpshooters at your dis- posal. Every one of them will be an American and as they will furnish their own Arms and Ammunition will be little if any expense to the government.


The story of Annie Oakley, who began hunting at age nine to put food on the family table, was fiction- alized in the play and movie, “Annie Get Your Gun.” Oakley has been in- ducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame.


From the later 1800s, we move to World War II. The efforts of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPs) were significant during that war. The WASPs, over 1,000 strong, flew American military aircraft in noncombat service missions during the war. They were the first woman trained to fly military aircraft. During the war, they were not treated fairly. They had to pay for their own uni- forms and transport. After the war, they did not receive veteran’s benefits. It was not until 2009 that President Obama signed legislation awarding the WASPs the Congressional Gold Medal.


The WASPs were led by Lieutenant 17 Kalon Women Magazine


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