While perusing our newest additions to our list this month, The Mysterious Private Thompson by Laura Leedy Gansler caught my eye.   Private Thompson served during the American Civil War in The  First Battle of Bull Run, The Second Battle of Bull Run, the Peninsula Campaign, and The Battle of Fredericksburg.  She also claimed to have been a spy.  Yep, I used the right pronoun.

That reminds me of a riddle I learned in a class years (let’s not say how many) ago:

A man and his son were in a horrible car accident.  They were taken to the emergency room with extensive injuries.  When the boy was brought into the OR, the attending doctor protested, "I can’t operate on this child.  He is my son!"

But Private Franklin Thompson was really Sarah Emma Edmonds.  She disguised herself as a man in order to enlist in the Union Army.  Actually, Sara dressed and lived as a man well before the Civil War.

So for your links this Friday, I have a couple of Civil War blogs/posts to share.  Civil War Women chronicles the lives of women during the Civil War.  Draw the Sword has a post about The Gettysburg Civil War Women’s Memorial.  Last, but definitely not least, Nursing Innovator – Clara Burton 1821 – 1912 is a short blog tribute to the Civil War nurse.

Enjoy your weekend!  Oh, and did you figure out the riddle?  I hope so.