tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post9134797978854928338..comments2023-12-19T13:11:31.497-06:00Comments on TBR 313: A woman soldier and a nurse, though probably not a spyLisahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-71667783045480560012014-04-01T22:42:34.875-05:002014-04-01T22:42:34.875-05:00James, I took all of her spy adventures with a big...James, I took all of her spy adventures with a big grain of salt. It wouldn't surprise me in the least if she made them all up, or "borrowed" them from stories she heard. Her enlistment & nursing service are well-documented in the contemporary sources, but not the spying. The introduction & the notes were good at pointing out ambiguities & contradictions.<br /><br />I also have to say, I doubt she could blend in to the African American groups she supposedly met, just with that ridiculous dialect. There would have been all kinds of cultural & community cues that she would have missed - as a white woman from the North, she needed more than skin dye and a drawl.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-50783429559482986062014-04-01T09:48:22.079-05:002014-04-01T09:48:22.079-05:00Fascinating post. Isn't it fun to read books ...Fascinating post. Isn't it fun to read books like this once in a while. They are my main argument against historical fiction. When you can read what people who lived it thought and went through, why go for a fictional account.<br /><br />But I do have to wonder about her claim to have passed as a slave. The bit about arming the slaves has no historical basis at all according to the current research I'm aware of. Never happened. It kind of calls the whole story into question for me. Where there notes and annotations that pointed out what could and could not be verified? <br /><br />If I ever come across this book, there's a good chance I just might pick it up.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-83186714033790971192014-03-31T13:19:04.631-05:002014-03-31T13:19:04.631-05:00vicki, she was apparently a good nurse - though st...vicki, she was apparently a good nurse - though standards were pretty low at that time. But she seems to have reserved her empathy for soldiers (Federal over Confederate, wounded over able-bodied), and for the slaves & contrabands. Not much for Southern civilians.Lisahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17782561487396697870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1203893324932668537.post-71434896042559710122014-03-31T05:48:37.584-05:002014-03-31T05:48:37.584-05:00That does seem cruel not to offer some understandi...That does seem cruel not to offer some understanding to a dying woman who could be herself (sorry, bad sentence structure!) - as I read this I wondered how generally empathetic she was in other situations. I don't mean all gushing and stereotypically womanly, but just whether she had much feeling for anyone. (However, the use of dialect is a killer for me, so I suspect I will never find out). skiourophilehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08200877834536477400noreply@blogger.com