S. Emma E. (Sarah Emma Evelyn) Edmonds

Born in New Brunswick in 1841, Sarah Emma Evelyn Edmonds left home as a young woman and later made a name for herself during the American Civil War. She served with the Union Army, often presenting herself as a man under the name Franklin Thompson, and became widely known for her work as a nurse and for the dramatic stories she later told about wartime service.

Her best-known book, Nurse and Spy in the Union Army, was published in 1864 and brought her a large readership. Modern historians have noted that some of its most sensational episodes may have been exaggerated, but the book remains an important part of how she was remembered and of the larger story of women who crossed boundaries during the war.

After the war, Edmonds lived in the United States and Canada, married, and raised a family. She was later recognized by veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic, and her unusual path from runaway daughter to celebrated Civil War figure has kept readers interested for well over a century.