Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy

At the time of the Civil War, the role of women in society was much more narrowly defined than it is today. Women were expected to function in a private capacity in the home as wives and mothers. Since society primarily viewed women as nurturing homemakers, the traits it associated with their function were obedience and passivity. Women weren’t supposed to lead; they were meant to follow. Society considered even commerce and politics too rough for women to navigate, let alone the horrors of war. Men assumed that fighting wars was utterly beyond women.

No one thought to question the accuracy of these assumptions about female frailty. Only several decades later did the women’s suffrage movement begin to challenge beliefs that so narrowly restricted the borders of a woman’s world. Rather than challenge her culture’s ridiculous assumptions head-on, Emma Edmonds overturned the stereotype by proving what a woman could do given the freedom to be true to herself.

The harsh nature of Emma’s upbringing caused her to rebel against customary gender restrictions at an early age. Her father’s overvaluation of a son instead of a daughter, no doubt, contributed to her daring exploits in later years. Although she might never be able to prove her worth to her father, she can certainly prove it to herself and eventually to her adopted country.

Dressing as a man allowed Emma to express the virtues usually ascribed to the male sex. In our current era, no one would automatically assume that courage, nerves of steel, and resourcefulness are exclusively the province of men. However, in Emma’s day, it was shocking for any woman to claim these virtues as part of her own character. To be her most authentic self as a woman, Emma had to pretend to be a man.