Before transgender was a word, women served as men
http://www.latimes.com/opinion/op-ed/la-oe-tsui-transgender-history-wars-20170730-story.html
One of the toughest military enlistments in the Civil War was served by a woman who dressed as a man. Private Albert D.J. Cashier, born Jennie Hodgers in Clogher Head, Ireland, marched thousands of miles and fought in dozens of battles and skirmishes with the 95th Illinois Infantry.
Cashier joined the regiment at the beginning of the war for a three-year term, and continued fighting until after Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Courthouse. After mustering out, Cashier lived out the next half-century as a man, spending three years at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home in Quincy, Ill., until, nearing 70, he suffered the onset of dementia and was sent to a state mental hospital. There, hospital staff discovered Cashier's secret and forced him to wear a dress.
As I watched the news unfold last week in response to President Trump's Twitter declaration that he would not "accept or allow" transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. military, I couldn't help but think of it as an act of regressive abuse, and also as an exercise in futility.
No matter their gender identity, people have served our country honorably and willingly since the early days of this republic. During the American Revolution, Deborah Sampson took on the identity of Robert Shurtleff and joined the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment. She fought for a year and a half as a man, and it was a busy time: scouting territory, storming British fortifications, digging trenches at the siege of Yorktown. Her sex was only discovered when she got sick and was sent to a hospital.
Was she punished? Far from it. She received an honorable discharge and, eventually, a full military pension from the state of Massachusetts.
Before transgender was a word, hundreds of women posed as men to serve in the Civil War. They did so capably and, in many cases, without ever being found out. Medical exams were cursory -- show them your hands and feet, and you were handed a musket -- and both the Union and Confederate armies desperately needed warm bodies at the front. Like other soldiers, many of these women fought for love of cause and country, and for the paycheck.
We can't pretend to know how each of them identified from a gender perspective. Some soldiers returned home and resumed life as women, marrying and raising families. Some, like Cashier, continued after the war to live on quietly, privately as men.
But the point is that it didn't matter: They served, and served well, and served the same as the soldiers who were born as men.
And for all the women who fought under male identities, there were many more who pushed Victorian gender boundaries by acting boldly in military capacities as spies, nurses and vivandieres -- also known as daughters of the regiment -- who bore the flag in battle, rallied troops and cared for the wounded. The pioneering Civil War nurse Clara Barton, who traveled to the battlefield under fire to aid the sick and dying, would later go on to found the Red Cross. An ardent suffragist, she believed that opportunities in the war advanced the social position of women by decades.
Though we think of our modern moment as a time when identity is at its most open, there have been times in American history when, despite the strictures of the day, we showed that we could embrace the variety of human experience.
Here's how one newspaper reporter described Albert Cashier's service not long after his past was revealed: "During the war Cashier's comrades noted that the handsome young 'Irishman' was rather inclined to be offish, but overlooked the soldier's exclusiveness in their admiration for 'his' military bearing and reckless daring... Owing to the soldier's rigorous health and apparent abandon Cashier was always among those chosen when dependable men were absolutely necessary."
Post-war, Cashier lived a low-key life in Saunemin, Ill., working odd jobs around town that included handyman, farmhand and janitor, for 50 years. At the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, before he was moved to the state hospital, Cashier was treated with respect as a veteran. The staff at the home kept his secret for years.
When Cashier's fellow soldiers found out he was born a woman, they were surprised. But many of them rallied to protest his treatment at the state hospital. When he died, in October 1915, he was dressed in his Union blue uniform and buried with full military honors. The tombstone was inscribed with the details of his military service -- and his male identity, Albert D.J. Cashier.
Clara Barton once wrote a poem to honor the women who went to the field. But the words she chose could just as easily be used to honor anyone who wishes to serve in the military, no matter how high the barrier. Above all, bravery and service make us equal in commanding dignity and respect:
But later, it chanced, just how no one knew
That the lines slipped a bit, and some 'gan to crowd through;
And they went, -- where did they go? -- Ah; where did they not?
Where did they go? Where they were needed.
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"Here's how one newspaper reporter described Albert Cashier's service not long after his past was revealed: "During the war Cashier's comrades noted that the handsome young 'Irishman' was rather inclined to be offish, but overlooked the soldier's exclusiveness in their admiration for 'his' military bearing and reckless daring... Owing to the soldier's rigorous health and apparent abandon Cashier was always among those chosen when dependable men were absolutely necessary."
Post-war, Cashier lived a low-key life in Saunemin, Ill., working odd jobs around town that included handyman, farmhand and janitor, for 50 years. At the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, before he was moved to the state hospital, Cashier was treated with respect as a veteran. The staff at the home kept his secret for years."
Dressing up as a man to fight doesn't make them transgendered. There's no evidence they were confused about their sexuality or that they beleivd they were men.
They decided to fight for any number of reason, patriotic, mercenary etc..
"Post-war, Cashier lived a low-key life in Saunemin, Ill., working odd jobs around town that included handyman, farmhand and janitor, for 50 years. At the Soldiers' and Sailors' Home, before he was moved to the state hospital, Cashier was treated with respect as a veteran. The staff at the home kept his secret for years."
Did she do do it to keep her pension? Did she think she was a man? Who knows?
Regardless, it's one person. Building her story into anything more is folly.
Here's a little clarification:
Here is the key line from her Post War history:
She lived there until her mental state deteriorated and she was moved to the Watertown State Hospital for the Insane in March 1914
She was ruled insane in 1914 and moved to the state mental institution. So, could she have kept the guise of a male after the war due to PTSD, since it was never diagnosed until much later in 1980?
Here is the key line from her Post War history:
She lived there until her mental state deteriorated and she was moved to the Watertown State Hospital for the Insane in March 1914
She was ruled insane in 1914 and moved to the state mental institution. So, could she have kept the guise of a male after the war due to PTSD, since it was never diagnosed until much later in 1980?
PSTD? It was made clear in the article that the onset of dementia was the reason for sending her to a state hospital. Thank goodness the treatment of age-related illnesses have come a long way since then, eh?
1914 was 49 years after the end of the Civil War.
And, she maintained the illusion of being a man after the war. I suggested that she suffered PTSD due to
1) having been found to be mentally incompetent in 1914
2) having maintained the male identity after the Civil War
and 3) that PTSD was not even known or diagnosed before 1980.
Exactly as it wouldn't have been very practical to wear a corset and long dress.
Uh, this person maintained a male identity for 50 years after the war. Did you miss that part?
Just like a lot of women today.....once you know the freedom from corsets, bras and dresses It is pants all the way!
With all due respect Magnolia, your reply is non responsive , or if you prefer, silly.
OK
With all due respect Magnolia, your reply is non responsive , or if you prefer, silly.
I took her response to mean that a woman could dress like a man because it's more comfortable than dressing like a woman. It's no sillier than you implying that she thought she actually was a man just because she disguised herself as one.
This person self-identified as a man for over 50 years.
This person self-identified as a man for over 50 years.
And, by your own admission, you don't know what she meant by it.
I think you missed the whole point of the article. That's number one.
Number two. Your constant and hostile hangups about this topic are something I truly do not give a fuck about.
Why can't people have opinions that differ from yours? It's your way or the highway.
Why can't people have opinions that differ from yours? It's your way or the highway.
Oh don't mind him. He gets irritable when he sits in a corset, bra, and dress all day.
Oh, that is funny!
I think you missed the whole point of the article. That's number one.
Your article doesn't have a point. There's no such thing as transgender because gender can't be crossed and "she" will never actually be a "he" no matter how many misgendered references you make about her.
Number two. Your constant and hostile hangups about this topic are something I truly do not give a fuck about.
You're the one who keeps calling "her" a "him" and, every time you do it, I'm going to point out that she will always be a she because her gender is not a fucking choice.
Thank you.
Conservatives love their slippery slope arguments. If we let a transgendered person in the military, then we will be expected to allow people who think they are house cats into the military. Where will it end?
This woman wasn't crazy enough to expect anyone to join in the delusion that she was a man. She was born a woman and she died the same way. A woman being delusional enough to think she is a man is quite different than a government being delusional enough to agree with her. Plus, and this is a big plus, I don't want to spend one dime paying for a surgical disguise to make a loon feel more comfortable pretending to be the opposite gender!
Good to see JR has tuned over a new leaf and is no longer opposed to transgender articles. Your views must be evolving.
Two wrongs don't make a right. Unfortunately penis envy got the best of her.
Albert Cashier
Trans man
Sex assignment
Gender identity
Third gender
I've been thinking about it.
Remember Molly Pitcher? She started off carrying pitchers of water to the wounded and ended up firing a cannon. I don't remember anyone fussing about it, then or lately...
I read in some book, (Likely War and Remembrance), that the Russians chided us for not allowing women to serve in the army, like they did, side by side with their male soldiers. In Russia, during WWII, it wasn't a big deal...
Remember Molly Pitcher? She started off carrying pitchers of water to the wounded and ended up firing a cannon. I don't remember anyone fussing about it, then or lately...
She was a woman rushing to do what she could but she did it as a woman, knowing she was a woman, not a woman thinking that she's a man. Underage boys have enlisted for years and pretended that they were older. I remember reading about one in WWI who was twelve. These boys were lying rather than being crazy enough to think that they were actually adults. Anyway, just because children have served in combat doesn't mean that I want child soldiers. But this transgender bullshit is in an entirely different universe. At some point, the military will insist on brainwashing a soldier to participate in a social delusion and pretend that women are men and men are women by misgendering them. For that reason, I strongly oppose it.
Whomever serves our country has my respect. I don't care if they're men or women, dressed as men or women, or thinking they're men or women. I am grateful for their service!
This loon thinks he's a six year old. Can he serve in the military and, if he can, can real children enlist as well?
Lol - did I not predict the slippery slope rebuttal? How fitting that it comes from the guy who thinks allowing same sex couples to marry will lead to humans marrying grilled cheese sandwiches.
Lol - did I not predict the slippery slope rebuttal? How fitting that it comes from the guy who thinks allowing same sex couples to marry will lead to humans marrying grilled cheese sandwiches.
Of course you predicted it. Predicting the obvious is your special gift. And what's really special is that you'll still be mocking the slippery slope argument while plunging headfirst to the bottom of it.
Really? Plunging headlong into the bottom of it? Whoa - drama queen extraordinaire. Please enlighten the uneducated masses about the push for humans to marry livestock.
Check out this loon who thinks she's a cat. There must be similar loons over here, waiting to join the military, so they can get their fake cat ears surgically attached at taxpayer expense. Surely, the military won't be bigoted and hateful enough to deny equality to transpecies who just want to serve their country on all fours. Or what about the ones who think they were born to be birds and insist on joining the air force? Or people who want to be in the SEALS because they think they're actually seals rather than human beings. The military can become a menagerie or a sideshow.
You are posting a bunch of crap intended to diminish the contribution of Albert Cashier.
You are posting a bunch of crap intended to diminish the contribution of Albert Cashier.
You're slandering the memory of Jennie Hodgers by saying that she was crazy enough to believe that she was actually a man just because she disguised herself as one.
Let me just lance this ridiculous transgender blister. This woman wasn't the only one who enlisted pretending to be a man. Other poor women did it too. Why? It was an adventure (same for an actual man) plus they could make twice as much money in the military and be independent. All that makes this particular woman unique is that she got away with it for so long. Why keep up the masquerade after the war? She was obviously good at it. She earned money like a man plus she could vote and get a military pension. If she didn't want to jeopardize her income, her celebrity as a war veteran, and her pension (after all, she did engage in fraud to enlist), then she had to keep the secret. It didn't have to have a damn thing with any notion of being transgender.
Why keep up the masquerade after the war? She was obviously good at it. She earned money like a man
What a ridiculous comment .
Post-war, Cashier lived a low-key life in Saunemin, Ill., working odd jobs around town that included handyman, farmhand and janitor, for 50 years.
This person lived their ENTIRE adult life with a male identity. No husband, no children, no recognition for her innate "female" qualities. For 50 years ! Do you know how ludicrous you sound?
Sure , it could happen , if the person felt more psychologically comfortable as a man.
The person worked odd jobs around town. You don't think a woman could do that? lol.
Why keep up the masquerade after the war? She was obviously good at it. She earned money like a man
What a ridiculous comment .
Post-war, Cashier lived a low-key life in Saunemin, Ill., working odd jobs around town that included handyman, farmhand and janitor, for 50 years.
The ridiculous comment is yours. Women were viewed exclusively as homemakers and had limited opportunities in the job market. So, however badly she did pretending to be a man, she could have done much worse as a single woman.
This person lived their ENTIRE adult life with a male identity. No husband, no children, no recognition for her innate "female" qualities. For 50 years ! Do you know how ludicrous you sound?
i could ask the same question of you. There was no guarantee that she could find a man and she could have ended up unmarried and destitute. As I noted earlier, her pretense got her opportunities she wouldn't have otherwise had (being a soldier was actually a high paying job in those days) and she got a pension (which she never would have gotten as a woman) and may have lost it if she dropped the charade (because she obtained a pension through identity fraud). So, she had a reason to live her entire life as a man that could be completely unrelated to this transgender nonsense.
The person worked odd jobs around town. You don't think a woman could do that? lol.
No. She would have only been hired for odd jobs if someone thought they needed a woman to do them. Those jobs were probably preceded by the words "blow" or "hand." Otherwise they'd hire a man. Plus, she had a pension and she needed to stay in disguise to keep it.
catering to these peoples mental illness does not help them and more importantly does not help society as a whole...
yes being transgender is a mental illness--one can alter their bodies but you cannot alter basic DNA and how our brains are wired which is different for men and women. transgenders cannot reproduce.
these days alot of our fighting in wars is based upon technology and not hand to hand combat although there still is some of that..today we have female fighter pilots in combat roles, we now fight with our brains not our hands....in my opinion we really have no need for transgenders and more importantly the expense & chaos they would cause in maintaining them..hormone treatment is thousands of dollars a month not to mention the actual surgery of body altercation.
Transgender by itself is not considered a mental illness per the APA. So your statement is false! If transgendered individuals are capable and qualified to serve in the military, then there's no good reason to exclude them.