Soldiers saw the brutality of war in numerous battles including the First Battle of Bull Run
CHAPTER 1 A NATION DIVIDED July 21 1861 was no ordinary Sunday for Franklin Thompson a 19 year old private in the Union army's Second Michigan Infantry Instead of church bells ringing out across the countryside announcing the start of worship services the sound of gunfire filled the air as soldiers from the North and the South fought near Manassas Junction Virginia The clash would become known as the First Battle of Bull Run That skirmish was the first major battle of the American Civil War 1861 1865 It was also the first time Thompson saw military action All around artillery boomed while steel swords clanged and muskets fired Then for the first time Thompson saw a man die An artillery shell exploded in a nearby battery killing the gunner and injuring three other soldiers Moments later as the
commanding colonel shouted orders to his men a bullet zoomed past his head nearly striking him That bullet shot a hole in Thompson's flask No place was safe By the time the gunfire stopped wounded dying or already dead soldiers covered nearly every inch of the field Thompson described the scene The sight of that field is perfectly appalling legs arms and bodies are crushed and broken as if smitten by thunder bolts the ground is crimson with blood it is terrible to witness 1 For Thompson that day at Bull Run would merge with many other brutal gruesome days on the battlefield But Thompson was no ordinary soldier Franklin Thompson was actually Sarah Emma Edmonds For Edmonds dodging gunfire and witnessing the death of fellow soldiers would become commonplace And she was not alone in her experience as a woman on the battlefield Edmonds was one of a few hundred women who disguised their identities to fight with the Union or the Confederacy in the Civil War She and other American women would serve in a variety of roles including field nurse and spy all of them doing what they could to support their side in a conflict that divided the United States and its citizens NORTH VERSUS SOUTH The Civil War had been going on for three months when Edmonds experienced that unforgettable day at Bull Run The war started before sunrise on
April 12 1861 At 4 30 a m that day a ten inch 25 cm mortar round exploded 100 feet 30 m above Fort Sumter in South Carolina With a loud blast this bomb brought to life a conflict that had been brewing in American politics for many years The Confederate attack did not surprise the Union troops in command at the fort On December 20 1860 South Carolina had seceded from the Union and the Union held fort defended Charleston Harbor a strategic port for the South In January 1861 Mississippi Florida Alabama Georgia and Louisiana joined South Carolina in secession These states formed their own nation the Confederate States of America in February More Residents of Charleston South Carolina walch the attack on Fort Sumter
