Emma Edmonds, Part 2

...Prior to her first mission, Private Thompson had to devise a disguise that would not alert the Confederates to her real mission and she decided to enter the Confederacy as a black man. Assisted by the wife of a local chaplain, the only person knowing her true identity, she used silver nitrate to darken her skin to the point that thel doctor she worked for in the hospital did not recognize her. She donned men's clothing with a black minstrel wig - chose the assumed name of "Cuff" - and departed on her first mission.
Once on the Confederate front she was soon assigned to work on the ramparts being built by the local Negros to counter McClellan. Her hands were so blistered after the first day that she convinced a a fellow slave to swap jobs with her and the second day she worked in the kitchen and all the time kept her eyes and ears open. She learned a great deal about the morale of the troops, the size of the army, the weapons available, and even discovered the "Quaker guns" (Logs painted black to look like cannons from afar) that were used at Yorktown.
After the second day, she was luckily assigned as a Confederate picket, which allowed her to escape and return to the Union side. The information she delivered was well received and she even had an interview with McClellan - after which she returned to duty as a male nurse in the hospital - but not for long.
About two months later, she was once again ordered to infilerate the Confederate lines. She did not want to return as "Cuff" - so she went as a fat Irish peddler woman with the name of Bridget O'Shea. Once again she succesfully gained admittance to the Confederate camps - sold some of her wares and gathered as much information as she could. She returned to the Union army not only with the information but with a beautiful horse from the Confederate camp, that she named Rebel. In the process of returning on this trip, Private Frank Thompson was wounded in the arm, but managed to stay in the saddle and elude the Confederates in the chase...

To be continued...