Mary Owens

Mary Owens (1843–1881) fraudulently claimed to have served in disguise as a male Union soldier during the American Civil War.

For the advocate of thematic collecting of postage stamps, see Mary Ann Aspinwall Owens.

Claims of Civil War service

Mary Owens' story is detailed only in newspaper accounts and is presented as originally described here:

Born in Wales, Mary immigrated to Pennsylvania with her parents. She left home, eloping with William Evans, a man disliked by her parents, and married in Montour County, Pennsylvania.[1]: 32  Shortly after the beginning of the Civil War, the couple enlisted together in Company K, 9th Cavalry, Mary posing as her husband's brother, "John Evans." Her husband died by her side in combat; she remained in the regiment eighteen months despite his death.[1]: 44 [2]

Owens fought in three battles with her regiment, and was wounded in each.[1]: 98  She dressed her first wounds herself, being wounded above her right eye and on her arm, fearing to be revealed if she went to a hospital.[1]: 98  These were likely wounds from an enemy saber.[1]: 98 She was discovered after 18 months of service upon being wounded in battle for the third time, in the chest.[3][4]

Local newspapers during the war delighted in stories such as Owens's, involving women soldiers inspired by patriotism or the love of their husbands. According to Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Owens was "described as a woman of considerable beauty, and is said to be the heroine of the neighborhood."[1]: 150 

Mary Owens remarried to Abraham Jenkins, also a native of Wales. They moved to Ohio, living first in Youngstown then in Stark County.[1]: 167  She and Abraham had four children. She died in 1881 and was buried in West Brookfield, Ohio. Abraham died in a railroad accident in 1903. The local chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic decorated her grave for many years after her death. A headstone was added by the Sons of Union Veterans in 1937 which proclaimed her service to the Union army.[1]: 167 

The District of Columbia Press, in the post-war years, was interested in preserving the tales of women soldiers. They published pieces about Mary Owens in 1896 and 1901.[1]: 167 

Debunking

The rolls of the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry show no William Evans or John Evans in Company K, nor a Williams Evans who was killed in action. There is no record of a John Evans having been wounded and discharged from service.[5] Additionally, while the newspaper tales of Mary Owens describe William as having been killed at Gettysburg, the 9th Pennsylvania Cavalry did not fight at Gettysburg, and was in fact serving in the Western Theater at the time. Like numerous other examples of woman falsely claiming Civil War service (such as Frances Clayton and Loreta Velasquez), Owens may have fabricated her account in an attempt to gain fame or money.

See also

References
  1. Blanton, DeAnne; Cook, Laura M. (2002). They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War. Louisiana State University Press. ISBN 0-8071-2806-6.
  2. Hall, Richard H. (2006). Women on the Civil War Battlefront. University Press of Kansas. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-7006-1437-0.
  3. Tsui, Bonnie (2006). She Went to the Field: Women Soldiers of the Civil War. Guilford, Conn.: TwoDot. p. 70. ISBN 978-0-7627-4384-1.
  4. Blanton, DeAnne (Spring 1993). "Women Soldiers of the Civil War". Prologue Magazine. 25 (1) – via National Archives.
  5. Record Group 94, Compiled Service Records of Volunteer Union Soldiers, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.
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