The Woman in Battle: A Narrative of the Exploits, Adventures, and Travels of Madame Loreta Janeta Velazquez

This is a history of a Latina woman who claimed to have fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War by posing as a man. She also claimed she engaged in spying for the South. From the beginning: “The woman in battle is an infrequent figure on the pages of history, and yet, what would not history lose were the glorious records of the heroines–the great-solid women, who have stood in the front rank where the battle was hottest and the fray most deadly– to be obliterated? When women have rushed to the battle-field they have invariably distinguished themselves; and their I courage, their enthusiasm, and their devotion to the cause espoused, have excited the brave among the men around them to do and to dare to the utmost, and have shamed the cowards into believing that it was worth while to peril life itself in a noble cause, and that honor to a soldier ought to be more valuable than oven life. The records of the women who have taken up arms in the cause of home and country; who have braved the scandals of the camp; who have hazarded reputation–reputation dearer than lite–and who have stood in the imminent deadly breach, defying the enemy, if not so imposing in numbers as those in which the deeds of male warriors are recited, are glorious nevertheless; and if steadfast courage, true-hearted loyalty, and fiery enthusiasm go for anything, women have nothing to blush -for in the martial deeds of those of their sex who have stood upon the battle-field.”