Constitutional Law

Amusing historical find

While researching the 14th Amendment, I found in the Chicago Tribune a report of same-sex marriage ... in 1866!

"Women's Rights -- A Woman with a Wife

[From the New Bedford Mercury, 4th]

About a year ago, a daughter of Major Daniel Perry, who was somewhat deranged, disappeared, and wandering off, was at last lodged in the Sullivan County, New York, alms house as a vagrant. Here she met another monomaniac, by the name of Lucy Slater and the two, becoming very much attached to each other, decided to become man and wife. THey left the alms house last summer, and returned to Abington, where they have lived in the bonds of wedlock, as supposed by the neighbors -- Lucy, alias James Salter, wearing male attire up to the present time."

Of course in 1866, with no picture ID, no social security number, it was easy to take an alias. Read somewhere that 300 women served in the Union Army. Everyone kept their uniform on (the hotter and muggier it was, the more necessary to avoid your pores absorbing malaria, it was thought), the medical exam was rudimentary (mostly focusing on teeth, to tear open a cartridge, and beyond that just observation of whether the recruit was visibly disabled), and with puberty coming later (and so many underage fellows enlisting), a recruit who didn't shave didn't stand out. A band wrapped around the chest would flatten out her breasts, and so long as a woman's face could pass for that of a male, all she needed was a haircut and an alias.

UPDATE: yep, what usually gave the game away was a hospital admission. One in the 2nd Michigan, Sarah Seelye I think she spelled her real name, got sick and hospitalized and they figured it out. Someone told me that another was discovered by Clara Barton herself. Soldier was brought in WIA, she opened the shirt, and found cloth wound tightly around the chest... hmmmm.....

Full post as published by Of Arms and the Law on October 05, 2008 (boomark / email).