Female Soldiers of the Past

 

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman (1843–1864) was one of the numerous American women who disguised themselves as men to fight in the Civil War. She used the name of Lyons Wakeman when she joined the army to fight for The Union. One of the reasons for this risky adventure was that she didn't seem to have had any appropriate suitors for marriage, her father had debt, and she didn't see any possibilities to earn money to support her family. While away she wrote many letters to her family, and unlike most of the female soldiers she had a family who kept these letters. However, later generations must have forgotten this fact as they was stacked somewhere in the family house before being re-found and published.it took many years the letters that Wakeman wrote home were preserved by her family and later published. 

 

When taking part in the so-called Red River Campaign she marched hundreds of miles through swampy areas on poor food and unhealthy drinking water. Hundreds of her comrades succumbed, but not she. However, she didn't get back home to her family, but died from some illness which may - or may not - be connected to the tough life as a soldier.

There are many other countries which sport female soldiers. For instance this is a group of women from the Kingdom of Dahomey when visiting Paris in 1891.

Some of the renowned and extremely courageous Russian women pilots  who were known as the "Night Witches". They blasted Nazis at night in 1941.

19-year-old Soviet sniper, Roza Shanina, who was one of the many staunch soldiers of The Red Army. Young or not she had no less than 59 confirmed kills (1945).

 

Spain also might boast strong a brave female soldiers in the Spanish Civil War (1936): Young women of a Republican militia in Madrid

 

 

Fanny Schoonheyt was Dutch, but she went to Spain to fight Fascists as a volunteer. She was known as The Queen of the Machine Gun.

 

A group of American WASP pilots (Women Airforce Service Pilots) with one of their B-17 bomber named Pistol Packin ‘Mama. These young women are cadets of WASP air school in Lockbourne, Ohio, From left to right: Frances Green, Margaret (Peg) Kirchner, Ann Waldner and Blanche Osborn. 

It seems that everywhere where war pops up its ugly face women have been serving in the military. They have taken part in both combat and non-combat roles. First and foremost they have been serving as pilots, infantry officers and mechanics. However, they have also served in many other roles than being active soldiers: Spies, technicians, and "Hello Girls". 

 

 

 

https://www.battlefields.org/learn/biographies/sarah-rosetta-wakeman 

 

 

https://workingclasshistory.com/2020/0  

 

 

https://www.democratsabroad.org/wc_state_mil 

 

 

https://www.uso.org/stories/3005-over-200-years-of-service-the-history-of-women-in-the-us-military 

 

 

Wikipedia

Prophets And Prophetesses

It's obvious that anybody may claim  the title of a prophet or a prophetess. However, it's obvious that such an individual needs followers to gain more than the reckoning of being a claimant of the ability to prophecy. The same goes for politicians or philosophers: To propose social improvements may be fine, but to set them going it takes more than just the proposal. When I think of those nameless, and often confused-looking, people who take a stand on the street, shouting what they themselves call prophecies then it's difficult not to see them as deluded or plainly insane. Still, some celebrate them, e.g. with a T-shirt.

As the believers in prophets and prophetesses consider them some sort of divine messenger, bringing news and commands from the god they believe in they sure may attain a considerable power. I don't think there is any known religion which doesn't have their holy men and women, and they are seen as messengers of the deity/deities of this individual faith system. For instance, in The Old Testament there are five female prophets: Miriam (Exod. 15:20), Deborah (Judg. 4: 4), Huldah (2 Kgs 22: 14-20), Noadiah (Neh. 6: 14) and an unknown woman (Isaiah 8: 3)

Jeremiah by Michelangelo

One of the problems of prophets is that they may not always represent the same deity or give the same prophecies. The god of The Bible, Yahweh,  who started out as one of the toyboys of the primary supreme deity, the goddess Asherah, had a fervent and devout servant in Elijah. Another one of the toyboys of Asherah was Baal, and needless to say, the prophets and the servants of either of them didn't see eye to eye when they fought to gain the status of the supreme god of e.g. the old Jews. In 1 Kings 18:20-40 there is an interesting, but to us, rather weird account of one of the fights of the adherents to "prove" that their chosen god is the right - i.e. the GENUINE one: The Yahweh-man, Elijah, "proves" that his god is the best one by slaughtering a bull and also letting the Baal-priests slaughter one. To me not only this slaughtering, but all the ongoing in this "proof" is really WEIRD, but to the old Jews it's very impressive.

I suppose that all religions have prophets who teach the followers what it's all about, but not all religions accept the prophets of other religions. All of them want to be seen as the servants of the ultimate, the only genuine GOD that turns all the others - and there are many!!! - into bogus deities. However, not only the "Big Guys", Yahweh, Allah, Jesus, etc., claim godly status, no, far from it. All mental hospitals may brag about giving room to people who claim to be God or the son/daughter of said God. People with e.g. a severe bipolar disorder may disclose their own beliefs in being the one who created the world, and thus being the true and genuine GOD whom all of us should obey and worship ....

 

https://crucis.ac.edu.au/remembering-women-prophets-old-testament/ 

 

Wikipedia

Girls Who KILL: Belle Gunness

 

She was born Brynhild Paulsdatter Størseth in 1859, and her name sounds very Scandinavian and in full accordance with her Norwegian descent. However, she is known as Belle Gunness, and she gained a lasting fame as one of the most prolific female serial killers in America, yes, maybe in the world at large. One of the many mysteries about her is her escape/total disappearance in 1908, most probably after faking her own death in a fire. All in all, she was just as bad as some of the worst male serial killers, only a bit more smart than most of them.

She had several children, whom she had insured which is the reason why some of them died from being poisoned with arsenic. The same happened to her many suitors whom she lured to her farm with promises of love-advertisements, some of them seemingly for her beautiful, adopted daughter, Jennie. It seems that Belle murdered at least 14 people whom she poisoned or killed with an axe. Their - sometimes dismembered bodies - were buried in her yard. However, some criminal experts think the number of her victims was more like 40 than 14 ....
 

 

The  Scenery of the murders

Belle was at least 170 centimetres (5 ft 7 in) tall and weighed around 95–113 kilograms (209–249 lb). She was physically strong in appearance, and not one to fiddle with, so to speak. 

 

Her male farm hand

 

https://www.biography.com/crime/belle-gunness 

 

https://snl.no/Belle_Gunness 

 

Wikipedia

 

 

The Self-Castrated Hat Maker Who Shot The Murderer of Lincoln

 

Boston Corbett is known for a couple of special achievements, one of them being the hat maker who castrated himself, using a pair of scissors, to avoid the allurements of prostitutes after the death of his wife. Another one, and the one that secures his place in the history of America is his killing John Wilkes Booth, the murderer of president Abraham Lincoln. 

The assassination, April 14, 1865

Twelve days after the assassination of Lincoln John Wilkes Booth was rounded up with a friend and follower and shot by Boston Corbett. His spine was severed by the shot and a few hours later he died from this wound. 

One might say that the main characters of this historical drama are Lincoln and Booth, but Boston Corbett shouldn't be forgotten. Actually he is interesting in his own personality and life story, although it's the Booth-incident that is remembered.

Boston Corbett (original name: Thomas Corbett) may not have been as crazy as The Hatter from the classic book by Lewis Carroll (also 1865), "Alice In Wonderland", but some of his actions prove that he came close. 

When he emigrated from London to America he was a fully trained hat maker which paid his bills, so to speak. However, he had a habit of skipping his job and live as some sort of a vagrant for some time. When that happened he turned to alcohol, being a heavy drinker. After such incidents he changed back to the extremely pious man he also was when the spirit came upon him. Then he would scold his colleagues if they came to use a swear word of two, and he also sometimes turned to street preachings. At some point he started to keep his hair long in an attempt to attaining what he thought was a "Jesus look", and he always set The Bible before work or anything else. No matter what, if he felt like reading this so-called "holy book" that's what he did.

After the killing of Booth there was a dramatic deterioration of the mental health of Boston Corbett over the next 20 years. He was haunted by fears of being hunted down by Confederate soldiers for his killing of the murderer of Lincoln. After several "incidents" of an erratic and very threatening behavior he was declared insane in 1887 and committed to an asylum for the insane. The year after he escaped and from then on nobody really know what became of him: He seems to have disappeared altogether and nobody knows for sure when he died or where his grave is. 

 

https://www.cultofweird.com/americana/boston-corbett-mad-as-a-hatter/
 

https://guides.loc.gov/chronicling-america-boston-corbett 

 

https://www.historyextra.com/period/victorian/thomas-boston-corbett/ 

 

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/chron/civilwarnotes/corbett.html 

 

Wikipedia

What's NEEDED Today in USA: Frances Perkins

 

Frances Perkins (1880-1965) may have saved countless Americans through Social Security and her fight for Workers' Rights during The Great Depression. Sexism and resistance didn't stop her in her fight for safety nets in a society that prefers the rich over those who exploit those who make their wealth happen. 

Frances Perkins was the fourth Secretary of Labor in USA, and served from 1933 to 1945 which is the longest period of time in that position. Also she was the very first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet.

Being a loyal supporter as well as a friend of president Franklin D. Roosevelt she remained in office as long as his presidency was running. Her most notorious impact was her role in developing a policy in social security (1935). Although she, as a woman, was met with a certain distrust by the leaders of labor unions she succeeded in mediating numerous strikes and all kinds of issues. One of them was the changing labor system in WWII when women moved into jobs, formerly held by men. 

She met criticism about women "being unwomanly" with a by now famous quote: "Being a woman has only bothered me in climbing trees."

 

https://francesperkinscenter.org/learn/her-life/ 

 

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Frances-Perkins 

 

Wikipedia

The Pre-Helen Keller

 

No, this is not the world famous deaf-blind Helen Keller (1880-1968), but the not that widely known Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman (1829-1889). Both of these women lost their ability to see, hear and to sense smells after falling ill with scarlet fever at a very young age.

Locked into their own senseless privacy both of them were bewildered about themselves and the environment they lived in, but wasn't part of. And, very understandable, both of them had temper tantrums. At the age of 7 Laura was very difficult to control, in her tantrums she went attacking everybody, and the only one she obeyed was her father who was strong enough to restrain her physically. 

However, the director Samuel Gridley Howe for the Perkins School for the Blind, which had opened five years earlier, heard of her and offered his assistance. As she was not "only" blind, but deafblind she was considered a hopeless case, but he succeeded in convincing her family that he would be able to help her. That meant that she was enrolled in the school just before her 8th birthday. The focus was on her communication skills which was started by the sign language that Howe introduced for her and her family. As soon as she understood that everything had a name her lessons more or less included the fields other pupils were taught.

When Charles Dickens visited Perkins he was stunned by the looks and abilities of the, at that time, 12 years old Laura's. He told of their meeting in his "American Notes" (1842), thus adding to the fame of both her and her school.

Being blinddeaf never was easy, so what became of Laura? Well, when she was 20 she went home to stay with her family, but as she didn't fit in well enough to have a good life Howe let her come back. Actually, she stayed on Perkins for the rest of her life, thus sort of personalizing the triumph of Howe, Perkins and the teachings of blind and deaf.

 

https://www.perkins.org/laura-bridgman/ 

 

https://www.perkins.org/ 

 

https://www.peterharrington.co.uk/american-notes-for-general-circulation-166938.html 

 

Wikipedia 

Sex Education the 1960s Way

When reading the 1960's text about SEX, which is quoted below, it's obvious that one of the most abused ideas is the "wifely service to a husband": "In all things be led by your husband's wishes." In what I call "The Patriarchal Mythology" these "wishes" are considered "natural". To read Freud is to learn that the male sex is what's it all about, but then he was VERY patriarchal in his approach. Women are "envious" of the male organ according to him, whereas I would say that men are obsessed with women and sex and some don't shun illegal and immoral ways to get access to both.

Sex education the American way seems to have been centered upon the biology of reproduction and morals. I wonder if the clitoris and the female capacity for multiple orgasms were mentioned. Actually, I bet that the text books skipped that part and the human biology.
 

What was considered important was not to rock the boat of Patriarchy, as can be seen from this extract from a sex education textbook for girls, printed in the early 1960s: 

“When retiring to the bedroom, prepare yourself for bed as promptly as possible. Whilst feminine hygiene is of the utmost importance, your tired husband does not want to queue for the bathroom, as he would have to do for his train. But remember to look your best when going to bed. Try to achieve a look that is welcoming without being obvious. If you need to apply face cream or hair-rollers wait until he is asleep as this can be shocking to a man last thing at night.

When it comes to the possibility of intimate relations with your husband it is important to remember your marriage vows and in particular your commitment to obey him. If he feels that he needs to sleep immediately then so be it. In all things be led by your husband's wishes; do not pressure him in any way to stimulate intimacy. Should your husband suggest Congress then agree humbly all the while being mindful that a man's satisfaction is more important than a woman's. When he reaches his moment of fulfillment a small moan from yourself is encouraging to him and quite sufficient to indicate any enjoyment that you may have had.

Should your husband suggest any of the more unusual practices be obedient and uncomplaining but register any reluctance by remaining silent. It is likely that your husband will then fall promptly asleep so adjust your clothing, freshen up, and apply your night-time face and hair care products. You may then set the alarm so that you can arise shortly before him in the morning. This will enable you to have his morning cup of tea ready when he awakes.”

 

That certainly sounds as "fun" for one part, and that's not the female one ....

https://muse.jhu.edu/article/493008/pdf

 

 

https://www.salon.com/2021/12/11/modern-american-education-is-lacking-please-take-a-page-from-the-dutch/ 

 

 

https://sexeducation.fandom.com/wiki/Sex_Education:_A_Guide_to_Life 

 

 

Wikipedia