| Maria Lewis (soldier) | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Maria Lewis |
| Born | c. 1846 |
| Died | Unknown |
| Place of birth | Albemarle County, Virginia |
| Allegiance | Union Army |
| Years of service | 1863-1865 |
| Rank | Private |
| Unit | Company C of the 8th New York Cavalry |
| Battles/wars | Battle of Waynesboro, Virginia, Battle of Gettysburg |
Maria Lewis, also known by the alias George Harris, was a Union Civil War soldier, and former slave, who gained distinction in the Eighth New York Cavalry.[1]
Biography[]
Lewis was born around 1846, in Albemarle County, Virginia, where she and her family were kept as slaves.[2] At the age of seventeen, she emancipated herself from slavery by disguising herself as a "darkly tanned" white man, and joining company C of the 8th New York Cavalry.[3] She adopted the name George Harris, after the character from Uncle Tom's Cabin, who similarly escaped by passing himself for a Spanish man.[4] She originally planned to use the identity to travel North, she decided to stay with the army, after finding she enjoyed the freedom life as a white man brought her. Lewis remained with General Philip Sheridan's cavalry unit in the Shenandoah Valley for an additional eighteen months.[4] While serving, she fought at the Battle of Waynesboro on the second of March.[2] Lewis distinguished herself amongst her fellow soldiers, and became a member of the honor guard assigned to present seventeen captured rebel flags to the Secretary of War, Edwin Stanton.[4] She became friends with an abolitionist family from New York, the Wilburs, and after her service, she came to them and confessed to being a woman. The family gave her skirts, and found her a place to work. Lewis later received "lessons" from Julia's sister, Frances, presumably learning to read and write, of which was barred to enslaved people prior to the civil war.[5] Little is known about her life after the war.
See also[]
References[]
- ↑ Schulte, Brigid (29 April 2013). "Women Soldiers Fought, Bled, and Died in the Civil War, then were Forgotten". The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/women-soldiers-fought-bled-and-died-in-the-civil-war-then-were-forgotten/2013/04/26/fa722dba-a1a2-11e2-82bc-511538ae90a4_story.html?noredirect=on.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wilbur, Julia (4 April 1865). "Julia Wilbur Diary". p. 497. https://www.alexandriava.gov/uploadedFiles/historic/info/civilwar/JuliaWilburDiary1860to1866.pdf.
- ↑ "Harris, George W.". National Park Service. 2018. https://www.nps.gov/civilwar/search-soldiers-detail.htm?soldierId=DCDAC3A5-DC7A-DF11-BF36-B8AC6F5D926A.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Monson, Marianne (2018). Women of the Blue and Gray. Shadow Mountain. p. 21. ISBN 9781629724157.
- ↑ Cordell, Melinda (2016). "She Rode in the Front Ranks". Courageous Women of the Civil War: Soldiers, Spies, Medics, and More. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 978-1613732038. https://books.google.com/books?id=1tM6DAAAQBAJ.
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