A view of Kady Brownell dressed in Zouave uniform, kneeling, holding a carbine, with lightly penciled identification on verso, no studio imprint.

[CIVIL WAR - UNION]. KADY BROWNELL.Carte de visite, identified on verso "Mrs. Brownell," ca. 1870.

Historical Background

Kady Brownell(1842-1915) was born Kady Southwell in a British Army camp in Kaffraria, South Africa, to French Mother and Scottish father. When her mother died shortly after her birth, family friends, the McKenzie family, took her in and moved to Providence, Rhode Island. Until the outbreak of the Civil War, she worked in textile mills. She met Robert Brownell, a married millworker, and when his wife sued for divorce, they married, although it is unclear if it was a legal or common law arrangement. When the Civil War began, Robert enlisted in the 1st Rhode Island Infantry, with Kady determined to enlist as well. Rhode Island Governor William Sprague took her into his own unit, and once in Washington, Colonel Ambrose Burnside made her a Daughter of the Regiment and Color Bearer. She carried her rifle along with the Regimental flag, became an excellent shot, and was an active participant in the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas). As the battle turned sour for Union forces, a Pennsylvania soldier tried to lead her from the field and was shot and killed. He fell onto her, trapping her beneath his dead body. Though wounded herself, she freed herself and she hobbled to safety still carrying the flag.

After mustering out of the 1st Rhode Island,…

Rare books from 1870 - Page 138 ← 1869 1870 1871 →

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Rare books from 1870 - Page 138
← 1869 1870 1871 →