Brave warrior Jack Williams, who turned out to be a lady (5 photos)

If a person wants to go towards his goal, then he will make every possible effort to achieve it.





A newcomer arrived in the Missouri regiment at the height of the Civil War. The guy's name was Jack Williams. He shot well, quickly gained the well-deserved respect of his comrades and was burning with determination to fight until victory.



“Well done,” the fighters whispered to each other. After all, they did not know that in reality their comrade was a lady named Frances Clayton. The woman did not want to part with her husband and went to war with him.

Simple girl





No, as a child, Frances, who was born around 1830 (exact data has not been preserved) in Illinois, did not have friendships with boys. She was not a tomboy or a leader of mischief - an ordinary girl with ordinary fun.

In due time, the girl got married, had three children and devoted all her time to her family and work on the farm. When the war began, my husband announced that he would volunteer. The wife's requests turned out to be useless. And she decided to support her husband’s decision.

Special Warrior



But did none of the colleagues realize that they were dealing with a representative of the fairer sex? The woman was tall, slender, lean, with perfect bearing. Without any special bulges characteristic of a female figure.

She quickly adopted the usual habits for a male group - she smoked constantly, was not averse to drinking, chewed tobacco with pleasure, played cards well and spat famously. Even the uniform suited her amazingly, as you can see in the photo. The unusual soldier held himself perfectly in the saddle. But if this can be explained by life on a farm, then the ability to fence remains a mystery.

According to eyewitnesses, she was not afraid of dead bodies, fire, or death.

Irreparable loss and contradictions



In 1862, her husband was killed during the Battle of Stones River. According to sources, Frances showed amazing composure, stepped over the body and continued to fight.

A year later, Jack Williams received a rather serious wound in the hip area. During a medical examination, the truth about his gender was revealed. The soldier was fired from the unit despite protests.

Of course, there are disputes and doubts regarding the identity of this person. Perhaps in this way the press tried to attract interest in the topic of loyalty and devotion to one’s country and family.

Clayton's series of photographs taken in Boston became her most famous photographs of a female Civil War soldier. Perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle, but in any case, it cannot be denied that in uniform this woman looks organic and certainly no worse than in a dress.