True Life Tuesday: Sarah Rosetta Wakeman

Sarah Rosetta Wakeman was born on January 16, 1843 in Bainbridge, New York. She was the oldest of the 9 children of Harvey Anable and Emily Hale Wakeman. By the age of 17 she was working as a domestic servant. She knew that she was a financial strain on her family and was concerned because she had no potential suitors. For this reason she left home in 1862 posing as a man. She found work as a boatman on the Chenango Canal. 

While working on the canal she came across some Army recruiters who were offering $152 bounty (about $4750 in 2025) to enlist. She ended up enlisting as a private of Company H of the 153rd New York State Volunteers in Root, New York on August 20, 1862. She used the name of Lyons Wakeman and lied about her age stating that she was 21 years old. She was assigned to guard duty over the food supply in Alexandria, Virginia and then Washington, D.C. She often wrote letters to her family saying how much she was enjoying being a soldier.

In February 1864 she finally saw battle. She took part in the ill-fated Red River Campaign in Pleasant Hill, Louisiana. After the battle she, along with many other soldiers, came down with chronic diarrhea. She died on June 19, 1864. She was buried with full military honors in Chalmette National Cemetery in New Orleans. Her true identity was never discovered and her headstone bears the name of Lyons Wakeman. Her letters were not discovered until 1976 when they were found in the attic of a relative who passed away. They were edited and published in 1994.