Sara Jane Reams

A.K.A. Harry T. Reams C.S.A

1842-1898

  My name is Sara Jane Reams, I was born Sara Jane Reams on January 15, 1842, in Havana , Cuba . My father was of French origins and spoke fluent Spanish which aided in his work for a southern shipping Company out of Havana Cuba . I was named after my mother Sara Jane of German-American ancestry. My father inherited an estate in Texas , but did have a chance to move into before the Mexican-American War began. My father served in the American Army as an Officer and my mother died before the war was over from the fever.

 After the war my father sold the estate in Texas and returned to the shipping company he had worked at before the war. And because he spoke fluent Spanish was once again  assigned to the company’s office located in Puerto de Palmas , Cuba . Because I was so young and lived in Cuba for so long I spoke mainly Spanish. So my father hired an English governess to tutor me. Later I would come to live with an aunt in New Orleans and would become accomplished in the English language.

  Throughout my childhood, I was inspired by the story of Joan of Arc. I dreamed of being a war hero and had a growing obsession to be a man. As a child I would dress as my male role models and heroes, such as Columbus and Capt. Cook.

  On April 5, 1856, I married a U.S. Army Officer whom I will refer to only as “William”. My family disowned me. I was a dutiful wife and mother, but after the deaths of my three children, my grief revived my childhood notions of pursuing battle.

   William reluctantly resigned his commission from the U.S. Army and hesitantly joined the Confederate army at the wishes of his father. Meanwhile, I continued to possess this burning desire for a war to happen and a stronger inclination to dress as a soldier engaging in battle.

  William tried to discourage me by allowing me to disguise myself in one of his Confederate uniforms and accompanying him into a local tavern full of men. William assumed that once I saw how vulgar the men acted in the absence of women, that I would not be so inclined to pursue my desires. While at the tavern, two dear male friends of William came up to greet us.  They did not recognize me! This boosted my confidence of my new male identity.

  On April 8, 1861, William went off to war thinking I had changed my mind about battle. However, the moment he was gone, I pursued my dream of war.

  With the help of a good tailor, wire body shields and loose undergarments, a handsomely dressed Confederate soldier stood in front of my mirror ready for a gallant new life. All evidence of a beautiful, slender woman vanished. Now, my aspirations of a child influenced by Joan of Arc were to be realized.

  I swore a male friend to secrecy and with his help fine-tuned my act; the appearance and mannerism of male Confederate gentlemen ready for combat.  After careful preparation, I went of to New Orleans to get supplies.  While there, a terrible message arrived. William was dead, killed when a weapon exploded in his hands during training. The unfortunate death of my husband left me alone in the war ahead and motivated even more by the secret fact that I was a widow.

  It was at this time I moved to Virginia to enlist in the newly reorganized 14^th Virginian Cavalry Regiment, company G. From the skirmish at Blackburn ’s Ford on July 21 July, 1861, until the autumn of 1863, I pursued the war as both a male cavalry trooper and female spy. Few new the truth about either role.

  I and my fellow soldiers took part in such hard-fought battles as Bull Run, Ball’s Bluff, Fort Donelson , and Shiloh . I would take leaves between battles. I used those times to doff the uniform for dresses and go into enemy territory to spy as a social butterfly.

  After two and a half years of faithful service, I retired from duty. Stories about my disguise had become too well known. I kept up the fight from the autumn of 1863 until the end of the war as Madame Reams, full-time confederate spy. I gathered information in the north and passed it to the south. No Union opponent ever saw through my deception.

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