By Tom Emery

Of the 2.2 million men who fought for the North in the Civil War, most were indeed male. Some only pretended to be.

A few women made their way into Civil War ranks, and the best known example in Illinois is Jennie Hodgers, who enlisted in Company G of the 95th Illinois under the name “Albert D.J. Cashier.”

Why Hodgers enlisted as a man is unclear. Born in 1843 in Clogerhead, County Louth, Ireland, Hodgers stood five-foot-three, weighed 110 pounds, and had auburn hair with blue eyes.

Unable to read or write, she was living in Belvidere in northern Illinois when she enlisted in the...