[Female Union Soldier] Frances Hook Two Cartes de Visite 

Frances Hook was fourteen years old when she enlisted with her brother in the 11th Illinois Infantry. Her brother had raised her since the age of three, following the death of their parents. Posing as a boy under the alias "Frank Miller", Hook served her ninety-day enlistment without discovery. The pair re-enlisted and fought at Fort Henry and Fort Donelson until her brother was killed at the Battle of Shiloh. Hook left her old regiment and, under a new alias of "Frank Henderson", she enlisted in the 33rd Illinois and was wounded at the Battle of Fredericktown. While receiving medical care, her gender was discovered and she was promptly discharged. She then enlisted in the 90th Illinois and served during the Siege of Vicksburg and Battle of Missionary Ridge. She was captured in the summer of 1863 and sent to a prison in Atlanta. While attempting to escape, she was wounded in the thigh and was again discovered to be a woman. She was transported to a hospital in Nashville for treatment, which is where her military photograph was taken. She was then exchanged in February 1864 and promptly discharged. Reports as to her further activities vary, but Frances Hook eventually married and had a daughter, who applied for a military pension because of her mother's service

[Female Union Soldier] Frances Clalin Two Cartes de Visite

In April of 1861, a young man from Illinois enlisted in the Union Army. Unwilling to part with the older brother who had raised her since their parents died over a decade ago, 14-year old Frances Hook, under the alias Frank Miller, disguised herself and enlisted in the 11th Illinois with her brother.

For the next few months, brother and sister fought beside at each other at the battles of Fort Henry, Fort Donelson, and Shiloh. Frances’ brother was killed at Shiloh. She continued fighting with the 33rd Illinois until she was wounded at Fredericktown, her identity was discovered, and she was discharged.

With no family to return to, Frances enlisted with the 90th Illinois and saw combat during the Sieges of Vicksburg and Jackson and the Battle of Missionary Ridge. In mid-1863, the 16-year old was captured by Confederate forces and imprisoned in Georgia. She was shot in the leg while attempting to escape and again her identity was discovered.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis was so impressed with her story that he offered Frances a commission in the Confederate Army as a lieutenant, but she declined, said she would rather be hanged than fight against the Union, and was returned to the North in a prisoner exchange in 1864.

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, the famous Union surgeon (and only female Medal of Honor recipient), heard Frances’ story and argued that she should be given a lieutenant’s commission in the Union Army, though the Army never offered such a commission.

Frances Hook a Female Soldier who Fought in Major Battles at Fort Henry, Fort Donelson and Shiloh aka "Frank Miller" &  "Frank Henderson"

Frances and her brother decided to enlist for the Union Army when the Civil War started. She lied about her age, and cut her hair. They joined the 11th Illinois Infantry Regiment. Frances' brother was killed in the battle of Shiloh. 

Soldier Frances Hook who as Private Frank Miller, 90th Illinois (not confirmed on rolls) was wounded in the thigh and captured near Florence, Alabama in early 1864 and incarcerated at Atlanta. A Confederate doctor tending to Union wounded exposed Frank Miller as a female and she was soon exchanged at Graysville, Georgia on February 17, 1864 and subsequently convalesced in Nashville where this likeness was taken.

She was taken prisoner by Confederate troops while walking along a trail while her regiment was awaiting deployment. She attempted to make a daring escape, but was shot, and again imprisoned. The Confederates were impressed with her courage, and offered her commission to join their side. She told them that she would rather be hanged then to fight along side the Confederate troops.

Later she was discharged and sent home to Illinois but speculation remains that with nowhere else to go she reenlisted and continued to serve until the end of the war.

Frances Hook ultimately married in 1908, and her daughter later applied for a military pension based on her mother’s Civil War military service. Contemporary authors of social history and those focusing in women’s studies have put the number of female soldiers serving in Northern and Southern armies as high as several thousand, but the true identities of only a handful are actually known. Frances Hook alias Frank Miller is a legitimate example of a female warrior.