Loreta Janeta Velazquez - Junior
A Spy and a Soldier for the Confederacy
Background Information
- Loreta Janeta Velazquez was born on June 26, 1842 in Havana,Cuba.
- She died in 1923.
- Got married at the age of 13 to a Texan army officer. After her husbands death she got married a few years later to captain Thomas Decaulp. The couple took a short honeymoon and Decaulp died from relapse of his illness just afterward.
Contributions
- She was first a soldier and was acting as "Lieutenant Harry T. Buford"
- Velazquez was successful in her recruiting mission. Returning with a group of new soldiers and even fooling her husband with her disguise.
- The soldiers she recruited fought in the first half of the civil war in 1861.
- She fought in the first battle of bull run and fought under command of General Barnard Bee, near the center of the confederate line.
- Also, Participated in combat on October 21, 1861 at Ball's Bluff Virginia.
- Velazquez perfected walking and speaking like a man.
- She wore a special article of clothing that made her appear manly. In her disguise included a false beard and mustache.
- After that, the Carnage of the battle greatly affected her. She then settled on being a spy for the confederate army.
- She was arrested 4 times throughout her job of being a spy.
Legacy
- Loreta Janeta Velazquez impacted the world today because back then in the 1860s women weren't allowed to be in the military. Now they are allowed to be in the military.
- Velazquez will be remembered because she was a women who fought in the Civil War dressed as a man, and also because she was a spy for the confederacy.
- Velazquez matters because she was a spy and a soldier as a women. Even though she wasn't allowed to be a soldier she still did by disguising herself as a man. And as a spy she did all that she could to strengthen the confederates odds of winning.