June 26, 1842 is the birthday of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, a rebel soldier for the southern Confederacy who fought at the battles of Bull Run, Ball’s Bluff and Shiloh. (Yes, you read this correctly.) Velazquez was a Cuban born woman who cross-dressed as a male Confederate soldier during the Civil War. She enlisted in 1861,… Continue reading Loreta Janeta Velazquez, US Confederate Soldier 1842