Women have been fighting in wars since the late 1800s, although until World War I they were not allowed to serve. Originally, women involved in combat had few professions, such as becoming nurses, spies, etc. while the men fought for days. What would happen if the two worlds collided? Women disguised themselves to fight alongside men. This was common on the war front, as women wanted to accompany their husbands or other family members into battle, and some wanted to be patriotic and serve for their country. These women risked their lives and played the role of war comrades, and people believed them until they were discovered and sometimes sent home. Although women played small roles as nurses, those who took on the important role of secretly becoming soldiers in combat ultimately changed the role of women in society. The decision to cross-dress was not very easy for many women who joined the military, but for some they felt it was absolutely necessary. As a child, Sara Emma Edmonds was given a book about a woman who dressed as a pirate during the American Revolution. Soon, Edmonds found a hero in this character and later stated in her memoir that "when [she] read where 'Fanny' cut off her brown hair and put on the blue jacket and walked into freedom and glorious independence of masculinity, [she] threw up [her] old straw hat and screamed. »(Tsui 7). She was inspired from a young age and escaped into manhood at the age of fifteen with the help of her mother. From there, she joined the Union Army under the name Franklin Thompson and fought as she had planned. Another factor that influenced women and their decision to join the military was their husbands or other male family members. Loreta Janeta Valazquez succumbed to...... middle of paper ...... Civil War. Guilford, CT: TwoDot, 2003. 23-35. Print.Tsui, Bonnie. “Sarah Emma Edmonds.” She went into the field: female soldiers of the Civil War. Guilford, CT: TwoDot, 2003. 7-22. Print. “The Changing Roles of Women During the Civil War.” The Herald-Mail. Np, September 16, 2002. Web. March 06, 2014. Wakeman, Sarah Rosetta. “July 1863-December 1863.” An Uncommon Soldier: The Civil War Letters of Sarah Rosetta Wakeman, aka Private Lyons Wakeman, 153rd Regiment, New York State Volunteers. Ed. Lauren M. Cook. Pasadena, MD: Minerva Center, 1994. 41-42. Print.Blanton, DeAnne and Lauren M. Cook. “Means and motivations.” They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the American Civil War. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 2002. 27-30. Print."GENERAL SAMANTHA LEE A heart of a tiger." General Samantha Lee. Np, and Web. March 7. 2014. .