Charlotte Hatfield

Charlotte Hatfield, also known as Charley Hatfield or "Mountain Charley", was a female soldier for the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Early life The real last name of Charlotte is unknown, although according to a few sources her true name was Elsa Jane Guerin. The name she used to enlist in the Union Army was Charley Hatfield. She was born in a rural Iowa Territory town in about 1840. In 1858, her mother died when Charlotte was 18 years old. Her step-father treated Charlotte as a hired hand.

Charlotte shared her story with George West, asking him to swear that he would not share it for 25 years.

Civil War

At the start of the Civil War, both George West and Charlotte enlisted. George served as an officer in Colorado, while Charlotte became a member of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry Regiment at Keokuk, Iowa. Because women were not allowed to serve, Charlotte dressed as a man and enlisted using the alias Charley Hatfield. In that persona, she worked as a spy for General Samuel R. Curtis where she "volunteered to infiltrate the Confederate lines dressed as a woman carrying eggs from her home." She was brought to a Confederate hospital to be treated, where the doctor, Jesse Terry, realized that Private Hatfield was actually a woman. She convinced Terry to keep it a secret, and as rebel field hospitals were temporary, especially on battlefields where the Confederates lost, she was subsequently transported under either a parole or a humanitarian pass to the US Army hospital at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, where she completed her recovery.

Charley later found out that General Curtis had written to the Governor of Iowa to have Private Hatfield promoted to 1st Lieutenant. The approval came from the Governor, and Charley was promoted, as well as made aide-de-camp to General Curtis. Charley served for the remainder of the Civil War, never having anyone discover that she was in fact a woman--except very likely Curtis.

Later life

After keeping his promise for 25 years, George West finally told Charlotte's story to a newspaper that published the story on January 14, 1885. Charlotte read it and, writing to George, informed him that she was remarried and had been living happily with her husband and four children for the past eight years. Charlotte asked West to keep her name and address a secret, which he did, thus concealing her true last name from subsequent generations of researchers.

Different versions of Mountain Charley

There have been several versions of the "Mountain Charley" story. In 1861, her story first appeared in an autobiography exploring her journey dressed as a man in California and Colorado. Two drastically different versions of Mountain Charley subsequently appeared in Western newspapers. One of these was an adventure series piece entitled, "Mountain Charley joins a Wisconsin regiment, fights through the war, then goes to Wyoming, where she runs a gambling house, and by 1879 lands in prison." The second story read much like the one that George West published in 1885.

Based on research, the history of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry perfectly matches the story in George West's account of "Charley." However, no Charles Hatfield was found on the roster of the 3rd Iowa Cavalry. A Charles Hatfield enlisted in Company F of the 23rd Iowa Infantry, but was supposedly rejected on September 19, 1862. It may be possible that Charlotte Hatfield, also known as Elsa Guerin, failed on her first attempt to enlist, but was successful on a second attempt. No personal record could be found to support this theory.

Because there are many different versions of the story, it may be likely that Charlotte Hatfield's story "was a composite of the experiences of several woman settlers."