Lizzie Compton

Elizabeth Compton (born 1848) was a woman soldier fighting for the Union in the American Civil War. She enlisted at the age of 14, and served in seven different regiments until the conclusion of the war, thus holding the record for reenlisting in the most regiments. Compton fought at Mill Springs, Fort Donelson, Shiloh, and Gettysburg until the conclusion of the Civil War before moving to Ontario, Canada.

Early life

Little is definitively known of Lizzie Compton's early life, as she gave different details of her life each time she was discovered. When wounded and discovered on the battlefield at Green River Bridge, she claimed that she traveled from her hometown of London, Ontario to enlist in the Union. On another occasion, she had also claimed that her hometown was in Pennsylvania.

The most complete account of her early life starts in a rural area near Nashville, Tennessee in 1848, where she was born. After the death of her parents in her infancy, Compton was left in the care of people whom she described as "unfeeling wretches." In another case, she said that her guardians were secessionists, and were the reason of her escape. To escape her life, she left at the age of thirteen, dressed as a boy, she served in the 11th Kentucky Cavalry, 125th Michigan Cavalry,

Physical Appearance

Lizzie Compton stood a little over 5 feet tall and was slight of build. She was of stout build, had light brown hair, and a fair complexion. One contemporary said that she appeared a "rosy boy of fifteen", and another vowed that she wasn't above seventeen. As with many women soldiers, she relished the freedom that menswear gave her, both physically and socially.