Frances Hook

Frances Hook and her brother were orphans who enlisted together early in the war. She was 22-years-old, of medium build, with hazel eyes and brown hair. Even though her brother was killed in action at Pittsburgh Landing, Frances continued service, probably in an Illinois infantry regiment, under the alias Pvt. Frank Miller/Frank Henderson/Frank Fuller.

In early 1864, Confederates captured her near Florence, Alabama; she was shot in the thigh during a battle and left behind with other wounded, who were also captured. While imprisoned in Atlanta, her captors realized her gender. After her exchange at Graysville, Georgia on February 17, 1864, she was cared for in Union hospital in Tennessee, then discharged and sent North in June. Having no one to return to, she may have reenlisted in another guise and served the rest of the war.

Francis later married and, on March 17, 1908, her daughter wrote the AGO seeking confirmation of her mother's military service. AGO clerks searched pertinent records and located documentation.