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Figure 6

Citation

Samuel Masury (Boston). “Frances Clalin Clayton, aka Jack Williams.” circa 1865. Greg French Collection. Mirror of Race, 22 Jan. 2021, mirrorofrace.bc.edu/items/show/92. Accessed 18 May 2024.

Title

Frances Clalin Clayton, aka Jack Williams

Subject

Frances Clalin Clayton, aka Jack Williams

Creator

Samuel Masury (Boston)

Date

circa 1865

Type

Studio Portrait

Identifier

Figure 6

Rights Holder

Greg French Collection

Original Format

Carte de visite, albumen print

Factual Commentary

Frances Clalin Clayton (misidentified as Celetin on the back of this photo) was one of possibly hundreds of women who passed as men to fight in the Civil War. She adopted the name Jack Williams to join her husband, Elmer Clayton, when he enlisted in the Union army. She served in both the artillery and cavalry (her uniform here), and fought in several battles, including Fort Donelson and Stones River, where Elmer was killed right in front of her, but she stepped over him and kept on fighting. For a book about Clayton and other gender-bending warriors, see They Fought Like Demons: Women Soldiers in the Civil War, by De Anne Blanton and Lauren Cook.