Born: Circa 1846, United States
Died: Unknown
Country most active: United States
Also known as: George Harris
Maria Lewis was born enslaved around 1846 in Virginia, later emancipating herself during the U.S. Civil War by joining company C of the 8th New York Cavalry disguised as a “darkly tanned” white man under the name George Harris. Her adopted name comes from a character in Uncle Tom’s Cabin, who also escaped slavery by passing as a Spanish man. As George, she served with distinction, staying with General Philip Sheridan’s cavalry unit in the Shenandoah Valley for 18 months and fighting at the Battle of Waynesboro. She was a member of the honor guard that presented 17 captured Confederate flags to the Secretary of War. Having befriended the Wilburs, an abolitionist family from New York, she went to them after the war and admitted to being a woman. They provided her with feminine clothes, found her employment and likely helped her learn to read and write. Unfortunately, little is known about her later life.