Born: 25 December 1843, Ireland
Died: 10 October 1915
Country most active: United States
Also known as: Jennie Irene Hodgers
Albert D. J. Cashier was an Irish-born American immigrant who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Born Jennie Irene Hodgers, Cashier took on the identity of a man even before enlisting on August 6, 1862, and maintained that identity until their death in 1915. Cashier became famous as one of the more than 250 women soldiers who served as men during the Civil War, but the consistent and long-term commitment to a male identity indicates a strong likelihood that Cashier was a transgender man.
Cashier’s uncle or stepfather reportedly dressed his charge in male clothing so that the teen could find work in an all-male shoe factory in Illinois, and Cashier had adopted their male identity in order to live independently. During the war, Cashier’s regiment was part of the Army of the Tennessee serving under Ulysses S. Grant and fought in approximately 40 battles, including the siege at Vicksburg. During this campaign, Cashier was captured while performing reconnaissance, but escaped and return to the regiment. Cashier managed to hide their birth gender even when hospitalised and fought with the regiment through the war until they were honorably discharged with all of the other soldiers on August 17, 1865. It was only at age 70, suffering from dementia and living in a veterans’ hospice, that Cashier’s biological sex was revealed and they were forced to wear women’s clothing once again. When they died the following year, Albert Cashier was buried in uniform with full military honors and their tombstone inscribed “Albert D. J. Cashier, Co. G, 95 Ill. Inf.”
Read more (Wikipedia)
Read more (Dictionary of Irish Biography)
Read more (National Park Service)
IW note: Infinite Women respects transgender identity; however, given the many reasons cisgender women have historically had for presenting as male, it is difficult to determine how an individual may have personally identified. As such, we acknowledge the likelihood that Cashier identified as a transgender man, but choose not to exclude them without proof thereof.