Agnes
Elizabeth Winona Leclerq Joy, who may have been born in Canada, was in New York
when the war began. She frequently visited military encampments, where she met
and soon married Prussian nobleman and soldier of fortune Felix Salm-Salm.
Princess
Agnes, as the colonel’s wife was called, stayed with her husband throughout the
conflict. She spent much of her time and energy caring for the sick and
wounded, frequently ignoring regulations that forbade her presence on or near
the battlefields. Having watched the Prussian’s wife in action, Governor
Richard Yates of Illinois was so impressed that he gave her a commission as an
honorary captain.
