Elsa Jane Forest Guerin facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elsa Jane Forest Guerin
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|---|---|
| Other names | Mountain Charley |
| Occupation | Cabin boy, brakeman, trader, saloon owner, spy |
| Years active | Mid-nineteenth-century |
| Spouse(s) |
H. L. Guerin
(m. 1860) |
| Children | 2 |
| Military career | |
| Nickname | Charles Hatfield |
| Allegiance |  United States |
|
Service
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Union Army |
|
Rank
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First lieutenant |
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War
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American Civil War |
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Elsa Jane Forest Guerin, also known as Mountain Charley, was a brave woman who lived much of her life disguised as a man. She explored the American frontier and even served in the American Civil War.
She first dressed as a man to find work and travel west, seeking new opportunities. Guerin joined the army to fight in the Civil War and was promoted to first lieutenant for her efforts. She later wrote a book about her life called Mountain Charley: Or, The adventures of Mrs. E. J. Guerin, who was thirteen years in male attire. This book shared her experiences living as a man for many years. Some historians wonder if all parts of her story are true.
Contents
Who Was Mountain Charley?
Early Life and New Beginnings
Elsa Jane Forest Guerin was sent to school in New Orleans when she was five years old. Not much is known about her very early life. In her book, she wrote about getting married young and having two children.
After her husband passed away, Guerin needed to find a way to support herself and her children. She left her children with the Sisters of Mercy, a group of nuns, and began dressing as a man to find work. She worked on a steamer as a cabin attendant, helping passengers along the St. Louis-New Orleans route. Once a month, she would dress as a woman to visit her children.
Adventures in the American West
In the 1850s, Guerin traveled to the Sacramento Valley in California. She hoped to find the person responsible for her husband's death. She tried to mine for gold, but she wrote that she wasn't strong enough for the hard work of prospecting.
Instead, she opened a business that served food and drinks. Later, she bought a ranch called Shasta. Guerin also worked as a cabin boy, a brakeman for the Illinois Central Railroad, and a trader for the American Fur Company.
A couple of years later, Guerin was in Colorado. There, she ran a bakery and a business called the Mountain Boy's Saloon. While in Colorado, she had a confrontation with the person she believed was responsible for her husband's death. Both were injured during the event. Around 1860, she married H. L. Guerin, who worked with her.
Elsa Guerin shared her thoughts about living as a man:
I began to rather like the freedom of my new character. I could go where I chose, do many things, which while innocent in themselves, were debarred by propriety from association with the female sex. The change from the cumbersome, unhealthy attire of women to the more convenient, healthy habiliments of a man, was in itself almost sufficient to compensate for its unwomanly character.
—Elsa Guerin
She enjoyed the freedom and comfort that dressing as a man gave her.
Serving in the Civil War
The next year, Guerin moved to St. Joseph, Missouri. There, she wrote her autobiography, Mountain Charley: Or, The adventures of Mrs. E. J. Guerin, who was thirteen years in male attire; an autobiography comprising a period of thirteen years life in the States, California, and Pike's Peak. This book was first published in Dubuque, Iowa, in 1861.
After writing her book, she joined the Union Army during the American Civil War. She enlisted as "Charles Hatfield" in Iowa. During her service, she even spied on Confederate forces by dressing in women's clothing. She eventually became a first lieutenant in the army.
See also
