Yankee Girl

About the Book

Wanda Wayne Colter’s family lives behind Boar’s Head Tavern in upstate New York on a well-traveled coach road on the Susquehanna River. Isolated from neighbors, twenty miles from Harpersville, New York, they are trying to eek out a living serving travelers during the Civil War. Wanda, seventeen, is the oldest of five children. One night Wanda’s father, drunker than usual, goes off to bed, leaving her to lock up. She is attacked by a traveler. When she runs outside trying to escape, he catches up with her and falls on top of her. The dog Wanda has trained comes to her rescue. Mistreated by her family and unloved at home, Wanda disguises herself as a boy and insists the family call her “Wayne.” She cuts her hair and wears a man’s hat. Her man-sized clothes hide her body so well that no one, except her family, knows her true gender. She feels safer and is allowed to continue the disguise, despite her mother’s objections. Late in her child-bearing years, her mother, Winnie, is expecting another child. Having a very difficult pregnancy, she stays in bed most of the time. With each of Winnie’s pregnancies, Wanda, angry and bitter about another baby coming, is forced to take over more of the work. Wanda’s father, Wayne Colter, is disappointed that his first child was not a boy; he treats Wanda as a son, giving her the responsibilities and work of a young man. She is afraid to cross her father. He is physically and verbally abusive to both Wanda and her mother. Her father expects her to keep a garden going, to milk the cow, to help out in the tavern. The younger children expect her fix their meals with very little food available. Her younger sister, Emma, and her brother, Cletus, twelve, impose on Wanda, expecting her to do both their work and hers. Although the tavern enjoys a busy trade, Mr. Colter goes further into debt. His gambling and drinking are getting worse as he becomes middle-aged and feels hopeless about getting ahead. With the Civil War in its second year, Wayne tries to join up. He wants to escape his responsibilities and indulge his passions, gambling and drinking. When told he is too old to serve, he takes out his frustrations on his family, especially Wanda. She is visible evidence of the years that have passed since his youth. When Wanda is offered a job on a nearby farm, her mother refuses to allow her to leave. She is even more dependent on her with a new baby coming. She accuses Wanda of trying to find a life of ease. Wanda sees no way to make money to help with the indebtedness of the family, nor any prospects for marriage. She feels helpless to change her situation and sees a hopeless future. Two young Union recruits, Zachary and Obediah, stop by the tavern bragging about how much money the army pays. They are convinced the war won’t last long, because the Rebels are on the run. They think Wanda, known to them as “Wayne,” should join up with them. Her mother is totally opposed, saying that only a loose woman would do such a thing, that her daughter’s morals are more important than money. Young “Wayne” decides to slip away the next morning and go with Zack and Obie to war. They accept her as a friend and, for the first time, she is treated like a worthwhile person. On the hot walk to Harpersville, Zack and Obie suggest they cool off in a lake. Wayne gives first one excuse, then another. She wanders away, pretending to find a bird’s nest. She does not realize this is the beginning of a way of life - disguising her true self. At the sign-up office in Harpersville, the surgeon who is charged with giving them an army medical exam is unavailable. The extent of the physical is to hold out their hands and demonstrate that they have a working trigger finger. All three of the “boys” look younger than eighteen, but seem healthy and their teeth are strong enough to rip open a minie ball cartridge. Wayne is able to relieve herself in private. Her secret is safe for the time being. Wayn

About the Author

After teaching in public school for 22 years, JoAn W. Martin is retired, but continues as a reading/writing consultant for Houston area schools. She has taught several years in the Alpha Gifted and Talented program at Clear Creek School District. She also serves as an adjunct instructor in the School of Education at University of Houston/Clear Lake, teaching an undergraduate class, Language Arts in the Elementary School. JoAn was born and raised in a small South Alabama town. Many of her stories are based on her experiences growing up in the South during the thirties and forties.