REBEL: a Woman, a Myth, and the Politics of National Memory
Abstract
The film Rebel, written and directed by María Agui Carter, artistically explores how entwining concepts of gender (male, female), race (white, Latina), and nation(Cuban, Confederate, American) functioned in the telling and reception of the sensational life story of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, a.k.a., Harry Buford, a Confederate soldier. Buford fought in the battle of First Bull Run, was wounded at Shiloh, and served as a secret agent for the Confederacy, then a double agent for the Union. Buford published a memoir, The Woman in Battle, revealing his "true" identity: Loreta Janeta Velazquez. Born in Cuba and raised in New Orleans, Velazquez was brash, quick-witted, and unconventional. This memoir- a searing critique of the Confederacy, the horrors of war, and the corruption of wartime society—by a cross-dressing soldier stunned a nation struggling to regain a sense of unity. Jubal A. Early, a prominent Confederate Civil War General, led a successful smear campaign against Loreta, claiming she was not only a liar, but a prostitute. For over a century she has been dismissed as a hoax. But contemporary researchers have uncovered evidence for an estimated 1000 women soldiers of the American Civil War, and among these are new sources about Loreta Velazquez. The website goes far beyond the film to present primary archival material, short films, essays and scholars' interviews helping elucidate the similarities and differences between historical interpretation and filmmaking, and providing many additional resources for critical discussion and teaching on the issues brought up by the film.
REBEL: a Woman, a Myth, and the Politics of National Memory
The film Rebel, written and directed by María Agui Carter, artistically explores how entwining concepts of gender (male, female), race (white, Latina), and nation(Cuban, Confederate, American) functioned in the telling and reception of the sensational life story of Loreta Janeta Velazquez, a.k.a., Harry Buford, a Confederate soldier. Buford fought in the battle of First Bull Run, was wounded at Shiloh, and served as a secret agent for the Confederacy, then a double agent for the Union. Buford published a memoir, The Woman in Battle, revealing his "true" identity: Loreta Janeta Velazquez. Born in Cuba and raised in New Orleans, Velazquez was brash, quick-witted, and unconventional. This memoir- a searing critique of the Confederacy, the horrors of war, and the corruption of wartime society—by a cross-dressing soldier stunned a nation struggling to regain a sense of unity. Jubal A. Early, a prominent Confederate Civil War General, led a successful smear campaign against Loreta, claiming she was not only a liar, but a prostitute. For over a century she has been dismissed as a hoax. But contemporary researchers have uncovered evidence for an estimated 1000 women soldiers of the American Civil War, and among these are new sources about Loreta Velazquez. The website goes far beyond the film to present primary archival material, short films, essays and scholars' interviews helping elucidate the similarities and differences between historical interpretation and filmmaking, and providing many additional resources for critical discussion and teaching on the issues brought up by the film.