Elizabeth A. Niles | The Undiscovered Private in the Union Army from 1861 to 1864

Elizabeth A. Niles (1842-1920) served alongside her husband, Miles, in the Union Army during the American Civil War from 1861 to 1864. She served the entire time without being discovered as a “Niles,” but it is unclear which one she was on the registry. Elizabeth and Miles married in 1861, just before enlisting together in the 14th Vermont Infantry, Company K.

Life couldn’t have been easy for the couple during the almost 4 years they hid their relationship. Camp life involved poor sanitation, exposure to the elements, and limited food. They slept in tents or on the ground, went on long marches, and faced outbreaks of disease such as dysentery and typhoid. Elizabeth had no privacy, no medical care as a woman, and endured constant fear of discovery. 

Elizabeth’s unit played a critical and well-documented role in the repulsion of Pickett’s Charge on July 3, 1863, during the Battle of Gettysburg. The 14th Vermont Infantry arrived on July 1 and entrenched near Cemetery Ridge. Confederate General George Pickett, under the command of General Robert E. Lee, conducted a massive infantry assault on the center of the Union lines. It proved to be a disastrous failure for the Confederacy and marked a turning point in favor of the Union. The Confederates suffered over four thousand injuries and deaths.

Elizabeth and Miles left the army on September 7, 1864. The Niles had seven children, five of whom survived their mother and father. Niles passed away in 1889, and Elizabeth died in 1920 at 78 in Raritan, New Jersey. No one recognized her service since her identity remained unknown.