DVD
Rebel : Loreta Velazquez, secret soldier of the American Civil War
Languages
English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
Performers
Romi Dias, Isabel Taysin Carter.
Publication Information
[Boston] : PBS Distibution, c2013.
Physical Description
1 videodisc (ca. 51 min.) : sd., col. ; 4 3/4 in.
Audience
Not rated.
Summary
In 1861, at the outbreak of the American Civil War, a teenager from New Orleans headed to the front lines. Under the alias Harry T. Buford, he fought at First Bull Run, was wounded at Shiloh, and served as a Confederate spy. But Buford harbored a secret--he was really Loreta Velazquez, a Cuban immigrant from New Orleans. By 1863, Velazquez was spying for the Union. She scandalized America when she revealed her story in her 1876 memoir, The Woman in Battle. Attacked not only for her criticism of war, but her sexuality and social rule-breaking, Velazquez was dismissed as a hoax for 150 years. But evidence confirms she existed, one of over 1,000 women soldiers who served in the Civil War. What made her so dangerous she was erased from history? Actors and historians bring Velazquez' story to life in this documentary, weaving drama and animation with historical and archival material to unravel the mystery of this secret soldier. Rebel is a detective story about a woman, a myth, and the politics of national memory.
Notes
Title from container.
Originally broadcast on PBS in 2013.
Bonus video: Go behind the scenes of the making of Rebel.