photo #727201

On April 5, 1898, an interesting letter came to the White House, addressed to President William McKinley. The sender was Phoebe Ann Mosey, better known as Annie Oakley, a Wild West sharpshooter who became a famous marksman after traveling the world in Buffalo Bill?s Wild West Show. She was so talented that she could even ?shoot glass balls out of the air, shoot through playing cards, and shoot cigarettes out of her husband?s mouth.? Oakley sent the letter in response to the sinking of the USS Maine, an American naval ship that had exploded in the harbor of Havana, Cuba just two months earlier. Oakley, conscious of the impending conflict that would become the Spanish-American War, wrote the president to offer her services: ?Dear Sir, I for one feel confident that your good judgement will carry America safely through without war. But in case of such an event I am ready to place a company of fifty lady sharpshooters at your disposal. Every one of them will be an American and as they will furnish their own arms and ammunition will be little if any expense to the government.? Evidently, President McKinley passed Oakley?s offer on to the War Department. However, she was denied, as the United States Armed Forces did not permit women to participate in active combat. Still, many women served as U.S. Army Nurse Corps during the Spanish-American War. Image Credit: Library of Congress