Kady is born off of the coast of South Africa in 1842 to Scottish parents.
Her mother dies in childbirth.
Her father, Col. Southwell, sends her to live with the McKenzie Family in Providence.
As a teenager, she goes to work in a textile mill in Peacedale
Kady meets millwright Robert Brownell.
They fall in love.
Civil war divides the country.
Rob enlists in the Rhode Island Infantry.
Kady wants to enlist, but is refused.
She convinces Governor Sprague
to grant permission
for her to join Rob’s unit.
She attends rifle and bayonet practice like every other soldier.
She bears her nation’s colors at the 1st battle of Bull Run.
After her enlistment is up, she returns home to reenlist.
She and Rob serve under General Burnside in a heavy artillery unit.
Kady saves her unit from friendly fire by putting herself in danger.
She is transferred to a nursing unit.
Rob is wounded.
She nurses him back to health.
They return to Rhode Island.
After the war, Kady becomes an actress.
She is best known for the title role in “Our Female Volunteer.”
She becomes the first female member of the Grand Army of the Republic.
My Living Monument 