People Exclusive: The Transgender Man Who Fought in the Civil War - The Amazing Life of Albert Cashier

People Exclusive: (NEW YORK) – Albert Cashier hid his identity to fight for the Union in the Civil War. Years later, however, his role in the war – and as a man – came under fire.

The new documentary series We've Been Around looks at remarkable, often little-known stories of trans people who made history.

Rhys Ernst, the Emmy-nominated director and co-producer ofTransparent, and Focus Features, the film company behind The Danish Girl, teamed up to create the series, launching exclusively onPEOPLE.com, EW.com, Essence.com and Advocate.com. (Alicia Vikander won an Oscar on Sunday for playing the wife of transgender artist Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl, now out on DVD and On Demand.)

In this video clip, a narrator tells the dramatic story of a transgender man who hid his identity for years in order to fight for his country.

"Though Albert started his life as a girl, his cropped hair and manner of dress raised no questions," the video says about a 19-year-old Cashier in 1862.

Two years earlier, Cashier was a stowaway and journeyed from Ireland to the United States to start his new life as a transgender man.

"To join the Union Army, a person had to be able to march and run," the narrator says. "You had to have a trigger finger and enough teeth to rip open a powder cartridge. You had to be a man."

Cashier joined the 95th Illinois regiment and participated in over 40 engagements, making him among the few transgender men known to have fought in the Civil War. Members of his regiment knew him as "Al" or "Little Albert" and he was considered an honorable member of the regiment.

See the full article from People for more details!
http://www.people.com/article/weve-been-around-transgender-docuseries-albert-cashier