Edmonds' profession as Frank Thompson came to an end when she traveled to Berry's Brigade so as to convey mail to Union powers. While trying to take an easy route, she was tossed into a ditch by her donkey and injured. In 1863, she contracted malaria. She thought if she went to a military emergency clinic she would be found out. She went to a private medical clinic, expecting to come back to military life once she had recovered. Then she saw banners posting Frank Thompson as a deserter. She chose to fill in as a female nurse at a Washington, D.C. clinic for injured troopers run by the United States Christian Commission. 