Americans faced changes, which challenged their roles during the Civil War. The expected role of women during the Civil War was that of a proper Victorian woman. Despite that fact, several women found themselves not only participating in the war, but also serving as spies. Women had to adapt to the changes of the war, the absence of their men, and they took on new roles outside of the norm. Some aided either the Union or the Confederacy based on which cause they believed in.
The American Civil War occurred during a period known as the Victorian Era. The era was defined by refined manners and propriety. Women of all classes had roles to play within their home: wife, mother, and housekeeper. Josiah H. Benton noted in his 1894 speech that, “women were practically excluded from all business vocations.”[1] When the Civil War occurred and men left their families for war, women began to step into new roles. Some women even chose to put everything at risk by participating in the war through various methods.
Some women chose to break the societal norms of the Victorian Era in order to aid their country and men during the war. In addition to their expected roles they took on new and sometimes unexpected roles. DeAnne Blanton in Women Soldiers of the Civil War explained, “images of women during that conflict center on self-sacrificing nurses, romantic spies, or brave ladies maintaining the home front in the absence of their men.”[2] Women faced many of the same hardships as men during the war. They lived in military camps, were imprisoned, they were injured, and they died.[3]
The women who became spies were especially at risk, because they ventured into close contact with the enemy. They risked their place in society and their lives to provide assistance to their cause. These were women such as Rose O’Neal Greenhow, Belle Boyd, Antonia Ford Willard, Fannie Battle, Elizabeth Van Lew, Mary Elizabeth Bowser, Harriet Tubman, Pauline Cushman, and others. These women had a significant role to play during the war, by passing important information to either the Union or Confederacy. After the war, many of these women went on to do admirable things with their lives, while others were outcast forever.
Rose O’Neal Greenhow
Rose O’Neal Greenhow was a well connected widow at the start of the Civil War. She was supportive of the Confederate cause, which led her to begin using her hostess skills as a means of gathering information. According to Secret Agents in Hoop Skirts: Women Spies of the Civil War, “in the months before the Civil War broke out, Greenhow, a fervent supporter of the Confederate cause, became the ringleader of a growing network of anti-Union spies.”[4] Her network of spies made it possible for Confederate forces to succeed during the beginning of the war. Rose’s connections and support for the South caused Union supporters to suspect her.
Rose held gatherings and attended events where she was able to obtain useful information, despite the suspicions of Union officials. “Renowned as a charming hostess and engaging conversationalist, she gleaned critical information from politicians and diplomats, passing along their secrets to Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard and other contacts.”[5] She gathered details on the specifics of defense of areas such as Washington, D.C. She was able to gather information on Union military activities before to the First Battle of Bull Run.
Despite being considered a security risk, Rose was able to obtain useful information for the Confederacy. Her most significant impact on the war was when she heard about the Union’s impending attack on Manassas, Virginia. “She sent her 16-year-old courier, Bettie Duvall, through 20 miles of Union territory with a coded message for Beauregard tucked into her hair.”[6] The United States of the Confederacy’s President, Jefferson Davis, credited her with their victory at Manassas during the First Battle of Bull Run. Rose was later placed under house arrest for her activities and eventually deported farther south.[7]
After her deportation to the Southern states, Rose traveled to England where she acted as a representative for the Confederacy. She later made the journey back to America, but Rose died just before reaching shore. A news article stated that, “the ill-fated lady -- passenger in the Steamer Condor, which got aground in attempting to run in at New Inlet -- was drowned in trying to reach the shore in a small boat, which swamped the ‘rips’.”[8] She was mourned by many Confederate supporters.
Maria “Belle” Boyd
Maria “Belle” Boyd was faced with a difficult situation at a young age. At the age of seventeen, Belle shot and killed a Union soldier that entered her home and proceeded to attack her mother.[9] Belle was arrested, questioned, and released from imprisonment. After the experience, Belle followed in the footsteps of her father and other family members by becoming a Confederate spy.[10]
Belle was an expert at gathering information in Union camps. She was not a particularly attractive woman, but she used her female wiles to gain information she would not have otherwise been able to obtain.[11] Belle gathered information through seduction, eavesdropping, and acting as a courier between Union camps. Belle became known to the Union Army, but her spy activities did not stop. She was arrested and imprisoned numerous times for espionage. Even in prison she devised methods to communicate with Confederate supporters.[12]
Belle Boyd had a significant impact on events during the war. She aided Stonewall Jackson on several occasions in the area of the Shenandoah Valley. In one case, she rode fifteen miles to inform him that Major General Nathaniel Bank’s army was on the move.[13] Mary Lou Groh in Maria “Belle” Boyd explained that, “on May 23, when she realized Jackson was about to attack Front Royal, she ran onto the battlefield to provide the General with last minute information about the Union troop dispositions.”[14] Belle was credited for her help during the capture of Front Royal.[15]
Eventually, Belle was deported south, since she continued her activities. She was arrested once again, but made her way to Canada and then to England. In England, Belle married one of the Union Navy officers she met during one of her arrests.[16] Her husband died shortly afterward. Belle wrote her memoires and gained fame as a stage performer before returning to America.[17] In America, she continued her stage career and later remarried.
Antonia Ford Willard
Antonia Ford Willard had a similar background to many of her fellow Confederate spies. She came from a family of Southern Confederate supporters. According to the article Antonia Ford Willard she, “was the daughter of prominent Fairfax, Virginia merchant and dedicated secessionist Edward R. Ford.” [18] Antonia also became a prominent Confederate supporter, which led her to begin spying on the Union.
Antonia’s methods of gaining information were similar to Belle Boyd’s. She used her seductive charms to gather information from members of the Confederate Army. [19] The National Park Service website indicated that Antonia, “is alleged to have gathered information on troop strength and movements from Union officers billeted around the Fairfax region in mid-1861, which she then may have passed on to her brother's commander Brigadier General J.E.B. Stuart.”[20] She used her connections not only to aid her country, but to help protect her family from harm as well.
Antonia’s spying helped the Confederacy on several occasions. One of the most significant events was the capture of the Union’s General Edwin H. Stoughton. [21] Antonia was later imprisoned for her spy activities and suspicion of helping Confederate Colonel John S. Mosby gain information and supplies.[22] She was later released due to the lack of information on her participation in Stoughton’s capture.
Antonia was released from prison with the help of her future husband, Union Major Joseph Willard, after he secured her release.[23] Antonia and Willard had met when he was staying at her family’s home. After her release, Antonia swore an oath to the Union and married the recently divorce Joseph Willard.[24] Antonia and Willard lost two children and she died seven years after their marriage.[25]
Mary Francis “Fannie” Battle
Mary Francis “Fannie” Battle began her spy career like the other spies. Many of her family members were Confederate supporters. Fannie’s father, Joel A. Battle, put together a company of Tennessee volunteers, which became known as the Zollicoffer Guards. [26] Fannie desired to aid the Confederates after two of her brothers were killed at the Battle of Shiloh and her father was taken captive.[27] The loss must have greatly affected her and motivated her to provide support to the Confederate Army.
It was in February 1863 that Fannie decided to join the Confederacy. According to the Fannie Battle Day Home Records, “Fannie and a sister-in-law joined a group of scouts and spies for the Confederacy, during the Union occupation of Nashville. Battle gathered and reported information about the Federal forces in the city.”[28] She was arrested for trying to pass documents to Confederate supporters in the city.[29] Fannie was not one of the lucky female Confederate spies, which were released due to the lack of evidence. Fannie remained a prisoner until the end of the war in Washington, D.C.[30] She was later commemorated for her service to the Confederate Army.
At the end of the war, Fannie returned to Tennessee after she was released from prison. She became a teacher, an officer in charitable organizations, and humanitarian. In 1891, Fannie established a daycare that provided health services, education, and religious instructions to underprivileged children in the Nashville area.[31] The facility later became known as the Fannie Battle Day Home and expanded its services to children and mothers. The facility still exists today.
Elizabeth Van Lew
Elizabeth Van Lew resided in Virginia, but her heart was with the North and the Union cause during the war. Elizabeth was an important woman in Virginian society; her spy activities put everything at risk.[32] Over the course of the war, Elizabeth began to despise the Confederacy. She eventually sought a way to aid the Union and eventually she agreed to become a spy. She earned the nickname Crazy Bet from the Confederates, because she pretended to mutter to herself constantly as a cover for her spying.
Elizabeth found her first opportunity to aid the Union by giving her tobacco house over to the Confederate Army for use as a prison.[33] Cate Linberry in Elizabeth Van Lew: An Unlikely Union Spy stated that, “the now-infamous Libby Prison, as it was called, soon became known for its harsh conditions, where hundreds of men suffered from disease, hunger and despair.”[34] Elizabeth found every opportunity she could to help the prisoners. She charmed and bribed guards to gain access to the prisoners.[35] She aided them by providing food, medicine, and information. She even helped some prisoners escape.
Later Elizabeth, and her network of spies, aided General Benjamin Butler by providing information through secret messages. Cate Linberry noted that, “as instructed, Van Lew wrote her dispatches in code and in a colorless liquid, which turned black when combined with milk.”[36] She was later acknowledged by President Ulysses S. Grant for her aid during the Civil War. When Grant became president he employed her as postmaster in Richmond, Virginia.[37]
Elizabeth’s life after the war was not peaceful compared to the life of other female Civil War spies. Despite her position as postmaster, the other Virginians could not forgive her for her betrayal during the war. She had lost her social standing and became an outcast.[38] After Grant’s presidency ended, Elizabeth lost her position as postmaster and had to resort to begging for income.[39] Her situation did not improve before her death.
Mary Elizabeth Bowser
Mary Elizabeth Bowser was born a slave and lived on the property of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union spy. Mary gained her freedom when Elizabeth Van Lew, and her mother, freed their slaves after the death of her father, John Van Lew.[40] Mary was later sent to study in a northern Quaker school and then spent five years in Liberia before she returned to the Van Lew house. Elizabeth Van Lew recruited Mary into her network of spies.
Mary became an undercover slave and went by the name Ellen Bond, in Jefferson Davis’ household.[41] Her education and ability to act made her the ideal spy, because she was able to pass information to the Union while pretending to be an illiterate servant.[42] It is rumored that Mary had a photographic memory and was able to describe everything she saw within the Davis’ house in great detail. She passed information to a local baker and spy, Thomas McNiven.[43]
She avoided suspicion of espionage, until close to the end of the war. Lyde Cullen Sizer in Bowser, Mary reported that, “by the last days of the Confederacy, suspicion did fall on Mary--it is not known how or why--and she chose to flee in January 1865.”[44] Reports suggest that Mary and other Union supporters attempted to burn down the Confederate White House before she fled.[45] In 1860, she was arrested in Richmond for not having proper documentation while traveling, which was a requirement for African Americans during that time period.[46]
After the war, Mary became a teacher for a Freedmen’s Bureau school.[47] She taught children’s classes, adult night classes, and Sunday school.[48] Mary Elizabeth Bowser was recognized for her contributions during the war over a hundred years later. Seven J. Niven explained that, “in 1995, the U.S. government honored her Civil War espionage and inducted her into the Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame in Arizona’s Fort Huachuca.”[49] There are not many other details on Mary’s life after the war.
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous female spies during the Civil War. Harriet was better known as a guide for the Underground Railroad. After escaping to the North in search of freedom, Harriet decided to lend her support to the Union. Kahlil Chism in Harriet Tubman: Spy, Veteran, and Widow explained that, “by 1861, she was assigned to Colonel James Montgomery’s 2nd Carolina Volunteers, serving as a nurse, cook, and spy on behalf of the Union.”[50] She did everything she could to help the Union succeed.
She served the Union from before the war began until its end. Kahlil Chism noted that Harriet “used her knowledge of the local geography and personal contacts established along the Underground Railroad to gather valuable information for the Union side.”[51] She was a small African American woman and was often disregarded by Confederate personnel. [52] Her appearance allowed her to sneak around behind Confederate lines to gain information for the Union.
Harriet
used the knowledge she gained to lead a group of soldiers against the enemy in
addition to her roles as a nurse, cook, and spy. “Utilizing intelligence
gathered about the location of many of South Carolina’s ammunition depots and
storage houses, Tubman led a contingent of soldiers down the Combahee River on
the night of June 2, 1863.”[53]
She and her men caused severe damage by setting plantations on fire and freeing
approximately 750 slaves.[54]
When the war ended, Harriet
returned to her home in New York. Her humanitarian efforts continued after the
war, but expanded to new areas. Harriet helped feed, cloth, and house the less
fortunate. [55]
She also began working with Susan B. Anthony and other women during the period
of the Women’s Rights Movement.[56]
Pauline Cushman
Pauline Cushman had a trying life, which caused her to become a spy. She was an actress who gave up her career to settle down and raise a family. Her husband enlisted in the Union and fell ill after the Battle of Shiloh. He was discharge from the Army and went to live with his parents. Pauline chose to focus on supporting her two children, but after her husband’s death she left her children with her late husband’s family. [57] She later remarried two more times after the war. Pauline returned to acting and was approached by the Union about spying for them.
Pauline’s position on stage gave her access to the Confederate audience. She agreed to make a speech to honor Jefferson Davis and the Confederacy in order to gain their attention.[58] Pauline was fired for her boldness and the speech, but quickly gained popularity with Confederates. The Union went so far as to make a public show of her deportation to the South to help provide her with a cover.[59] Her position as a celebrity allowed her access to officials and she was able to gather information to pass along to the Union.[60]
Pauline’s job was to pass information verbally, but she made a mistake of drawing a picture of Confederate fortification to pass to the Union.[61] She was caught and found guilty of espionage.[62] She was held by Lieutenant General Nathan Bedford Forrest, until she was passed to General Braxton Braggs for her imprisonment and sentencing.[63] Pauline was to be hung, but she became sick. Confederate officials delayed her execution, because they thought she was dying.[64] Her public execution was rescheduled after she recovered.[65] Pauline; however, was rescued after Union General Rosecrans advanced and the Confederate Army fled Shelbyville.[66]
After the war Pauline went on a tour providing lectures on her service to the Union. Her marriage ended and she collected a widow’s pension from her first husband’s service until it ran out.[67] Pauline was recognized for her service to the Union by General Gordon Granger and General James A. Garfield.[68] She was awarded the rank of Major of Calvary for her service. Pauline’s life ended in tragedy in 1893; she died of an overdose.[69]
Many of these women faced great odds not only as spies, but as women and some as African Americans also. They were often refused pension, outcast, and neglected after the war. Many were often vilified or degrade in historical texts. DeAnne Blanton reported that, “recent works refrain from stereotyping the women soldiers as prostitutes, mentally ill, homosexual, social misfits, or anything other than what they were: soldiers fighting for their respective governments of their own volition.”[70] They were brave women fighting for what they believed was right.
These women became spies based on their beliefs and support for either the Confederate or Union cause. They put aside their social statuses, their roles, and their gender to gather information while putting their lives at risk. They went above and beyond what was required of them during the Victorian Era and the Civil War. They were brave and often reckless in their tasks. Their contributions to the war were vital to the outcome of events no matter what odds they may have faced. They gathered information, helped prisoners escape, led military personnel, and prevented the loss of numerous lives.
While men in America enlisted and served in either the Confederacy or the Union, women had to adapt to the absence of their men. Some women stepped into new roles to aid the side they had felt sympathetic toward. A few of those women put everything at risk to participate in the war as spies. Those women gathered vital information to pass to either the Confederate officials or Union officials. All of the information they gathered affected military decisions and events during the war.
[1] Josiah H. Benton, excerpts from a speech, “What women did for the war and what the war did for women,” Digital Public Library of America, last modified 1894, 7, https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sources/827
[2] DeAnne Blanton, “Women Soldiers of the Civil War,” National Archives, accessed November 14, 2016, https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/1993/spring/women-in-the-civil-war-1.html
[3] Ibid.
[4]“Secret Agents in Hoop Skirts: Women Spies of the Civil War,” History, last modified September 3, 2013, http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/secret-agents-in-hoop-skirts-women-spies-of-the-civil-war
[5] Ibid.
[6]Ibid.
[7] “Rose O’Neal Greenhow (1817–1864) and Her Daughter Rose,” Civil War at Smithsonian, accessed November 29, 2016, http://www.civilwar.si.edu/leaders_greenhow.html
[8] “Rose O'Neal Greenhow Papers: Newsclipping, October 1, 1864,” Special Collections Library, Duke University, accessed November 30, 2016, http://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/scriptorium/greenhow/1864-10-01-a/1864-10-01-a.html
[9] Mary Lou Groh, “Maria ‘Belle’ Boyd,” Civil War Trust, accessed November 29, 2016, http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/biographies/maria-belle-boyd.html
[10]Ibid.
[11]Ibid.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14]Ibid.
[15]Ibid.
[16] “Secret Agents in Hoop Skirts: Women Spies of the Civil War,” History, last modified September 3, 2013, http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/secret-agents-in-hoop-skirts-women-spies-of-the-civil-war
[17] Ibid.
[18] “Antonia Ford Willard,” National Park Service, accessed November 29, 2016, https://www.nps.gov/people/antonia-ford-willard.htm
[19] “The Willard Hotel,” The White House Historical Association, accessed November 14, 2016, https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-willard-hotel
[20] “Antonia Ford Willard,” National Park Service.
[21] “The Willard Hotel,” The White House Historical Association.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] Ibid.
[25] Ibid.
[26] “Fannie Battle Day Home Records, c. 1905- c. 1998 (bulk 1905-1972),” Nashville Public Library, 1, accessed November 14, 2016, http://findingaids.library.nashville.org/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_Fannie_Battle.pdf
[27] Ibid., 4.
[28] Ibid., 1-2.
[29] Ibid., 4.
[30] Ibid., 2.
[31] Ibid., 2.
[32] Cate Linberry, “Elizabeth Van Lew: An Unlikely Union Spy,” Smithsonian, last modified May 4, 2011, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/elizabeth-van-lew-an-unlikely-union-spy-158755584/
[33] Ibid.
[34] Ibid.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Ibid.
[37] Ibid.
[38] Ibid.
[39] Ibid.
[40] Lyde Cullen Sizer, “Bowser, Mary Elizabeth (1839? - ?), Union Spy During the Civil War…” Hutchins Center, accessed November 14, 2016, http://hutchinscenter.fas.harvard.edu/bowser-mary-elizabeth-1839-union-spy-during-civil-war
[41] Ibid.
[42] Ibid.
[43] Ibid.
[44] Ibid.
[45] Ibid
[46] Steven J. Niven, “Mary Bowser: A Brave Black Spy in the Confederate White House,” The Root, last modified March 19, 2015, http://www.theroot.com/articles/history/2015/03/mary_bowser_a_black_spy_in_the_confederate_white_house/
[47] Ibid.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Ibid.
[50] Kahlil Chism, "Harriet Tubman: Spy, Veteran, and Widow," Magazine of History 19, no.2 (2005): 47, ProQuest, http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy1.apus.edu/docview/213748963?accountid=8289
[51] Ibid., 47.
[52] Ibid., 47.
[53] Ibid., 47.
[54] Ibid., 47.
[55] Ibid., 48.
[56] Ibid., 47.
[57]“Pauline Cushman,” National Foundation of Patriotism, accessed November 14, 2016, https://foundationofpatriotism.org/pauline-cushman/
[58] Ibid.
[59] Ibid.
[60] Ibid.
[61] Ibid.
[62] Ibid.
[63] Ibid.
[64] Ibid.
[65] Ibid.
[66] Ibid.
[67]Ibid.
[68] Ibid.
[69] Ibid.
[70] Blanton, “Women
Soldiers of the Civil War,” National Archives.
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