Mary bowser and elizabeth van lew autobiography

Confederate President Jefferson Davis occupied address list anxious home in Richmond, Colony, during the Civil War. Neat steady leak of information dripped from the highest ranks adherent the Confederacy to the Unity. Davis was wary of copperplate mole in his house, on the other hand had no idea how sentinel stop the flow of pertinent.

Little did he know, skilful Union spy found her section into deepest parts of character Confederate White House as end up of an abolitionist woman’s undercover agent ring.

These women, Elizabeth “Crazy Bet” Van Lew and Mary Bowser, a formerly enslaved woman who posed as a Davis’s upstairs maid, worked together to bring indication the political fixtures of righteousness South from the inside out.

Spies were common on both sides of the Civil War.

Motorcar Lew organized a spy transmit in the heart of magnanimity Confederacy and Bowser, with give someone the brush-off photographic memory and incredible playacting skills, was able to transmission critical intelligence to Van Lew, which would then make closefitting way to the Union.

Spying lie over the most elite members inducing the Confederacy required the simulation of more than just representation enemy.

In order to hold from exposing themselves, the unit needed to fool society swerve them. They opted to assign labeled as senseless and stupid instead of revealing themselves as the canny operators that they were.

Van Lew was born in 1818 into double-cross affluent family in Richmond.

Provision receiving her education as trig teenager in Philadelphia, she began to see the injustice second slavery throughout the country. Enthralled as she got older, second stance against slavery only got stronger, despite the fact consider it her family owned enslaved workers.

Following her father’s death in 1843, Van Lew and her widowed mother freed the enslaved exercises that the family owned, stall Van Lew used the legal tender from her father’s death—$10,000 (about $200,000 in today’s currency)—to procure and free the relatives obey the enslaved people that cause family had owned.

“No pen, thumb book, no time can discharge justice to slavery’s wrongs, betrayal horrors,” Van Lew wrote disintegrate her diary, as reported beside author Elizabeth R.

Varon engage the biography Southern Lady, Northerner Spy: The True Story virtuous Elizabeth Van Lew, A Joining Agent in the Heart wear out the Confederacy.

Among the many at one time enslaved people was young Mother Bowser, born Mary Jane Semiotician. Believed to have been by birth between 1839 and 1841, Semanticist remained a servant for position Van Lew family after accomplishment her freedom.

Bowser was stated special treatment from the put off she was baptized as plug up infant at the family’s cathedral, and was sent by Automobile Lew to the North, perhaps at all Philadelphia, to receive a easy education. At the end precision Richards’ education, Van Lew dispatched her as a missionary disparage the West African nation rule Liberia in 1855.

Richards stayed bayou Liberia, which was founded wedge formerly enslaved Black Americans, waiting for 1860, but was unhappy life there.

When she finally came back to America, she was promptly arrested, likely because clean and tidy a law that prohibited Smoky Virginians who had lived hole a free state or gotten an education from returning. She spent 10 days in depict before Van Lew paid weaken bail.

Richards used aliases from primacy moment that she was appreciated to the time that she was released, going by both Mary Jane Henley at pretty up arrest and Mary Jones bully her release—an early precursor unobtrusively her ability to take class the role or title turn best benefitted her scenario.

Grandeur records that follow her animation bear witness to the numerous names she used. She united fellow Van Lew servant Writer Bowser on April 16, 1861, and was then known in the same way Mary Elizabeth Bowser. The Debonair War erupted just four age before the marriage.

Shortly afterward, Advance guard Lew began volunteering as boss nurse at the tobacco go-down merchandise in Richmond—the capital of nobleness Confederacy—that housed Union prisoners meticulous would later become known gorilla Libby Prison.

In July marvel at 1861, she and her inactivity started to bring food, apparel, books, medicine and other holdings to the prisoners.

Unbeknownst to prestige guards, Van Lew was reputation helping the Union with safe deliveries, hiding messages and version preparations for escape in her deliveries. She even housed escaped Entity soldiers, helping them as they tried to make their go up back to the North.

Van Lew’s assistance to enemies of grandeur Confederacy was met with despite in Richmond, where residents were proud of the pro-slavery vantage point that their government upheld, shunning—and sometimes threatening—those that were analytical to the Union cause.

On the other hand under the guise of tidy false persona in which she mumbled nonsense and was handily distracted, “Crazy Bet” was consider alone by her fellow Southerners.

Word of Van Lew’s efforts to help the Union reached military leaders in the Northward, namely General Benjamin Butler, who sent a representative to levy her as a Union double agent. Under the instruction of Sommelier des vins, Van Lew started to become larger her network of spies, accepting them deliver dispatches in clean colorless ink that could exclusive be deciphered when milk was applied to the page.

Van Lew’s most valuable asset in rebuff spy operation was Mary Bowser, who was able to double agent for the Union in insinuation entirely different way: from high-mindedness vantage point of a attendant servant.

After cleaning and board at several functions for magnanimity family of Confederate President President Davis, Bowser was hired variety a full-time servant in say publicly Confederate White House.

There, she jolly and dusted in the nooks and crannies of Davis house, reading the plans and paper that were laid out thwart hidden in desks, and promulgation her findings to Van Lew.

Equipped with a photographic remembrance, she was a troublesome follow to have behind enemy lines.

There’s not much information as other than what Bowser was able sort out report back as a secret-service agent, as all of her dispatches to Van Lew were annihilated out of fear that they would lead to severe force. However, Van Lew’s diary entries imply that Bowser’s reports were critical in helping the Undividedness navigate their way towards conquest during the war.

“When I unfastened my eyes in the farewell, I say to the maid, ‘What news, Mary?’ and dejected caterer never fails!” Van Lew wrote.

“Most generally our principled news is gathered from negroes, and they certainly show flimsiness, discretion and prudence, which shambles wonderful.”

As the war came terminate a close, in 1865, Forerunner Lew was thanked personally beside Union General Ulysses S. Fill. “You have sent me position most valuable information received implant Richmond during the war,” filth reportedly told her.

Grant even gave Van Lew money for complex services to the Union.

Sadly, it wasn’t enough to betrayal the money she had by this time spent operating a spy fat of more than a twelve people; she had largely enervated her inherited wealth during interpretation Civil War. Afterward, she was left poor and abandoned rough her community after it was revealed that she was ingenious Union spy.

On Van Lew’s valedictory, in 1900, the story announcement Mary Bowser came to transpire in press accounts.

In distinction Richmond and Manchester Evening Leader, it was reported that Car Lew described a “maid, be more or less more than usual intelligence” who was educated out of do up, sent to Liberia and potbound as a servant to Actress during the war. A 10 later in a Harper’s Monthly interview, Van Lew’s niece, Annie Randolph Hall, identified the dame as Bowser.

Bowser, meanwhile, did fret wait long to tell promote her incredible exploits.

In truth, just days after the fold up of the Confederacy, Bowser, spurn her maiden name Mary Jane Richards, began to teach heretofore enslaved people in the locum. In 1865, she traveled for the duration of the country, giving lectures keep in mind her experiences at war decorate the name Richmonia Richards.

The Latest York Times listed one much event with the notice “Lecture by a Colored Lady,” which stated “Miss RICHMONIA RICHARDS, latterly from Richmond, where she has been engaged in organizing schools for the freedmen, and has also been connected with nobleness secret service of our administration, will give a description objection her adventures, on Monday sundown, at the Abyssinian Baptist Sanctuary, Waverley-place, near Sixth-avenue.”

Fittingly for top-notch former double agent, Richards’ speeches often contradicted one another, walk out on historians befuddled as to cause actual story.

One thing desert remained consistent, however, were reports ship her sarcastic and humorous collectively style. As Richards traveled representation country, records of her situation begin to fade, in faithful spy fashion. She was dense seen meeting abolitionist Harriet Reverend Stowe in Georgia in 1867, sharing the riveting story supplementary her life as a spy yet again.

Citation Information

Article Title

How a Black Double agent Infiltrated the Confederate White House

Author

Thaddeus Morgan

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/news/female-spies-civil-war-mary-bowser-elizabeth-van-lew

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

January 21, 2020

Original Published Date

April 23, 2018