Elizabeth Van Lew is one of my favorite Civil War Spies -- She was so intriguing to read about - and I loved every moment of her. Ms. Van Lew, along with other women that risked their lives inspired my story that I am working on currently.
In
regards to the American Civil War one of the most effective Union Spies was
Elizabeth Van Lew. Van Lew was born on October 25, 1818. She was born in
Richmond, Virginia. She was sent to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to obtain her Quaker
schooling and she inherited a lot of her Northern sympathies. When she returned
home from schooling, “"Slave power," she wrote
in her diary, "is arrogant, is jealous and intrusive, is cruel, is
despotic." Outspoken and rebellious, she appeared to her neighbors to be
more than a little eccentric and soon became known as "Crazy Bet."[1] Once her
father passed, her mother and Van Lew freed some of their slaves. Van Lew would
then with her mother aid the Northern cause.
Van Lew’s parents were Northerners and once they were married they
had moved to Richmond. This was one of the reasons that Van Lew had a Northern
Education. This education since was primarily Quaker run, leaned toward
abolitionist teachings. These would stay with her always and she would stay
connected with the Quakers.
A heart changing experience was during a visit to Hot Springs. Van
Lew, who was also called Miss Lizzie, was hanging out with the daughter of a
slave trader. The girl was telling Miss Lizzie about some of her father’s
experiences as a slave trader. She mentioned how they had recently sold a slave
mother and baby on the slave market. When the mother was sold to one master and
the baby to another the mother fell over and died. This was a defining moment
in her life.
“What a memorable day was the 17th of April 1861. How
can I describe my feelings when on my way down town, looking towards the
Capitol, I saw the flag of treason floating over it. [Government] John Letcher
surrendered the State.”[2] She was
very saddened to see all the anti-Union support. Since she was living in a
border state she had been hoping that they would not be a state that would
secede. She knew that she had to aid the Union.
After the secession of the
Southern States and the Confederate States of America were created those who supported
the Union lived in fear. They would live in uncertainty of their own future.
They knew that with the secession war would be imminent. Mobs would go into
private houses and attack the loyalists to the Union. The loyalty to the Union
was now considered treason and families’ names were cursed and slandered.
At this point the Van Lews were known to be staunch supporters of
the Union. Their defiance and resistance to embrace the Confederacy would
result in personal threats against them. They knew they had to rethink things
to not lose everything. “The Van Lews quickly realized their mistake. To avoid
deportation, imprisonment, and even possible execution, they had to lead a
double life: pretend loyalty the cause while praying and working for the Union.
They took flowers and religions books to the South Carolinians at the
fairgrounds.”[3]
This worked. The threats ceased toward the Van Lew family for a while.
Van Lew “would send valuable intelligence to Union officers, provide
food and medicine to prisoners of war and help plan their escapes, and run her
own network of spies. “She is considered the most successful Federal spy of the
war,” said William Rasmussen, lead curator at the Virginia Historical Society.”[4] Once her father died, Elizabeth and her
mother freed all the family slaves. Several stayed on to work for the Van Lews.
One in particular, helped work in the network of spies that Van Lew had
created.
One of the things that Van Lew would involve herself in is making
sure that Union Prisoners were treated fairly. The prisoners were fellow
loyalists that needed help and could be valuable sources. They could provide
information on the strength, position, information on resources of the
Confederate Army. She knew that she had to find out a way to get the
intelligence and get it to the Federal Authorities.
Once she was able to gain access to the prison, which she did so
by baking sweets and treats for prison officials, she set right to work trying
to get information. Prisoners soon learned to communicate by underlying words
in books. The underlined words would be reviewed and strung together to make a
code. Van Lew then learned that she could drain the contents of an egg and fill
it with little slips of paper that would contain messages. Once suspicion fell
on them again they had to show their Southern colors to cast suspicion off of
them.
After a trip with her friend in the Van Lews’ carriage to U.S.
Congressman John Minor Bott’s farm, the Union would realize what an asset they
had in Van Lew. She dove deeper into helping within the prison. Her aid was no
longer tolerated so she had to become more creative. She was able to influence
surgeons to place prisoners in hospitals where some of her servants worked.
This allowed her servants to visit them and give them food. She would be able
to pass information through secret space in custard dishes. The prisoners would
send messages back through the same dishes.
One of the biggest boldest moves that Van Lew was involved with
was helping Erasmus Ross (who was the nephew of a Union sympathizer) obtain a
position in the Libby Prison. This would allow her to create and forge a bond
with prisoners that were housed there. One of the courier/helpers, a young 15
year old girl named Josephine helped in a daring move. Union Captain Harry S.
Howard and assistant surgeon John R. McCullough were in Libby Prison being
treated for minor injuries and illnesses. Josephine brought a pouch of fine
Virginia Tobacco with a note in the bottom of it that said “would you like to
be free? Then be prepared to act. Meet me tomorrow”.
Josephine and McCullough created a plan to put into action. Howard
helped McCullough pretend to be dead. Howard covered him with a blanket and
they carried him to a makeshift morgue. McCullough laid there from midday until
dusk. After a distraction by other inmates, McCullough and Howard walked right
out of the hospital and met Josephine. They were successful due to the help of
Elizabeth Van Lew.
She eventually moved into assisting Captain Howard. They knew she was
capable and careful. They wanted her to be head of Butler’s spy network which
she gratefully accepted. She then had to learn how to cipher messages and would
carry a cipher key with her.
She had set up five relay stations that were set up between Richmond
and City Point (Grant’s headquarters). Couriers would pick up the messages from
Van Lew and take them to one of these relay points where another courier would
meet them and continue the journey. These relay points could have been
anywhere, such as a vegetable farm on the edge of the city. Information that
was passed through these relay stations were able to help Union Major General
Philip H. Sheridan launch a series of attacks through and around Shenandoah
Valley.
Ulysses S. Grant who was named general in chief of Union Armies in
1864 by President Lincoln was forever indebted to Van Lew. Her intelligence
that she and gathered and the couriers that she managed were efficient and
helpful.
[1] "Elizabeth Van Lew
Biography." Elizabeth Van Lew Biography. Accessed July 5, 2016.
http://www.civilwarhome.com/vanlewbio.html.
[2]
L., Van Lew Elizabeth, and David D. Ryan. A Yankee Spy in
Richmond: The Civil War Diary of "Crazy Bet" Van Lew.
Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1996. Pg. 31
[3] Winkler, H. Donald. Stealing
Secrets: How a Few Daring Women Deceived Generals, Impacted Battles, and
Altered the Course of the Civil War. Naperville, IL: Cumberland House,
2010.
[4] "Elizabeth Van Lew: An Unlikely
Union Spy." Smithsonian. Accessed April 23, 2016.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/elizabeth-van-lew-an-unlikely-union-spy-158755584/?no-ist.
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