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Who They Were:
Southern Spies
Southern Women Spies
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Of the American Civil War
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Antonia Ford
This is a site devoted to the famous and not so famous
Southern women who spied for the South and the North!
The information provided here I hope will give the user at
least a glance of their impact!
Disclaimer: The photos reproduced here are the property of the Library of Congress.
Please do not borrow them.
Southern Women Who Spied
Belle Boyd
America and Artemisia Scott
Belle Boyd
Mrs. Braxley
Betty Duvall
Belle Edmondson
Antonia Ford
Laura Ratcliffe Hanna
Nancy Hart
Rose O’Neal Greenhow
Betty Hassler
Clara Judd
Lillie Mac Kall
Lottie and Ginnie Moon
Augusta Morris
Mary and Sophia
Overall
Ann and Kate Patterson
Emmeline Piggott
Sarah Slater
Loretta Velazquez
Rose O’Neal Greenhow
• When:1861-1864
• Where: Virginia, North Carolina and Europe
• What: Beginning with the battle of Bull Run, Mrs.
Greenhow used her high position in Washington to
gather information from her military acquaintances
• She established a spy ring based out of Washington
• She was arrested and exiled out of Washington
• She traveled to London to gain financial support for the
war
• She drowned on her return to North Carolina
America and Artemisia Scott
• When: 1862
• Where: Lived in Falls Church, Va.
• What: Were arrested by Union officers for
reporting the position of Union troops to
Confederate troops near their home. They
were supposedly responsible for the capture
of a Union soldier under their acquaintance.
Southern Women Who
Spied for the North
Elizabeth Van Lew
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Elizabeth Van Lew
Mary Elizabeth Bowser
Paulina Cushman
Mrs. Green
Mrs. Graves
Jeanette Laurimer Mabry
Mrs. Lucy Rice
Elizabeth Van Lew
• When: 1861-1865
• Where: Richmond, Virginia
• What: She was responsible for a large spy ring in the
center of the Confederacy. Known as “Crazy Bet”, she was
able to sneak into enemy camps and gather information
and provided it to Union troops. Her spy ring used ciphers
to transmit intelligence across enemy lines.
• Why: She was very vocal about her anti-slavery
sentiments
Jeannette Laurimer Mabry
• When: 1861-1865
• Where: East Tennessee
• What: Despite her husband’s position in the
Confederate army, she gathered information about
goings-on on the front. She took this information and
gave it to any guide or spy headed towards Union
lines.
• Why: She was a staunch Unionist in spite
Confederate family ties
How they Spied
• Women were considered innocuous and
considered too gentile to spy
• They were able to get away with their schemes
because men would not search women.
• Women would hide contraband, information,
maps and supplies in hidden pockets, in their hair,
in their dresses and in baskets that looked like
supplies.
More Links
Mary Elizabeth Bowser
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National Museum of Women’s History
Belle Boyd Cottage
Belle Boyd House
Rose O/Neal Greenhow Papers
Maggie L Walker historic site
Tennessee Encyclopedia
Georgia Encyclopedia
City of Fairfax Court House
Find a Grave
Site Map
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