Richmond

Civil War Women: Rose O’Neal Greenhow, Confederate Spy

/ sandramervillehart

Rose O’Neal Greenhow lived in Washington D.C. when the Civil War began. When many other Southerners left, the widow remained with her eight-year-old daughter, Rose. Union Colonel Thomas Jordan had decided to resign the U.S. Army and fight for the South. Before he left the city, he asked Rose to be an agent. Spying to uncover troop movements and government communications gave her a significant way to serve the South. She agreed to send messages based on a cipher he provided.

Coded messages were sent on a “Secret Line,” which involved several couriers in a chain that passed on messages in common places such as docks, taverns, and farmhouses.

Rose’s spy network from Boston to New Orleans was the largest in the war—48 women and 2 men. She learned battle plans for Bull Run and passed this vital information to Confederate General Beauregard, leading to a Confederate victory at the First Battle of Bull Run.

Several other messages about Washington’s defenses and troop information were sent from Rose to Beauregard. Thomas A. Scott, Assistant Secretary of War, asked Allan Pinkerton, head of Lincoln’s Intelligence Service, to find Confederate spies and put Greenhow under surveillance.

About a month after the Battle of Bull Run, Pinkerton discovered incriminating evidence. The home was searched. Rose and her daughter were placed under arrest at her home. Because she still managed to get other secret messages out, they were moved to Washington’s Old Capitol prison. The Federals then decided to send her South.

On June 4, 1862, she arrived in Richmond, where she was taken to the best hotel. Confederate President Jefferson Davis called her the next day, saying, “But for you there would have been no battle of Bull Run.” Rose wrote that his words made up for all she’d endured.

The following year President Davis sent her to Europe. She took letters from him to France and England. She received money from them to aid the South.

In October 1, 1864, Rose returned on the Condor, a blockade runner. Unfortunately, the USS Niphon, a Union gunboat, came close to the Condor’s position on Cape Fear River. While Confederate soldiers from nearby Fort Fisher fired on the Union gunboat, Rose asked the captain for a lifeboat for herself and two other Confederate agents. Two hundred yards of rough waters were between the boat and the shore. Despite his initial refusal, she finally convinced the captain to provide a boat.

A powerful wave overturned the lifeboat. They swam for shore. Unfortunately, Rose had a bag of gold sovereigns tied around her waist underneath a heavy silk dress. Though she was a good swimmer, she drowned due to the extra weight while her companions made it to safety.

Her body washed ashore the next day. A Confederate soldier found the bag of gold and took it. A search party later found the body. When the soldier discovered Rose’s identity, he returned the sovereigns.

She was buried in Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington with full military honors.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

Monson, Marianne. Women of the Blue & Gray, Thorndike Press, 2018.

Winkler, H. Donald. Stealing Secrets, Cumberland House, 2010.

Zeinert, Karen. Those Courageous Women of the Civil War, The Millbrook Press, 1998.

 

Civil War General Lee Sends a Frightening Message

/ sandramervillehart

 

Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his family lived in the executive mansion in Richmond, Virginia. Citizens grew accustomed to hearing artillery fire in nearby Petersburg after months of fighting. With General Robert E. Lee in command, they felt safe.

Confederate President Jefferson Davis didn’t feel quite as secure. By the morning of April 2, 1865, he had already sent his family away from the city.

Still, when Davis received a message during church services on Sunday morning, April 2, color drained from his face. He immediately exited the church, leaving the congregation to wonder what momentous event had occurred to warrant his haste.

The telegram was from General Lee. He advised Davis to leave Richmond that night.

Davis issued orders to evacuate the Confederate government, though citizens were not given notice for hours. However, the sight of official documents burning in front of government buildings warned of terrible events.

Citizens learned that the government was evacuating at 4 pm. Officials and other prominent citizens abandoned the city rapidly. They exited by train. They rode out on horseback, carts, and carriages. They boarded canal barges and boats to avoid the Union soldiers.

Davis arranged to leave by train at 8:30 pm yet continued to hope it wouldn’t be necessary. He and three cabinet members delayed leaving until 11 pm. Confederate soldiers crossed the river on pontoon boats.

Chaos reigned in Richmond. City officials ordered men to destroy kegs and bottles of liquor from saloons and warehouses. They poured them into street drains, attracting crowds. Folks scooped up whiskey in boots and hats to gulp it down.

Richmond’s military commander, Lieutenant General Richard Ewell, stayed behind with a few soldiers to burn the city’s supplies of cotton, tobacco, and food. These were set afire inside buildings with the fire department nearby to keep it under control.

The stocks of meat, coffee, and other staples enraged starving citizens. They grabbed the food and then began looting stores. Fires blazed out of control. Arsenals on ships exploded.

Fires still burned the next morning when Union cavalry arrived.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Source

“Reaction to the Fall of Richmond,” Civil War Trust, 2017/10/29 https://www.civilwar.org/learn/articles/reaction-fall-richmond.

 

Civil War Home of Confederate President Jefferson Davis

/ sandramervillehart

Confederate President Jefferson Davis moved his family to the former  home of Dr. John Brockenbrough in Richmond, Virginia. This home served as the executive mansion from August, 1861, until April 2, 1865.

The capital of Virginia became the Confederate capital. The once quiet city changed into a transportation hub. Military headquarters, hospitals center for wounded soldiers, and a prison for captured Union soldiers increased the city’s population. Richmond also boasted of industries such as the Tredegar Iron Works.

Citizens grew accustomed to changes the war brought to their city though they didn’t enjoy knowing the Union army saw Richmond as a target.

Davis held important meetings with his generals at the executive mansion. Richmond citizens and military leaders often gathered in Davis’s parlor, where Varina, his wife, participated in war discussions.

Meticulous with details, Davis had a difficult time delegating. His family lay tucked in bed long after he still worked. His dignified demeanor coupled with his military and political career made him popular in the beginning. His impatience with folks who didn’t see eye-to-eye with him soon chipped away at his popularity.

His family also suffered personal tragedy while living at the White House of the Confederacy. His five-year-old son, Joseph, fell and died in 1864.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Sources

“Biography: Jefferson Davis,” Civil War Trust, 2017/10/29

https://www.civilwar.org/learn/biographies/jefferson-davis.

“Jefferson Davis,” Wikipedia, 2017/10/29 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jefferson_Davis.

“The White House and Museum of the Confederacy,” American Civil War Museum, 2017/10/29 https://acwm.org/about-us/our-story/museum-white-house-confederacy.