Liar, temptress, soldier, spy : four women undercover in the Civil War
Abbott Kahler (Author)
After shooting a Union soldier in her front hall with a pocket pistol, Belle Boyd became a courier and spy for the Confederate army, using her charms to seduce men on both sides. Emma Edmonds cut off her hair and assumed the identity of a man to enlist as a Union private, witnessing the bloodiest battles of the Civil War. The beautiful widow, Rose O'Neale Greenhow, engaged in affairs with powerful Northern politicians to gather intelligence for the Confederacy, and used her young daughter to send information to Southern generals. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy Richmond abolitionist, hid behind her proper Southern manners as she orchestrated a far-reaching espionage ring, right under the noses of suspicious rebel detectives. Using a wealth of primary source material and interviews with the spies' descendants, Abbott weaves the adventures of these four heroines throughout the tumultuous years of the war. With a cast of real-life characters including Walt Whitman, Nathaniel Hawthorne, General Stonewall Jackson, detective Allan Pinkerton, Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, and Emperor Napoleon III, Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy draws you into the war as these daring women lived it
Print Book, English, 2014
First edition View all formats and editions
Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 2014
Biography
xiii, 513 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm
9780062092892, 9780062092908, 0062092898, 0062092901
878667621
Splendid and silent suns (a note)
1861: The fastest girl in Virginia (or anywhere else for that matter). Our woman
A shaft In her quiver
As if they were chased by demons
Never as pretty as her portrait shows
Little rebel heart on fire
Admirable self-denial
The birds of the air
The secret room
Stakeout
Hard to name
Crinoline and Quinine
Dark and gloomy perils
Unmasked
The defenseless sex
1862: Not your ideal of a beautiful soldier
She will fool you out of your eyes
Rebel vixens of the slave states
Wise as serpents and harmless as doves
A woman usually tells all she knows
A slave called "Ned"
Perfectly insane on the subject of men
The other side of the river
My love to all the dear boys
One grain of manhood
The madam looks much changed
The secesh Cleopatra
The bright rush of life, the hurry of death
She breathes, she burns
The still, small voice
Richmond underground
Playing dead
1863: When you think he may be killed tomorrow
Bread or blood
A wean that's born to be hung
A dreadful blow
No one ignorant of the danger
La Belle Rebelle
Women make war upon each other
Please give us some of your blood
1864: That unhappy country
Despicable remedies
The sanctuary of a modest girl
You are very poor company
Be prudent and never come again
Goodbye, Mrs. Greenhow
This verdict of lunacy
The delicacy of the situation
Not at all changed by death
The sweet little man
Like most of her sex
1865: The way a child loves its mother
As this mighty work was done
Epilogue