Women Spies of the Civil War
Women Spies of the Civil War
“ [At first] it was not deemed possible that any danger could result from the utterances of non-combatant females… That this policy was a mistaken one was soon fully proved…” - Allan Pinkerton, The Spy of the Rebellions, 1883 (Leonard 1).
In antebellum America there was little tolerance for autonomous women. Usually females, spanning all classes, were attached to households, dependent on males for status and wealth. Society demanded that domesticity be the woman’s domain, any deviations from this constricting edict was met with disdain. The cultural myth of the model genteel women permeated the fabric of 19th century life. However, with the advent of the Civil War women were required to assume new duties. The temporary shortage of manpower created new opportunities for women, transforming their existence. The vast majority of women met this challenge and mobilized on behalf of the war effort. A critical task women excelled at was espionage, the collecting of information on enemy activity; it utilized all the skills they had acquired maneuvering through a male dominated world. Ironically, the emphatic notions that women were innocent, passive, and vulnerable enabled them to more easily obtain and pass on military secrets during the Civil War.
Intelligence was a necessary, vital component to the strategic planning of the war. Its’ contribution shaped decisions and actions of commanders in both armies. Gathering intel consisted of scouting, cavalry reconnaissance, interrogations, visual observation, interception of enemy flag messages, and espionage. Jomini, a military writer favored by American officers stated, “How can any man decide what he should do himself if he is ignorant of what his enemy is about?” (Fishel 9). Who better to discover confidential orders from officers of the opposing side than women? Who would deduce that the flirtatious daughter of the plantation owner
“ [At first] it was not deemed possible that any danger could result from the utterances of non-combatant females… That this policy was a mistaken one was soon fully proved…” - Allan Pinkerton, The Spy of the Rebellions, 1883 (Leonard 1).
In antebellum America there was little tolerance for autonomous women. Usually females, spanning all classes, were attached to households, dependent on males for status and wealth. Society demanded that domesticity be the woman’s domain, any deviations from this constricting edict was met with disdain. The cultural myth of the model genteel women permeated the fabric of 19th century life. However, with the advent of the Civil War women were required to assume new duties. The temporary shortage of manpower created new opportunities for women, transforming their existence. The vast majority of women met this challenge and mobilized on behalf of the war effort. A critical task women excelled at was espionage, the collecting of information on enemy activity; it utilized all the skills they had acquired maneuvering through a male dominated world. Ironically, the emphatic notions that women were innocent, passive, and vulnerable enabled them to more easily obtain and pass on military secrets during the Civil War.
Intelligence was a necessary, vital component to the strategic planning of the war. Its’ contribution shaped decisions and actions of commanders in both armies. Gathering intel consisted of scouting, cavalry reconnaissance, interrogations, visual observation, interception of enemy flag messages, and espionage. Jomini, a military writer favored by American officers stated, “How can any man decide what he should do himself if he is ignorant of what his enemy is about?” (Fishel 9). Who better to discover confidential orders from officers of the opposing side than women? Who would deduce that the flirtatious daughter of the plantation owner
Cited: Caravantes, Peggy. Petticoat Spies: Six Women Spies of the Civil War. Greensboro: Morgan Reynolds, 2002. Collins, Gail. America’s Women: 400 Years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines. New York: Harper Collins, 2003. Fishel, Edwin C. The Secret War for the Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1996. Leonard, Elizabeth. All the Daring of the Soldier: Women of the Civil War Armies. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.