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EMPLOYMENT OF FEMALE SPIES IN THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR.
The nature of the American Civil war made espionage easy, common and very difficult to stop. Women of both sides proved to be very adept at the second oldest profession. Due, in part, to the double standard of the time it made sense to employee women as spies. Men caught engaging in any kind of espionage were often shot or hanged. However the code of conduct for "gentlemen" made it all but impossible for men in authority to decree the same treatment for women. Women who were caught in espionage activities were sometimes put in prison and were threatened with execution or long prison terms. However most women were merely paroled, sent beyond the lines or simply released. Often the women began their espionage activities again immediately. Some even continued their activities while in prison.
Successful spies often leave no record of their activities, and the Confederate government took care to destroy many records relating to secret activities as soon as Lee surrendered. However, the records of the Civil War are voluminous compared to any other war in history up to that time. In addition to the official records numerous dairies, collections of letters, personal reminiscences, and like documents were published after the war and many other similar documents have found their way into libraries and other archives. These records give a fair accounting of many activities of women spies during the Civil War.
Some of these women became very well known, others are just a footnote in history, and many will never be identified. This article will first summarize the activities of some of the best known of the women spies, and second will illustrate how wide spread the use of women in espionage actives was throughout the war.
THE WILD ROSE
Rose O'Neal Greenhow was, very early in the war, involved in a spy ring that was unprecedented in American History. Rose was the widow of Robert Greenhow who had been a translator, librarian and interpreter for the State Department for over twenty years. She had been deeply involved in politics and intrigue for most of her adult life. She had personally known nine presidents and her close friendship with president James Buchanan had...