During her first mission, she disguised herself as a freed slave by darkening her skin and wearing a wig and torn clothing. Her mission was to go behind the Confederate lines and learn about their fortifications, equipment, numbers, and intentions although it turned out to be a waste. On her second mission, she disguised herself as an old Irish peddler woman. She went behind the Confederate lines and gathered information that guided the Union Troops in the Battle of Fair Oaks.
For many years she lived on the army post cooking and washing clothes for the soldiers. Mary also ran a small store in Carlisle. She died on January 22, 1832. Legend has it that George Washington sent her a letter of gratitude for her bravery. Mary also got a $40 pension and an annual commission of the same amount for the rest of her life, which was a good amount at the
She eavesdropped on Union meetings and relayed the information back to the Confederate army, so that they were prepared. She once rode 15 miles to inform the general that the Union troops were marching towards them. But mostly, she acted smitten with the enemy soldiers. She gathered information while staying in their camps, which she yet again
During a time period where men went off to fight war and women remained behind to see to the house, several women challenged this notion, and arguably none had the impact which rivaled Van Lew’s. As aforementioned, in order to be a spy in the Confederate capital, it was necessary that Van Lew live two separate, but concurrent lives. She did all the things that were expected of Antebellum women; publically she displayed unrivaled compassion towards the Confederate casualties. The story could not be more different privately. Van Lew supplied financial assistances to hunted fugitives, including the one hundred and nine soldiers that escaped from Libby Prison during the chilled winter of 1864.
Baker, a historian and professor of history at Goucher College and who was also featured in the Alexander Street American History video on The First Ladies: North and South, provides insight into the life of Mary Todd Lincoln during the Civil War. In her book Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography, Jean Baker describes how Mary Lincoln showed her bravery and loyalty to her husband during the terrors of the Civil War. When Washington and the White House was under threat of an attack from the Confederates, she refused to flee for safety and leave her husband’s side. Furthermore, she would accompany Lincoln in reviewing the troops and regularly visit the Washington hospitals. During her visits, she would attempt to cheer and comfort the wounded soldiers as well as compose letters to the families of those who were unable to write for themselves.
Mary Walker was an advocate for women 's rights and the first woman awarded the Medal of Honor. At the outbreak of the Civil War Mary Walker volunteered in Washington to join the Union effort, and she worked as a nurse in a temporary hospital set up in the capital. In 1862 she was sent to Virginia to provide medical care to wounded soldiers. In 1863 she was briefly appointed as a surgeon in an Ohio Regiment. The stories that surround this time of her life are undocumented, but in 1864, she was a prisoner of war exchanged for a Confederate soldier.
On one of these “missions” in April 1864, Walker ran into a group of Confederate soldiers. She was imprisoned at Castle Thunder which was an old tobacco warehouse in Virginia. As a prisoner, Walker was given special privileges such as her own room and the ability to walk in the garden and the streets of Richmond. On August 12, 1864, a prisoner exchange occurred in which the Union Army traded prisoners from the Confederate Army to free Walker. After a successful trade, Mary spent the rest of the war continuing as assistant surgeon.
She led 150 black soldiers of the Second South Carolina Battalion safely on the Combahee River without alerting the Confederate troops. (Biography, 2017). The Combahee River Raid mission was to destroy Confederate Supply routes and she was able to accomplish her mission without alerting the Confederate Army. As they raided the Combahee River, the Union Army set fire to the bridges, plantations, rice mills and storehouses. The Union army seized many supplies including; cotton, corn, rice and potatoes.
Lydia Barrington Darragh She told the guards she needed to get flour, but she really was trying to find a way to warn George Washington. She couldn 't get caught but at least if she was caught her family would be safe. She was on her own. Her name was Lydia Barrington Darragh.
Similarly, O'Brien continues to describe the diminished character in the story by adding: “Near the end of the third week Fossie began making arrangements to send her home. At first, Rat said, Mary Anne seemed to accept it, but then after a day or two she fell into a restless gloom, sitting off by herself at the compound’s perimeter. Shoulders hunched, her blue eyes opaque, she seemed to disappear inside herself. A couple of times Fossie
Harriet Tubman: Overcoming Epilepsy When asked about Harriet Tubman, many people think about an Underground Railroad conductor helping others to escape slavery (Larson). However, some people have not heard of her other feats, one of which was attempting to protect a fellow slave that left Tubman with a common brain condition (Bender 11). A bold woman, Tubman led a very demanding, yet influential, life through a pressing medical condition called epilepsy. With this in mind, epilepsy is a condition causing various types of seizures. A seizure is caused by a temporary disruption in the messages passing through the brain (Bender 10), and can induce a sudden temporary transformation in one’s awareness, movement, or behavior (8).
The evidence identifies the Butler of the Iowa soldiers’ account as Robert J. Butler whose plantation sat upon the aptly named Butler’s Hill. This land is now the City of North Augusta in Aiken County, South Carolina. In 1865, it would have sat within the southwestern corner Edgefield District, a region known for its fine homes and political power players. In the northwest section of the district lived another Butler family, of distant if any relation, which had become one of the state’s wealthiest families and bonified political dynasty producing two Congressman, a Senator, and a Governor of the South Carolina in the first sixty years of the republic. They were members of ruling planter class in the least democratic state in the nation.
She spent about 10 years guiding slaves to flee to Canada. During this act more than 38 slaves were ordinarily disenthrall from hard labor. During this rescue mission “she made most of her trips in and around December when the nights were long and fewer people were out.” (doc B), she was extremely cautious about her acts. Although, all four acts were all as important, the least important one was care-giving.
Mary Boykin Chesnut was a prominent member of the upper-class society in the South during the Civil War. She was married to James Chesnut, the general of the South Carolina reserves. Mary Chesnut is the author of her Civil War diary which details the society of Southerners during the war. She had access to a great deal of information through her husband, and she relays this information through her diary. Mary Chesnut’s diary gives insight into pivotal events during the war and details her own opinions about the Civil War.
She believed that the people should fight against war because they only bring death and misery. Instead of war, people should work out conflicts peacefully to move forward. Furthermore, Keller wrote a letter to Eugene Debs, a member of the Socialist Party who was sentenced to jail for promoting resisting drafting during WWI. Keller wrote, “I want you to know that I should be proud if the Supreme Court convicted me of abhorring war, and doing all in my power to oppose it” (Drier). This shows that Helen Keller was devoted to her beliefs of opposition of war and she would fight for her beliefs no matter the consequences.
