Elizabeth van lew civil war biography

- Written by Mark Weaver

Elizabeth Van Lew was one of the most daring and successful spies of the American Civil War.

During the war, she ran an extensive intelligence operation in the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Elizabeth van lew civil war biography

She was so skilled at what she did that Union General Ulysses S. Grant would later write to her, "You have sent me the most valuable information received from Richmond during the war."

Miss Van Lew, as she was commonly known, helped Union prisoners escape and hide, communicated directly with Union Generals, planted a network of spies throughout Richmond, and much more.

In one instance, she was even involved in stealing a dead Union officer's body and sneaking it away from Richmond to be buried under the care of a Union sympathizer.

All told, Miss Van Lew was even more successful than another well known Civil War woman, her Confederate counterpart in espionage, Belle Boyd.

You may be wondering, how does one of the most p