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A freed slave became a spy. Then she took down the Confederate White House.
Mary Bowser was a servant for Confederate President Jefferson Davis in Richmond. No one suspected she was feeding vital information to the Union.
In early 1862, at the height of the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis became a very paranoid man.
His army was struggling against the Union, which was getting mysteriously better and better at predicting his moves. Davis suspected a mole somewhere in his government, leaking information.
He was right and wrong.
There was, indeed, a mole. But it was a servant at the Confederate White House in Richmond a freed slave with a photographic memory who, in addition to caring for his wifes dresses, slipped the North valuable secrets from Daviss own desk.
Her name was Mary Bowser. Hers is one of the great but infrequently told spy stories in American history a shame, say historians and others who write about the Civil War, because it is a tale with an enduring, important lesson.
Bowser used the assumption that she was far less intelligent than her white employers against them.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/03/24/freed-slave-became-spy-then-she-took-down-confederate-white-house/?utm_term=.969e0503fb9b&tid=sm_tw
In early 1862, at the height of the Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis became a very paranoid man.
His army was struggling against the Union, which was getting mysteriously better and better at predicting his moves. Davis suspected a mole somewhere in his government, leaking information.
He was right and wrong.
There was, indeed, a mole. But it was a servant at the Confederate White House in Richmond a freed slave with a photographic memory who, in addition to caring for his wifes dresses, slipped the North valuable secrets from Daviss own desk.
Her name was Mary Bowser. Hers is one of the great but infrequently told spy stories in American history a shame, say historians and others who write about the Civil War, because it is a tale with an enduring, important lesson.
Bowser used the assumption that she was far less intelligent than her white employers against them.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/03/24/freed-slave-became-spy-then-she-took-down-confederate-white-house/?utm_term=.969e0503fb9b&tid=sm_tw
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A freed slave became a spy. Then she took down the Confederate White House. (Original Post)
demmiblue
Mar 2019
OP
Power 2 the People
(2,437 posts)1. Wow.Never heard that story before. Interesting to say the least.
Hassin Bin Sober
(26,326 posts)10. Wow is right! I never heard this either.
I have some reading to do.
Me.
(35,454 posts)2. The Fact That She Was 'Invisible'
to her 'masters' was of enormous help to her
Pepsidog
(6,254 posts)3. How come this is the first time ever hearing of this?
Crazy that this story isnt more widely known. Im pretty well versed in American history especially the Civil War era yet I have never heard of her and thats not right.
japple
(9,823 posts)7. Because the accomplishments of women, people of color and indigenous people
have largely been left out of the history books.
bluecollar2
(3,622 posts)4. An American patriot worthy of a statue
In every Confederate capital and Washington D.C..
PatrickforO
(14,572 posts)5. They need to take the statue of ol' Jeff Davis down.
The guy was a traitor.
AllaN01Bear
(18,191 posts)6. wozers
here is a wikipedia version.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bowser
Dem2theMax
(9,651 posts)9. I would love to see a movie made of this woman's courageous life.
This is history everyone needs to know.