Category: Military

The types of food that were popular during the Civil War was very different from the food we eat today. Due to war-time food shortages and a lack of both… Read more »

Mary Elizabeth Bowser was a slave who later became a spy for the Union army during the Civil War. Born as Mary Elizabeth Richards, sometime around the year 1839, she… Read more »

Loreta Janeta Velazquez was a woman who served as a Civil War soldier. Much of what is known about Velazquez comes from her memoir, The Woman in Battle: A Narrative of… Read more »

Pauline Cushman was a stage actress who later became a spy for the Union army. Born Harriett Wood in New Orleans on June 10, 1833, Cushman was raised in Michigan… Read more »

Sarah Emma Edmonds was a female soldier and spy in the Civil War. The following are some facts about Sarah Emma Edmonds: Sarah Emma Edmonds’ Childhood: Edmonds was born on… Read more »

Civil War prison camps were notoriously filthy and disease-ridden camps, warehouses, forts and prisons that held an estimated 400,000 captured Civil War soldiers, as well as spies and political prisoners,… Read more »

Elizabeth Van Lew was a wealthy southerner from Richmond, Virginia who became a Union spy during the Civil War. The following are some facts about Elizabeth Van Lew: Elizabeth Van… Read more »

Alfred Packer, the prospector accused of cannibalism in 1874, was also a Civil War soldier who fought for the Union army. Packer, who was born in Pennsylvania in 1842, was… Read more »

Rose O’Neal Greenhow was a Confederate spy and wealthy socialite from Washington D.C. Born into a large slave-holding family in Maryland around 1813, Rose was sent to live with her… Read more »

The roles of women in the Civil War varied greatly. One of the many ways they aided the war effort was by working as spies. The following are some facts… Read more »