| International Standard Book Number |
9780063333666 electronic book
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| International Standard Book Number |
9780063333659 hardcover
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| International Standard Book Number |
0063333651 hardcover
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| Personal Name |
Willis, Gerri, author.
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| Title Statement |
Lincoln's lady spymaster : the untold story of the abolitionist Southern belle who helped win the Civil War / Gerri Willis.
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| Edition Statement |
First edition.
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| Production, Publication, Distribution, Manufacture, and Copyright Notice |
New York, NY : Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2025.
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| Physical Description |
xviii, 266 pages ; 24 cm.
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| Bibliography, Etc. Note |
Includes bibliographical references (pages [251]-264).
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| Formatted Contents Note |
Key characters -- Introduction -- A kindred spirit -- Southern belles -- Peace, peace, but there is no peace -- Elizabeth vs. the fire-eaters -- The knights of the golden circle -- Aiding and giving comfort...to the enemy -- In the confederate white house -- Inside job -- The making of an assassin -- Glorious charges and yellow ribbons -- Begging for bread -- Too close for comfort -- The journey through rat hell -- The undertaking is a desperate one -- Ulric the hun -- Total war -- Sweltering sea of fire -- Stout men cried -- A muff and gunpowder tea -- Epilogue -- Acknowledgments -- Notes.
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| Summary, Etc. |
"Wealthy Southern belle Elizabeth Van Lew had it all. Money, charm, wit, the most elegant mansion in Richmond. So why risk everything to become a union spy? The answer was simple: freedom. In this gripping Civil War history, Gerri Willis charts the making of a spymaster genius. Right in the heart of the Confederate capital, Elizabeth played the society lady while building a secret espionage network of slaves, Unionists, and prisoners of war. It would cost her everything. Flouting society's expectations for women, Elizabeth infiltrated prisons and defied public opinion. She met assassins, socialites, escape artists, and cross-dressing spies. From grave robbery to a bold voyage across enemy lines, Elizabeth's escapades only grew more daring. But it paid off. By the war's end, she had agents in both the Confederate War Department and the Richmond White House, and her couriers provided General Ulysses S. Grant with crucial daily intelligence for his final assault. With extensive and fresh research, Willis uncovers the Southern abolitionist heroine that the Lost Cause buried -- in an unbelievable tale of one woman's courage, resistance, and liberation. Heartfelt, thrilling, and inspiring, Lincoln's Lady Spymaster restores a forgotten hero to her rightful place as an American icon."-- Provided by publisher.
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| Subject-Personal Name |
Van Lew, Elizabeth L., 1818-1900.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Women spies Virginia Richmond.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Spies Virginia Richmond.
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| Subject Added Entry - Topical Term |
Unionists (United States Civil War) Virginia Richmond Biography.
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| Subject Added Entry - Geographical Term |
United States History Secret service. Civil War, 1861-1865
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| Subject Added Entry - Geographical Term |
Richmond (Va.) History Civil War, 1861-1865.
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| Index Term-Genre/Form |
Biographies.
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