When the Civil War began, widowed society leader Rose O’Neal Greenhow sided with the Confederacy. From her house on 16th Street in Washington, she entertained many high-ranking politicians and military leaders. She used these connections and a vast spy network to send messages to the Confederate army near Manassas, Virginia.
Prior to the Civil War
Rose was born in Maryland. As a girl, she moved to Washington to live with her aunt, who operated a fashionable boardinghouse in the Old Capitol building. From there, Rose met many influential members of government and society. She also earned the nickname “Wild Rose” from her rosy complexion.
In 1835, Rose married Dr. Robert Greenhow, who taught her history and shared his work at the State Department with her. Rose also became close friends with South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun, from whom she developed her political views and her affection for the South.
When Dr. Greenhow died, Rose supported herself by hosting society functions, often helping people obtain government jobs and contracts in exchange for financial support. Visitors to her home included President James Buchanan, then-U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis, and future Secretary of State William Seward.
Spying from Within
In the first months of the Civil War, Rose continued hosting parties for high-ranking U.S. officials. Among them was Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson, chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee. It was rumored that they shared an intimate relationship, during which Wilson also shared secret military information with Rose.
Confederate officials recruited Rose as a spy partly due to her alleged affair with Wilson. Using young ladies as couriers, Rose was able to send coded messages to Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard at Manassas, informing him of U.S. troop movements. This information enabled Beauregard to call for reinforcements just in time to defeat the U.S. forces at the Battle of First Bull Run. President Jefferson Davis later credited Rose for the victory.
Imprisonment and Deportation
Because Rose made no secret of her Confederate sympathies, she soon aroused suspicion. On August 23, 1861, she was apprehended by Allan Pinkerton, head of the newly formed Secret Service. After searching Rose’s home, incriminating evidence was found including maps of Washington fortifications and love letters allegedly from Senator Wilson.
Initially Rose was confined in her home, under constant surveillance by Union guards. Soon other suspected female spies were imprisoned in her home as well, and the house became a makeshift prison nicknamed “Fort Greenhow.” Rose was later transferred to the Old Capitol building, where her aunt once ran a boardinghouse but had since been converted to a military prison. From there she still managed to send messages to the Confederacy using the blinds and candles in her window as signals.
When Rose was released from prison in May 1862, she was deported to Richmond. She was warmly welcomed by President Davis and hailed as a heroine in the South. Rose was soon enlisted as a courier to Europe.
Adventures Abroad and a Fateful Return
Rose was sent to France and England on a secret mission to gain foreign recognition for the Confederacy. She found strong support for the South in Europe. In Paris, Rose was granted an audience with Emperor Napoleon III at the Tuileries. In London, she was received by Queen Victoria and became engaged to the Second Earl Granville.
After traveling abroad for two years, Rose returned to the Confederacy aboard the Condor, a British blockade runner. Rose carried dispatches and $2,000 in gold she received in royalties from publishing her memoirs.
On October 1, 1864, the Condor ran aground at the mouth of the Cape Fear River near Wilmington, North Carolina as it was being pursued by a U.S. gunboat. Rose, fearing capture, tried escaping in a rowboat but it capsized. Rose was dragged down by the weight of the gold and drowned.
Rose’s body was recovered and she was buried with full military honors at Oakdale Cemetery in Wilmington. Her coffin was wrapped in the Confederate flag and carried by Confederate troops. Annual ceremonies honoring her contributions to the Confederate cause continue to this day.
Sources
Ward, Geoffrey C.; Burns, Ric; Burns, Ken: The Civil War (New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1990)
Time-Life Books: Spies, Scouts and Raiders – Irregular Operations (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books Inc., 1985)
Walter Coffey - Walter Coffey is a freelance writer who resides in Houston, Texas. Walter has written several works of historical fiction and non-fiction, ...
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