Catherine Virginia Baxley

Last updated

Catherine Virginia Baxley was a Confederate spy during the American Civil War. [1] Baxley worked with infamous spy Rose Greenhow were imprisoned on December 30, 1861, and deported back to the confederate states in 1862. [2] Later, Baxley continued being a blockade runner for the Confederacy during the civil war. [3] She was arrested again while getting off a boat from Baltimore, Maryland and became a union prisoner. [4] She was one of the first women confined in the Old Capital Prison, Washington, D.C. from February 24-July 2, 1865 where she was transferred after originally being held at Fort Greenhow. [5] Like John Surratt, Baxley was a courier and carried letters across the union blockade. [6] [7]

Contents

Baxley's son, a 17-year-old Confederate soldier, was also imprisoned at Old Capital Prison. The teenager had joined the Confederacy at 16. He arrived at the prison wounded after Baxley had already been captured for quite some time. His wounds were reportedly minor, but he was taken to the hospital infirmary. He eventually developed typhoid fever and died due to the conditions of the prison. [8] Baxley reportedly attempted to get the guards to give better food to the boy, as a result she was removed from his side and the boy died soon after in Mary Surratt's arms.

The letters

According to the United States War Department, Baxley was caught carrying letters to General Winder, Mr. Benjamin, Dr. Septimus Brown, Jefferson Davies, President of the Confederate States among other Confederate leaders. She had numerous letters concealed among her person. Baxley was coming from Richmond, VA.[ citation needed ]

Baxley's personal writings

She wrote letters to exaggerate gender stereotypes to try to get herself released. Reportedly one week after her initial imprisonment she wrote a letter to Secretary of State Steward claiming she was a silly, innocent woman incapable of espionage. She wrote, "I carried with me nothing in the world but a few friendly letters...Liberate me, for god's sake...I shall die here." Baxley thus represented herself to the union as a well-intentioned, politically naive woman.

Baxley also kept a journal during her time in prison. [9] This journal seemed to serve the purpose of expressing her thoughts, turmoils, and emotions after being captured and watching the death of her son. The diary expresses a forceful discontent with the North.

Notable writings on Baxley

Rose Greenhow

Greenhow frequently discussed her disdain for Baxley. Greenhow believed Baxley had overstepped acceptable codes of female conduct, namely that she had unladylike manners. [10]

Greenhow also kept a journal and documented various moments of tension between the two women. In one excerpt, Greenhow described guards who wanted to lead the three women, Greenhow, Baxley and Ms. Morris through a dirty back stairway. In disagreement, Greenhow attempted to explain that she would like to go in their usual route. Baxley and Morris then attempted to go down the usual route despite the guards' orders, and attempted to push their way past the guards. To Greenhow's horror, Baxley grabbed the guards' muskets and attempted to duck under it. The guard cursed at Baxley and she then punched the guard in the face, giving him a nosebleed. The guard then pushed Baxley and kicked her. Greenhow even wrote she was humiliated to be associated with Baxley, citing this occurrence. [11]

Some theorists, however, think that Greenhow knew that Union members would read her writings and Greenhow thus deliberately downplayed their work together.

Virginia Lomax

Virginia Lomax wrote that Baxley, "Said and did whatever she pleased." According to Lomax, Baxley was witty and she constantly vexed the guards with her sarcasm.

Morris

Mary Morris reportedly voiced fears that Baxley could be a counterspy for the North. Thus adding to the perspective that Morris, Greenhow, and Baxley—while all in support of the confederacy, disliked each other considerably.

John L. Brown

Brown wrote that Baxley had bragged to him about transporting 200 guns to the Southern Army.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rose O'Neal Greenhow</span> Confederate spy during the American Civil War

Rose O'Neal Greenhow was a famous Confederate spy during the American Civil War. A socialite in Washington, D.C., during the period before the war, she moved in important political circles and cultivated friendships with presidents, generals, senators, and high-ranking military officers including John C. Calhoun and James Buchanan. She used her connections to pass along key military information to the Confederacy at the start of the war. In early 1861, she was given control of a pro-Southern spy network in Washington, D.C., by her handler, Thomas Jordan, then a captain in the Confederate Army. She was credited by Jefferson Davis, the Confederate president, with ensuring the South's victory at the First Battle of Bull Run in late July 1861.

Tactical or battlefield intelligence became vital to both sides in the field during the American Civil War. Units of spies and scouts reported directly to the commanders of armies in the field, providing details on troop movements and strengths. The distinction between spies and scouts was one that had life or death consequences: if a suspect was seized while in disguise and not in his army's uniform, he was often sentenced to be hanged. A spy named Will Talbot, a member of the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, was left behind in Gettysburg after his battalion had passed through the borough on June 26–27, 1863. He was captured, taken to Emmitsburg, Maryland, and executed on orders of Brig. Gen. John Buford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Belle Boyd</span> American Confederate spy (1844–1900)

Maria Isabella Boyd, best known as Belle Boyd was a Confederate spy in the American Civil War. She operated from her father's hotel in Front Royal, Virginia, and provided valuable information to Confederate General Stonewall Jackson in 1862.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Van Lew</span> American civil war spy (1818–1900)

Elizabeth Van Lew was an American abolitionist and philanthropist who built and operated an extensive spy ring for the Union Army during the American Civil War. Many false claims continue to be made about her life. The single most reliable source is a 2002 biography by University of Virginia professor Elizabeth R. Varon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Surratt</span> American boarding house owner convicted as a conspirator to murder (1823–1865)

Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt was an American boarding house owner in Washington, D.C., who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy which led to the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in 1865. Sentenced to death, she was hanged and became the first woman executed by the U.S. federal government. She maintained her innocence until her death, and the case against her was and remains controversial. Surratt was the mother of John Surratt, who was later tried in the conspiracy, but due to statute of limitations, was not convicted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castle Thunder (prison)</span>

Castle Thunder, located between what is now 17th Street and 18th Street on northern side of E Cary Street in Richmond, Virginia, was a former tobacco warehouse, located on Tobacco Row, converted into a prison used by the Confederacy to house civilian prisoners, including captured Union spies, political prisoners and those charged with treason during the American Civil War. A large number of its inmates were sentenced to death. Even though the inmates were sometimes allowed boxes of medicine and other supplies, the prison guards had a reputation for brutality.

The Confederate Secret Service refers to any of a number of official and semi-official secret service organizations and operations conducted by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Some of the organizations were under the direction of the Confederate government, others operated independently with government approval, while still others were either completely independent of the government or operated with only its tacit acknowledgment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nancy Hart Douglas</span> American Confederate guide and spy

For the American rebel heroine, see Nancy Hart.

Aaron Van Camp was an espionage agent for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. He and his son Eugene B. Van Camp were members of the Rose O'Neal Greenhow Confederate spy ring, which in 1861 was broken up by Allan Pinkerton, head of the newly formed Secret Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Nelson Conrad</span>

Thomas Nelson Conrad was the third president of Virginia Tech and served in the Confederate Secret Service during the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Military history of African Americans in the American Civil War</span> Aspect of United States history

African Americans, including former slaves, served in the American Civil War. The 186,097 black men who joined the Union Army included 7,122 officers and 178,975 enlisted soldiers. Approximately 20,000 black sailors served in the Union Navy and formed a large percentage of many ships' crews. Later in the war, many regiments were recruited and organized as the United States Colored Troops, which reinforced the Northern forces substantially during the conflict's last two years. Both Northern Free Negro and Southern runaway slaves joined the fight. Throughout the course of the war, black soldiers served in forty major battles and hundreds of more minor skirmishes; sixteen African Americans received the Medal of Honor.

Lily Mackall was a messenger for Rose Greenhow, a Confederate spy during the American Civil War. Arrested with Greenhow, they were held under house arrest, although Mackall was allowed to leave freely and used this to smuggle out some of the most sensitive documents in her shoes. The pair were then confined in a single room, along with Greenhow's daughter. Greenhow noted that during this time, she and Mackall were "like Siamese twins, inseparable". On September 25, 1862, Mackall was ordered out of the house and prohibited from returning, on the direct orders of Allan Pinkerton; she fell ill in October, and eventually died, with Greenhow being prohibited from seeing her. She was buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C.

During the American Civil War, sexual behavior, gender roles, and attitudes were affected by the conflict, especially by the absence of menfolk at home and the emergence of new roles for women such as nursing. The advent of photography and easier media distribution, for example, allowed for greater access to sexual material for the common soldier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kate Mason Rowland</span> American author, historian, genealogist, biographer, editor, historic preservationist

Kate Mason Rowland was an American author, historian, genealogist, biographer, editor and historic preservationist. Rowland is best known for her biography of her great-great-granduncle, George Mason, a Founding Father of the United States. Rowland was also a charter member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. She later went by the name of "Kate Mason."

Hispanics in the American Civil War fought on both the Union and Confederate sides of the conflict. Not all the Hispanics who fought in the American Civil War were "Hispanic-Americans", in other words citizens of the United States. Many of them were Spanish subjects or nationals from countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Some were born in a US Territory and therefore did not have the right to US Citizenship. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 Hispanics, mostly Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans living in the United States joined the war: 2,500 for the Confederacy and 1,000 for the Union. This number increased to 10,000 by the end of the war.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Greenhow Lee</span>

Mary Greenhow Lee was an American diarist from Virginia. During the Civil War, Lee was a Confederate activist who kept a journal of events occurring in Winchester. According to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (VDHR), Lee's writings "survives as one of the most informative records of daily life in Civil War Virginia."

Lola Sánchez (1844–1895) was one of three sisters who became spies for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Sánchez became upset when their father was falsely accused of being a Confederate spy by the members of the Union Army and imprisoned. Officers of the Union Army then occupied the Sánchez residence in Palatka, Florida. On one occasion Sánchez overheard various officers’ planning a raid and decided to alert the Confederates forces. She informed Captain John Jackson Dickison, commander of the local Confederates forces, of the plan. The result of her actions was that the Confederate forces surprised the Union troops in an ambush and captured the USS Columbine, a Union warship, on the day of the supposed raid in the "Battle of Horse Landing". This was one of the few instances in which a Union warship was captured by land-based Confederate forces during the Civil War.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pryce Lewis</span>

Pryce Lewis was an operative of the Pinkerton Detective Agency and Union spy during the American Civil War. His activities in Charleston, Virginia and the surrounding area heavily assisted the Union Army during the early years of the war. Lewis was later captured and played a part in the trial and execution of fellow agent Timothy Webster.

Mary Jane Green was a Confederate spy and bushwhacker.

References

  1. ↑ Scheffler, Judith A. (2002). Wall Tappings: An International Anthology of Women's Prison Writings, 200 to the Present . Feminist Press at CUNY. p.  271. ISBN   9781558612730. catherine virginia baxley.
  2. ↑ "Confederate Secret Service genealogy project". geni_family_tree. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  3. ↑ Blackman, Ann (2006). Wild Rose: The True Story of a Civil War Spy . Random House Trade Paperbacks. p.  201. ISBN   9780812970456. Catherine Virginia Baxley.
  4. ↑ Blackman, Ann (2006). Wild Rose: The True Story of a Civil War Spy . Random House Trade Paperbacks. p.  201. ISBN   9780812970456. Catherine Baxley.
  5. ↑ Steger, Trindal, Elizabeth. Mary Surratt: An American Tragedy. Pelican Publishing. ISBN   9781455608560.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ↑ "archives.nypl.org -- Catherine Virginia Baxley diary". archives.nypl.org. Retrieved 2018-07-31.
  7. ↑ Dept, United States War; Lazelle, Henry Martyn; Perry, Leslie J. (1902). The War of the Rebellion: v. 1-8 [serial no. 114-121] Correspondence, orders, reports and returns, Union and Confederate, relating to prisoners of war ... and to state or political prisoners. 1894 [i. e. 1898]-1899. 8 v. U.S. Government Printing Office.
  8. ↑ Lamphier, Peg A.; Welch, Rosanne (2017-01-23). Women in American History: A Social, Political, and Cultural Encyclopedia and Document Collection [4 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN   9781610696036.
  9. ↑ Coleman, Linda S. (1997). Women's Life-writing: Finding Voice/building Community. Popular Press. ISBN   9780879727482.
  10. ↑ Floyd, Claudia (2013-03-12). Maryland Women in the Civil War: Unionists, Rebels, Slaves & Spies. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN   9781625840196.
  11. ↑ Coleman, Linda S. (1997). Women's Life-writing: Finding Voice/building Community. Popular Press. ISBN   9780879727482.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.