Description | Mary Elizabeth, or Mary Jane Bowser (née Richards), was a slave willed to Elizabeth Van Lew by her father. Since the terms of the will forbade Elizabeth to free the slaves, it appears that she simply told them that they were free to leave, or to stay and work for wages. Mary Elizabeth Bowser went north and attended school. In 1855, Elizabeth Van Lew helped her join a missionary society in Liberia. When the Civil War broke out, she returned to Richmond and joined Elizabeth Van Lew's spy ring. She took a job working for the Confederate president, Jefferson Davis, and reported back information that she was able to gain. April 16, 1861 she married Wilson Bowser. After the war, she immediately began teaching former slaves, using the name Mary J. Richards. She also lectured in the north. In 1867, she asked to be referred to as Mary J. R. Garvin. Mary Elizabeth Bowser has been honored by the U.S. government with an induction into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame in Fort Huachuca, Arizona for her work in the war. Mary Bowser in Wikipedia |