Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War

No matter what men might think, women have always been and will always be the driving force behind any major victory – military or otherwise. In Liar Temptress Soldier Spy, Karen Abbott highlights four examples of this fact. These women range in age from seventeen to forty-something and come from varying walks of life. Yet they all distinguish themselves with their courage and willingness to ignore social expectations of its females.

These four women did not necessarily do anything totally extraordinary during a time of war. What makes their efforts so impressive is that they did so during a time when women were considered to be completely inferior and therefore totally incapable of things like spying or setting up one of the largest show more espionage rings in the Confederacy. This society never dreamed that women would want to fight for their country outside of their homes and therefore could not fathom women soldiers. Women were to be trusted and never duplicitous, making it a bit too easy for Belle and Rose to use seduction to elicit secrets that would help their cause. It is a thought process that does not seem as unfathomable today as it perhaps should.

Ms. Abbott has obviously done her homework on her four subjects because she presents their stories with many primary sources, incorporating them seamlessly into the narrative. The trend of fictionalized nonfiction works particularly well in this scenario when the scenes and the expectations for women are so entirely foreign to modern readers. Ms. Abbott is able to make her point without having long expository sections as she is able to incorporate any necessary explanations directly into the ladies’ story lines. As such, the book reads like a good fiction novel, complete with heroes and villains while the primary source material confirms the validity of the stories.

What struck me the most about the four women is how much things have changed. While women continue to struggle with equal pay and equal rights when it comes to things like healthcare and justice, it is always a good thing to remember how things used to be for women. This is important not to convince women to stop the fight but to motivate them to continue to push for equality. Stories like the ones in Liar Temptress Soldier Spy reiterate how capable women are of accomplishing everything men can. These stories even show that women may have more weapons at their fingertips in order to meet their goals. If one gets tired of the constant barrage of headlines about the lack of justice for rape victims or unequal pay for equal work, reading something like Liar Temptress Soldier Spy is a perfect anecdote. show less

Review of: Liar Temptress Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War,
by Karen Abbott
by Stan Prager (12-31-20)

Women are conspicuously absent in most Civil War chronicles. With a few notable exceptions—Clara Barton, Harriet Tubman, Mary Todd Lincoln—female figures largely appear in the literature as bit players, if they make an appearance at all. Author Karen Abbott seeks a welcome redress to this neglect with Liar Temptress Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War, an exciting and extremely well-written, if deeply flawed account of some ladies who made a significant contribution to the war effort, north and south.
The concept is sound enough. Abbott focuses on four very different women and relates their respective show more stories in alternating chapters. There is Belle Boyd, a teenage seductress with a lethal temper who serves as rebel spy and courier; Emma Edmonds, who puts on trousers to masquerade as Frank Thompson and joins the Union army; Rose O’Neal Greenhow, an attractive widow who romances northern politicians to obtain intel for the south; and, Elizabeth Van Lew, a prominent Richmond abolitionist who maintains a sophisticated espionage ring that infiltrates the inner circles of the Confederate government. Each of these is worthy of book-length treatment, but weaving their exploits together is an effective technique that makes for a readable and compelling narrative.
I had never heard of Karen Abbott—the pen name for Abbott Kahler—a journalist and highly acclaimed best-selling author dubbed the “pioneer of sizzle history” by USA Today. She is certainly a gifted writer, and unlike all too many works of history, her prose is fast-moving and engaging. I was swept along by her colorful recounting of the 1861 Battle of Bull Run, with flourishes such as: “Union troops fumbled backward and the Confederates rammed forward, a brutal and uneven dance, with soldiers felled like rotting trees.” I got so carried away I almost made it through the following passage without stumbling:
Some Northern soldiers claimed that every angle, every viewpoint, offered a fresh horror. The rebels slashed throats from ear to ear. They sliced off heads and dropkicked them across the field. They carved off noses and ears and testicles and kept them as souvenirs. They propped the limp bodies of wounded soldiers against trees and practiced aiming for the heart. They wrested muskets and swords from the clenched hands of corpses. They plunged bayonets deep into the backsides of the maimed and the dead. They burned the bodies, collecting “Yankee shin-bones” to whittle into drumsticks, and skulls to use as steins. [p34]
Almost. But I have a master’s degree in history and have spent a lifetime studying the American Civil War, and I have never heard this account of such barbarism at Bull Run. So I paused and flipped to Abbott’s notes for the corresponding page at the back of the book, where with a whiff of insouciance she admits that: “Throughout the war both the North and the South exaggerated the atrocities committed by the enemy, and it’s difficult to determine which incidents were real and which were apocryphal.” [p442] Which is another way of saying that her account is highly sensationalized, if not outright fabrication.
To my mind, Abbott commits an unpardonable sin here. A little research reveals that there were in fact a handful of allegations of brutality in the course of the battle, including the mutilation of corpses, but much of it anecdotal. There were several episodes of Confederate savagery later in the war, principally inflicted upon black soldiers in blue uniforms, but that is another story. How many readers of a popular history would without question take her at her word about what transpired at Bull Run? How many when confronted with stories of testicles taken as souvenirs would think to consult her citations? Lively paragraphs like this may certainly make for “sizzle”—but where’s the history? Historical novels have their place—The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara, and Gore Vidal’s Lincoln, are among my favorites—but that is not the same thing as history, which must abide by a strict allegiance to fact-based reporting, informed analysis, and documentation. Apparently, this author demonstrates little loyalty to such constraints.
I read on, but with far more skepticism. Abbott’s style is seductive, so it’s easy to keep going. But sins do continue to accumulate. I have a passing familiarity with three of the four main characters, but fact-checking remained essential. Certainly the best known and most consequential was Van Lew, a heroic figure who aided the escape of prisoners of war and provided key intelligence to Union forces in the field. Greenhow is often cited as her counterpart working for the southern cause. Belle Boyd, on the other hand, has become a creature of legend who turns up more frequently in fiction or film than in history texts. I had never heard of Emma Edmonds, but I came to find her story the most fascinating of them all.
It seems that the more documented the subject—such as Van Lew, for example—the closer Abbott’s portrait comes to reliable biography. Beyond that, the imaginative seems to intrude, indeed dominate. The astonishing tale of Emma Edmonds has her not only impersonating a male Union soldier, but also variously posing as an Irish peddler and in blackface disguised as a contraband, engaged in thrilling espionage missions behind enemy lines! It rang of the stuff that Thomas Berger’s Little Big Man was made of. I was suitably sucked in, but also wary. And rightly so: Abbott’s version of Emma Edmonds’ life is based almost entirely on Edmonds’ own memoir, with little that corroborates it, but the author doesn’t bother to reveal that in the narrative. That Edmonds pretended to be a man in order to enlist seems plausible; her spy missions perhaps only fantasy. We simply just don’t know; a true historian would help us draw conclusions. Abbott seems content to let it play out as so much drama to tickle her audience.
But the worst of all is when the time comes to reveal the fate of luckless Confederate spy Greenhow, who drowns when her lifeboat capsizes with Union vessels bearing down on the steamer she abandoned, the moment where the superlative talent of Abbott’s pen collides with her concomitant disloyalty to scholarship:
She was sideways, upside down, somersaulting inside the wet darkness. She screamed noiselessly, the water rushing in. She tried to hold her breath—thirty seconds, sixty, ninety—before her mouth gave way and water filled it again. Tiny streams of bubbles escaped from her nostrils. A burning scythed through her chest. That bag of gold yanked like a noose around her neck. Her hair unspooled and leeched to her skin, twining around her neck. She tried to aim her arms up and her legs down, to push and pull, but every direction seemed the same. No moonlight skimmed along the surface, showing her the way; there was no light at all. [p389]
Entertaining, right? Outstanding writing, correct? Solid history—of course not! Imagining Greenhow’s final agonizing moments of life with a literary flourish may very well enrich the pages of a work of fiction, but it is nothing less than an outrage to a work of history.
This book was a fun read. Were it a novel I would likely give it high marks. But that is not how it is packaged. Emma Edmonds pretended to be a man to save the Union. Karen Abbott pretends to be a historian to sell books. Both make for great stories. But don’t confuse either with reliable history.
Review of: “Liar Temptress Soldier Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War,” by Karen Abbott https://regarp.com/2020/12/31/review-of-liar-temptress-soldier-spy-four-women-un... show less

I have a fascination with the Civil War that came to me somewhat late in life. I really did not like American History when I was in school; I was far more interested in European history. It took a trip to Gettysburg to stir my interest in the war that almost tore this country apart. Since then I have read quite a few books on the various battles and prominent people of the War Between the States.

Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy details the stories of four women who risked their lives to support their respective side in the War. The book alternates chapters between the four women and I have to note that this was a bit disconcerting as a chapter would end at an emotional moment and it would be three chapters before it would pick up again and show more I would half forget where I was within each woman's story. It might have been easier on the reader to tell each woman's story in larger pieces before switching to the next one. That being written I did thoroughly enjoy the book. It read like fiction rather than non-fiction but given what these women did truth is indeed stranger than fiction.

Each woman was incredibly remarkable in her own right; Belle Boyd was only 17 when she killed a Union soldier while defending a family member's honor. She used her wits to spy for the Confederacy. Elizabeth van Lew was a woman far ahead of her time living in Richmond. She was devastated when the South seceded and she used her personal fortune to help care for Union soldiers held in Confederate prisons and developed a very large spy network - even placing someone in the Davis mansion! Emma Edmonds lived her life as a man going so far as to enlist in the Union army. Rose Greenhow was a widow with friends in high places in Washington and she used them to learn the wheres and whats of the Union army's movements so she could pass it on to her friend, General Beauregard.

It was a confusing time for the country and that confusion allowed for plenty of opportunities for women to use their skills in defense of their side. Little suspected at first because they were just women they did ultimately fall under suspicion and their sex did not keep them safe.

Like the best of fiction, I had a hard time putting this one down and it will join the other books in my Civil War library. Most people expect non fiction to be dry and textbook like but this book is as far from that as you could imagine. It's like a suspense/thriller but of course we all know who wins in the end. show less

This non-fiction book about four women and their roles during the Civil War reads like a novel. I found myself needing to "read just one more chapter" because I had to find out how Elizabeth or Emma's current crisis resolved itself. I hadn't realized what a sieve Washington, D. C., was and that it was full of Southern sympathizers who were sending information to the Confederacy. Belle didn't have a discreet bone in her body and Mary Chestnut said that for Rose everything was for sale. There are the grim and gruesome details of killing covered by this book so if this bothers you skip over Emma/Frank Thompson's part as she served in makeshift hospitals and dealt with the aftermath of the battles when not being fired on by Confederate show more soldiers. Excellent and interesting book show less

This was a much better book than I expected it to be. Karen Abbott took two women from each side of the war and examined their motivations for spying, how they accomplished it, how effective they were, the legal effects of their work, the reactions of neighbors, friends, the military, and the media to spying and theirs in particular if it was known, and the aftermath of the war and how they fared after. I thought it was fascinating that the two Southern women both used their sex and femininity in doing their job, while the two Northern women never considered doing so. Because I've read many books about the civil war, I was somewhat knowledgeable about each of these women, having at least heard of each of them. Belle Boyd was nearly show more infamous, so I knew the most about her. But Abbott gave me lots more to learn about all of them. There was one I did not like, one I grudgingly had respect for (though I did not approve of her or her methods, but understood her feelings and loyalty to her cause), one whose courage and fortitude amazed me, and one whose intelligence, creativity, and resilience was worthy of a book of its own. Recommended. show less

My one word review: WOW.

This chunky non-fiction book about four women who worked undercover during the American Civil War made numerous top ten lists when it was released last year; it has a ringing endorsement from Erik Larson, among others. It reads like a novel, featuring women doing some jaw-dropping stuff, and renders the Civil War and the world of that era vibrantly.

I don't often read non-fiction -- too dry for me, and it takes me forever to finish -- but in this case, I finished reading this in about a month, and it was anything but dry.

Abbott details the adventures of four women who took a particularly active role in the Civil War: there's Belle Boyd, a teenager who decides to become a spy for the Confederacy and who does so show more with great panache; Emma Edmonds, a woman who disguises herself as Frank Thompson, and joins the Union army; Rose O'Neal Greenhow, a Confederate widow who ruins her reputation among the upper class in order to help her beloved Confederacy; and Elizabeth Van Lew, a Richmond abolitionist whose spy network includes her former slave Mary Bowser, a plant in the Jefferson Davis household.

Their stories are told chronologically, which further creates a novelistic feel to this book, and by focusing on women with such different aims and lives, plunges the reader deeply into battle, besieged cities, and jail (among other locales and challenges).

Through the lens of these four women, especially Emma Edmonds, we also learn about how the war was fought, especially by Union General George McClellan. I'm personally not keen on battlefield strategy and all that, but Abbott had me gripped -- helped, no doubt, by the drama of McClellan's choices. The gruesome reality of 19th century combat, too, was unshakably portrayed.

The most vibrant figure is Belle Boyd, the teenaged spy nicknamed the "Secesh Cleopatra"; her giant personality and firm conviction in herself bounces off the pages.

Belle could feel Eliza trembling beside her. The motion set her off and she too began shaking, their bodies meeting in quick and nearly imperceptible collisions. (p202)

If, like me, you thought how could she possibly know that?, the pages and pages of notes and resources cited attest to the wealth of sources Abbott consulted in the building of this book. It's breathtakingly detailed without being ponderous to read, and this book deserves the accolades it's gotten.

Whether you're a fan of the US Civil War or not, pick this up if you enjoy reading about women's lives, especially during conflict and war. The pluck, verve, and commitment shared by these women is inspiring, too, and their commitment toward their values forced me to reconsider my own opinions about the Civil War. show less

Karen Abbott takes a look at four women of the American Civil War, two Northern and two Southern: Elizabeth Van Lew, Emma Edmonds (aka Frank Thompson), Rose Greenhow, and Belle Boyd. She sheds new light on the roles of women in the Civil War and highlights little-known activities of her subjects. This book shows how some women exploited social mores and beliefs to advance their respective wartime causes.

Elizabeth Van Lew was a wealthy abolitionist living in Richmond who supported Union prisoners from her home. Emma Edmonds disguised herself as a man in order to become a Union soldier. Rose Greenhow, a socialite living in Washington DC, assembled a courier network of southern sympathizers. Belle Boyd used flirtation as a technique for show more obtaining information to pass to the Confederacy.

I listened to the audiobook, read by Karen White in a clipped style. On the plus side, the narrative maintains the reader’s interest throughout. It is filled with period details, intrigue, setups, and daring schemes. It pulls no punches in describing the carnage of this war and gives the reader a sense of how horrible it truly was. On the minus side, the author states that she will point out where the journals do not match facts but does not follow through. As a result, it feels like the book repackages the women’s own memoirs and ends up conveying their biased viewpoints. show less