By David Sargent, Via BulletinGold
Rose O’Neal Greenhow (1817-1864) was born in Port Tobacco, Maryland. Orphaned as a child, Greenhow was invited to live with her aunt in Washington, D.C. as a teenager. While living in the nation’s capital, she was introduced to important figures in the Washington area. One of those figures was John C. Calhoun, a man of pro-Southern politics, who apparently convinced Rose to also be of pro-Southern interests during the time of the American Civil War.
Greenhow’s sympathy for the Confederate cause grew after the death of her husband, Dr. Robert Greenhow. Her loyalty to the Confederacy was noted by those with similar sympathies in Washington, and she was soon recruited as a spy…
In July of 1861, Greenhow passed secret messages to Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard containing critical information resulting in the Union rout at the First Battle of Bull Run. Suspected of espionage and imprisoned in August 1861, she continued gathering and forwarding information vital to Confederate operations. News of her activities brought publicity and tremendous popularity among Southern sympathizers. After being brought to trial in spring 1862, Greenhow was deported to Richmond, where cheering crowds greeted her.
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