The National tribune., 1883-08-09
a BRAVE WOMAN.
The Story OF Miss Van Les's Devotion TO the Union
During the War.
rrI-r.I f1nr N Y Trsb,,.aa

at a salary of $1,000 year, has opened a rich
vein of war "reminiscences IN the minds of men
who were actors IN the scenes before Richmond
during the last sixteen months of the rebellion.
One of the men is Coiouel d. h. Parker who is
now chief inspector of the Post Office Depart
ment. He enlisted rs a private soldier IN a
volunteer company in ChautaHqua county, n
Y. early in 1851, was promoted, ami afterward
he organized the postal service Of the Army of
the Potomac Colonel Parker was with Cen
eral Grant after he assumed command = the
armies of the United States, and made his
HEADQUARTERS with the Army of the Potomac
In a recent conversation Colonel Parker said
81 know Miss Van Lew well. made her per-
soual acquaintance the day Richmond FELL but
| bad known her long before that When Gem
eral Grant had his headquarters at City Point,
we used TO receive the Richmond newspapers
in time for breakfast every morning, through
the kindness of Miss Van Lew. OF course the
nj wspapers were very interesting and to a eoa-
siderable extent valuable, but other intelli-
gence received from the same source was ofmuch
greater Importance. Miss Van Lew had a friend
"a TRASHY Union man-who was clerk in the
Adjutant- Generals department at Richmond,
where he had access to the returns showing the
strength of the rebel regiments brigades, divis
ions and corps, their movements, aud where
thew were stationed. From him Invaluable
information found its way to General Grant
regularly through Miss Van Lewis instrument
tality. She also had a man in the Engineer
Department, and he made beautifully accurate
plans of the rebel defenses around Richmond
and Petersburg, which were promptly forward
ed to General Grant.
A UNION AGENT IN LIBBY PRISON.
''Then Miss Van Lew got young Ross,
nephew of Franklin Stearns the rich Unionist
of Richmond, appointed to an office in Libby
| Prison Ross helped great many of our officers
TO escape from that horrible place, and so sell
did he play his part that not only was he nos
suspected by the COntederates but the most of
our boys in the prison who did not escape con-
| sidered him one of the most brutal of their
! .jailors, aud when the end came would have
been very glad to put an end to him. Several
| years ago met Captain Lounsbery, who had
| been confined in Libby, and he asked me about
| Ross, who died several years ago LOuusbery
| said that one afternoon Ross came into the
prison as usual to call the roll, cursing the id
| Yankees, and, as he passed him, said in low
/ tone, Be in my Office at $50 TO night L0uns-
| berry did not know what TO make of this, but he
determined to find out what it meant. To his
| surprise he had no difficulty in getting to the
Office past several guards Once there he found
| Ross, who grufiiy said: See here, 1 have con-
/ cluded TO try you and see If you can do cooking.
| Go in there and look around. See what you can
/ find and will see 10 yOnr case after while.
| Lounsberry went into back room, where he
/
| over chair. He took in the situation instant
| ~ and donned the uniform speedily as posi-
| BILE, and walked back into the office, which he
| found vacant, and stepped out into the street.
| The guard did not stop him and he had walked
| only few steps from the door when black
man accosted him and asked if he desired to
! find the way 10 Miss Van Lewis house. He
replied that he did, and was guided to her resi-
dence on Church Hill, where he was secreted
until an opportunity was found to get him out
| of Richmond. He got OF safely and came into
| our lines.
CoLoRED GUIDES FOR ESCAPED PRISONERS.
| Miss Van Lew kept two or three bright
| sharp colored men on the watch near Libby
| Prison. who were always ready to conduct an
| escaped prisoner 10 place of safety. Not all
| of them We're secreted at her house-for there
| were several safe places Of refuge IN Richmond
supported by her means. When Colonel Sgreight
| of indiana, and his companions dug their way
out Of Libby, he and several of his comrades
were secreted for several days in the house of a
| man named Quarles, which was situated across
| a ravine only few hundred yards from and IL
full view of the mansion occupied by Jefferson
| Davis. Miss Van Lew was the guiding spirit
and she it was who took upon herself the dan
| gerous duty of providing means of main
| tenance and escape ofsuch of our men as Were st
fortunate as to escape FROM the horrible walls
of Libby"
/ WAR SECRETS CONCEALED IN BRoGANs.
How did she manage to open and keep uI
| correspondence with General Grant?o
well, she had farm in the country on the
| other side of the James River from us and be-
low Richmond. Every day two of her trusty
/ negro servants drove into Richmond with some
thing to sell-milk, chickens, garden truck, etc
| These negroes wore great strong programs with
soles of immense thickness, made by a Rich
mond shoemaker whose name | will not give
because he is still living and doing business il
that city. Shoes were pretty scarce IN the Con
federacy in those days, but Miss Van Lew:
| servants had two pair each and changed then
every day. They never wore out of Richmond
in the afternoon the same shoes they wore int
the city in the morning The soles of these
shoes were double and hollow, and in them
were carried through the lines, letters, maps
plans etc, which were regularly delivered t,
General Grant, at City Point. the next morn
ing. The communication was kept up at on
end by means of a stean-launch, which usei
to land aseout-usually Kearney-on the oppo
site side Of the James early in the night. Be
fore daylight he would communicate to Mis-
Van Lewis messenger and return TO our side o
the river.
MISS VAN LEWIS SERVICES RECOGNIZED.
'When we got the news that the Confederate
were evacuating Richmond General Grant wht
was at the front before Petersburg sent back
dispatch to Col. Ely s. Parker of his staff, to g
into the city at once and see that order wa
preserved and that all of Miss Van Lewis want
were supplied. | accompanied him and Wen
Immediately to Miss Van Lewis house to carr,
out General Grants orders The house wa
filed with Union people Among them wa
young Ross, who said he wanted to keep out o
sight as some of our men who had been prison
ers in Libby had declared they would kill hin
on sight. Miss Van Lew had also an other refu
gee. She was the possessor of buekskin
horse, a sorry animal, aud when the rebel au
thorities issued an order during the last day
of the siege to seize all private horses and mule
for artillery service she had secreted this ami
NAL in her roomy mansion, having CAREFUL,
padded the walls of the room with bed-clothing
SO that no noise should betray his presence
A day or two before the surrender mob wen
TO her place determined to destroy her house
She appeared and soon recognized some of th
men in the crowd. She addressed them, ad
f mitting that she had been in communication
with Mr.. Grant L can tell you, too sai'
she, that Mr. Grant will be in this city within
twenty-four hours, and if you harm or burr