The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1884-09-05
WOMEN SOLDIERS AND SPIES,
Iatsrvi.w with Con. sher.d...

Interview With Cen. Sheridan.
General Sheridan, did you ever have
any experience with female soldiers?"
"Oh, yes, frequently. Women were
trying to get into camp under some pre-
text or disguise all the time. They
were great nuisance. I'll tell you
about some of them at another time.
There was quite romantic story about
a girl who tried soldering in the Cd
Mich. Cav, the first regiment I COM
manded. She came down in mems
clothes, but was>recoga,ized by the SOL
diers from her town and was sent home
again"
{. "Did you ever have any women scouts
or spies 2"
Eyes; had q great many all the
6inle. and I'm free to say. they were
more reliable and faithful than men
who served in the same capacity
"Who were they?'
II can't tell you that. I've got rec
ord in writing of each one of them and
the exact service they performed. Some
of them were ladies Of high social station
whose sympathies were with the Union,
but whose families were rebels. They
often gave me the most reliable infor-
nation got, and it wouldn't do to give
them away even at this late day, for it
might injure them. If they wanted
their services known you would have
heard of it long before this, but the
women who go about advertising that
they were scouts or spies can be gener-
ally put down as frauds"
did the women ,spies-work for the
love of it?"
Sometimes they did, but quite az
often they didn't. Some of them worked
for the money there was in it. They
were impoverished by the war. Those
whom they leaned upon for support
were either dead OF in the Confederate
army, and the women had hard time
of it to get along at home, particularly
those with families, and they were glad
to earn an honest penny They under
stood that they were to be paid accord
ing as their information was reliable and
important, and I usually found they
could be depended upon"
Didn't they try to mislead you?"
Sometimes they did, but never tried
it twice. You see, I had perfect sys-
tenn of spies and scouts covering the en-
tire country, and the same information
came in duplicate and often in triplicate
from different sources, and, too, from
sources that didn't know of each others
so, when information came in could
tell, usually, how accurate it was"
What became of these women ?"
1.-THE most of them were residents Of
the country where we happened to be,
and are living there still, suppose. I
never attempted to keep track of them
after had no further use for their SER
vices. / have met some of them since,
however. and have had them call upon
me when WAS in their locality since
the war;"
AN UNcoNs cIous SPY.
Gone of the best spies ever had, "
continued the General, was rebel
girl, the daughter of one of the most
prominent and aristocratic families of
Virginia; but she would have fit if
she thought 1 was giving her away.
She was only 18 or 19 years old then,
and uncommonly pretty. I came near
falling in love with her myself, and I
heard some of my officers who met her
were badly. smitten
"Have you seen her since?"
eyes. I've seen her frequently since
the war; have seen her here in Wash-
ington. She's married now, and in
Europe with her husband. He is
quite prominent man-but Tn afraid
I've told you to much about her. Some
body might guess who she is.
"There is another girl, also, of an
aristocratic and high-toned Virginia
family. From her received some of
the most important information I ever
received of the enemy's movements:
but, dear little thing, she didn't rea-
lie what she was doing. She was loyal
to the Confederacy as could be-as
loyal as JEFF Davis himself, but she
was talkatiye and fond OF admiration,
and we used to get lots of information
out of her. Prominent rebel officers used
to 60 to her fathers house, and the
folks there used to receive letters from
the rebel army, and we were generally
able to find out all that was seid and all
that was written. But, as I said, she
never knew how much she was giving
away. nor what harm her information
brought upon her friends. .8
Then, there was Rebecca Wright.
You remember her. told you about
her once, you know. She was tho lit
tie Quaker schoolma'am who used to
send me information through the rebel
lines by an old darkey who peddled gar
den stuff among the soldiers, and was
allowed to go through the rebel Lines
for that purpose. She is clerk in the
Treasury Department here in Washing
ton now. Z"