Lola Sánchez ( Confederate spy ) Lola Sánchez ( 1844 – 1895 ) was one of three sisters who became spies for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War . Sánchez became upset when their father was falsely accused of being a Confederate spy by the members of the Union Army and imprisoned . Officers of the Union Army then occupied the Sánchez residence in Palatka , Florida . On one occasion Sánchez overheard various officers ’ planning a raid and decided to alert the Confederates forces . She informed Captain John Jackson Dickison , commander of the local Confederates forces , of the plan . The result of her actions was that the Confederate forces surprised the Union troops in an ambush and captured the USS Columbine , a Union warship , on the day of the supposed raid in the " Battle of Horse Landing " . This was one of the few instances in which a Union warship was captured by land - based Confederate forces during the Civil War . Early years . Lola Sánchez ( birth name : María Dolores Sánchez ) , born in Armstrong , Florida , was one of five siblings , which included two sisters Francesca ( Panchita ) , Eugenia and two brothers Emanuel and Henry . Prior to 1850 the Sánchez family immigrated to the United States from Cuba and settled on the east bank of the $ 3 in an area known as Federal Point opposite Palatka , Florida , a town situated about due south of Jacksonville . American Civil War . Between 1840 and 1850 , Palatka was a major shipping port for oaks , cedar , cotton , sugar and syrup . Goods were shipped down the Ocklawaha , loaded onto larger steamers in Palatka and plied north on the St . Johns River . In 1855 , Col . Hubbard L . Hart started the first line of barge freighters on the Ocklawaha River . Palatka had become a popular tourist destination , however its popularity as a tourist spot was interrupted by the Civil War , when gunboat s cruised the waters and most of the town ’ s residents had abandoned Palatka leaving it destitute and largely deserted . Palatka was soon occupied by Confederate troops which included one of Sánchez ' s brothers . On October 7 , 1862 , the USS " Cimarron " fired several shells from the St . Johns River over the town after seeing some Confederate cavalry . Mary E . Boyd , wife of Robert T . Boyd , one of the wealthiest men in Palatka , pleaded with Union Commander Maxwell Woodhull to spare Palatka , assuring him that the horse soldiers were not residents ; he complied with her and spared the town . At one time , the town was occupied by 5 , 000 federal troops . During the Union occupation there was a leak of classified information about their plans reaching the Confederate Forces . The Union Army carried out an investigation to this respect and reached the false conclusion that Don Mauricio Sánchez , the family patriarch was a spy . The fact that his son belonged to the Confederate Army may have been the cause of the misunderstanding . The elderly Mr . Sánchez , who was ill , was arrested and imprisoned in Fort San Marco , also known as " Castillo de San Marcos , " in St . Augustine . The incident inspired Sánchez ( Lola ) to spy on the Union forces on behalf of the Confederacy with the aid of her sisters . The " Battle of Horse Landing " . The Union Army occupied the Sánchez residence and guards were stationed to watch over the house . In the meantime , Lola and her sisters had to take care of their invalid mother and in order to make ends meet , they entertained the Union officers with conversation . The sisters would often prepare supper for the officers and their guests , giving those who dined a false sense of security . On May 21 , 1864 , three Union officers arrived at the residence with guests and as was the norm , were served supper . During the supper , the officers and their guests felt confident enough to discuss the plans that their unit had for a raid against the Confederate forces which was to go into effect the next morning . The plan consisted of a surprise attack on the Confederates while they slept with the aim of proceeding to St . Augustine to " liberate " supplies for the Union army . Sánchez overheard the conversation and told her sisters what she heard . She decided that it was of utmost importance to notify Captain John Jackson Dickison , commander of the Confederate force the 2nd Florida Cavalry in Camp Davis , just a mile and a half from her home . Her sisters agreed to help by covering up her absence . Panchita entertained the troops while Eugenia prepared supper with the supposed help of Lola . Sánchez left her house that night and traveled , through the forest , alone on horseback . When she reached the ferry , the ferryman agreed to mind her horse while she crossed the river . After crossing the river she came upon a Confederate picket and told him what she heard , but the picket was unable to leave his post and lent her his horse . She then proceeded to the camp where she met with Capt . Dickison and told him what she knew . She then returned home , the whole event took an hour and a half , and her absence went unnoticed by the Union soldiers . That night Capt . Dickison and his men crossed the St . Johns River and set a trap . They waited for the arrival of the Union transport and gunboat . On May 22 , the Union force ' s plans were foiled when they were ambushed upon their arrival . The Confederate forces had placed artillery guns on the banks of the river and opened fire on the approaching Union gunboats . The skirmish which followed , officially known as the " Battle of Horse Landing " , occurred south of St . Augustine . Union Colonel William H . Noble , commander of the 17th Connecticut Infantry , was wounded in the ambush and taken prisoner . The rest of the Union soldiers were either captured or killed . The " USS Columbine " a side - wheel steamer / gunboat was disabled and set on fire . Of the 148 men aboard the Columbine , only 66 survived and the rest were killed . This was one of the few instances in which a Union warship was captured by land - based Confederate forces during the Civil War and the only known incident in US history where a cavalry unit sank an enemy gunboat . The Confederates also captured a Union pontoon boat and renamed it " The Three Sisters " in honor of the Sanchez sisters . Lola ' s sister Panchita , decided to plead for her fathers release from prison . She obtained a pass to travel St . Augustine where she pleaded for her father ' s freedom . Panchita offered to take the place of her father as a prisoner in exchange for his freedom . After listening to her plea , the prison authorities let her father go and they both were allowed to return home . The spy activities of the sisters , which continued during the duration of the war , were never discovered by the Union Army . Post - War and legacy . Little is known of what the sisters did as common civilians after the war . What is known is that the three sisters married former Confederate officers . Lola was married to Emmanuel Lopez and had a daughter named Leonicia Lopez born in St . Augustine . Lola died in 1895 and was buried in " All Souls Parish Catholic Cemetery " in Palatka , Florida . Lola ' s sister Panchita married Captain John R . Miot and moved to South Carolina . Panchita had six children and died in 1931 in Columbia , South Carolina . Panchita is buried in Elmwood Memorial Gardens of Columbia , South Carolina . Eugenia married Albert Crespin Rogero , a former comrade of Emanuel Lopez , and lived in St . Augustine . Eugenia died in January 12 , 1932 , and is buried in St . Ambrose Cemetery in Elkton , Florida . In 1909 , the State Convention of the United Daughters of the Confederacy was held in St . Augustine . The daughters of Lola and Panchita served as pages ( a ceremonial position ) , in honor of their mothers ' service to the Confederacy . The names of Lola Sánchez and her sisters appear in gold letters on a plaque with the names of 106 Confederate heroines that hangs in the United Daughters of the Confederacy Memorial Building in Richmond , Virginia .