A southern spy in Northern Virginia
Subtitle: the Civil War album of Laura Ratcliffe
By: Charles V. Mauro.
Publisher: History Press
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Charleston, SC
Language: eng
Number of pages: 222
ISBN-13: 9781596297432
Subjects: Ratcliffe, Laura; Stuart, Jeb, -- 1833-1864 -- Friends and associates; Mosby, John Singleton, -- 1833-1916 -- Friends and associates; Women spies -- Virginia -- Fairfax County -- Biography; Spies -- Virginia -- Fairfax County -- Biography; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Secret service; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Underground movements; United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Women; Fairfax County (Va.) -- Biography
Genres: Biography
Description: "Confederate Brigadier General J.E.B. Stuart entrusted a secret album to Laura Ratcliffe, a young girl in Fairfax Country, 'as a token of his high appreciation of her patriotism, admiration of her virtues, and a pledge of his lasting esteem.' A devoted Southerner, Laura provided a safe haven for Rebel forces, along with intelligence gathered from passing Union soldiers. Radcliffe's book contains four poems and forty undated signatures: twenty-six of Confederate officers and soldiers and fourteen of loyal Confederate civilians. In A Southern Spy in Northern Virginia, Charles V. Mauro uncovers the mystery behind this album, identifying who the soldiers were and when they could have signed its pages. The result is a fascinating look at the covert lives and relationships of civilians and soldiers during the war, kept hidden until now"--Page 4 of cover.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: The Ratcliffes and Fairfax Court House; title: Women of the Civil War; title: Growing up; title: Letters and poems; title: The J.E.B. Stuart page; title: The William Thomas Carter page; title: The John Singleton Mosby page; title: The Fitzhugh Lee page; title: The local women page; title: The Dranesville Virginia and Cambridge Maryland page; title: After the war.