Elizabeth Van Lew
Elizabeth Van Lew's home in Richmond
Virginia. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Virginia. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.
Born into a wealthy family in 1818, Elizabeth Van Lew lived in Richmond, Virginia her whole life. She had been educated in Philadelphia, and when she returned to Richmond, she harbored a deep dislike of slavery. She freed the family slaves and participated in the Underground Railroad. Even before the Civil War, her neighbors thought her odd with her strange anti-slavery ideas. When her mother and brother entertained Confederate officers and officials, Van Lew gathered information to relay to her Union contacts. She also cared for captured Union soldiers and gleaned information from them as well.
She did not try to hide her pro-Union sentiments, but expressing them was dangerous. She cultivated the appearance of being a slightly crazy, and when she dressed in odd clothes and sang nonsense songs, people called her "Crazy Bet". The people of her city thought her incapable of deviousness due to her perceived mental imbalance.
She lived in constant fear of being discovered, and knew her life was possibly in jeopardy. However, she continued to transmit information to federal officials outside of the city, and even had a secret room in her house to hide dispatches and fugitive federal soldiers. She is mainly known for helping Grant when he worked to take over Richmond. After he conquered the city, he posted a guard outside Van Lew's house for fear that she was in danger, making it clear that she had worked as a spy. She continued to live within an extremely hostile community, and although she retained the family mansion, she fell into poverty after using her resources up to help the Union. She died in poverty in 1900.
She did not try to hide her pro-Union sentiments, but expressing them was dangerous. She cultivated the appearance of being a slightly crazy, and when she dressed in odd clothes and sang nonsense songs, people called her "Crazy Bet". The people of her city thought her incapable of deviousness due to her perceived mental imbalance.
She lived in constant fear of being discovered, and knew her life was possibly in jeopardy. However, she continued to transmit information to federal officials outside of the city, and even had a secret room in her house to hide dispatches and fugitive federal soldiers. She is mainly known for helping Grant when he worked to take over Richmond. After he conquered the city, he posted a guard outside Van Lew's house for fear that she was in danger, making it clear that she had worked as a spy. She continued to live within an extremely hostile community, and although she retained the family mansion, she fell into poverty after using her resources up to help the Union. She died in poverty in 1900.