Elizabeth Van Lew

I have been asked to write a brief biography of myself. I 
will do my best.

Let me first describe myself.  I am a rather small woman, 
of middle age.  I have dark hair and blue eyes.  I have a 
nervous tendency and have often been called eccentric.  
Both of these traits would help me during the war.

I was born on October 12, 1818, in Richmond, Virginia.  My 
father was John Van Lew, from Jamaica, Long Island, New York.  
He moved to Virginia after his business failed in New York.  
He and Mr. Taylor opened one of the first hardware stores in 
the South.  It was very successful, and my family was able to 
live quite comfortably.

My father had an aunt, Letitia Van Lew.  Aunt Letitia lived in 
New York City during the Revolutionary War, when it was occupied 
by the British.  When the British began bringing their Patriot 
prisoners to the city, Aunt Letitia asked if she could be allowed 
to care for the wounded prisoners.  This was unheard of at that 
time, but she was allowed.  Thinking of her and all the suffering 
she must have seen, gave me the courage to follow my chosen path.

My mother was Elizabeth Baker.  Everyone called her Eliza.  She was 
from Philadelphia.  Her father was Hilary Baker, mayor of 
Philadelphia.  In 1798 there was a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia.  
Grandfather sent his family to the farm outside the city limits.  He 
stayed behind to help nurse the sick.  He caught the fever and died two 
weeks later at the farm.

I was never an abolitionist. Abolitionists are fanatics who will stop at  
nothing to achieve their goals.  I have always spoke out against slavery, 
for which I paid dearly in the loss of many friends.  But I was never a 
fanatic.

My father owned a dozen slaves. I begged him to free them, but he would 
always say no... "You don’t understand.  They are like children. They 
couldn’t possibly take care of themselves."  I never agreed  with that.
When my father died I persuaded Mother to free our slaves.  Some stayed 
with us.  Some we never heard from again.  One, William Roane, left us 
shortly after the war began.  He was captured by Confederate soldiers 
and brought to a cousin of ours. When our cousin became sick with cholera, 
William nursed him back to health.  Unfortunately, William got sick and 
died, never enjoying a minute of freedom.

It broke my heart when Virginia seceded. Mother and I prayed for our 
country. Secession and war would be the worst thing to happen to the 
South. It could not possibly survive. Its best hope was for a short 
war. Tearing a country apart is never good for anyone.

After the battle of Big Bethel, the Confederates began brining Union 
prisoners to Richmond.  I appealed to Col. Winder to be allowed to 
visit the prisoners.  He granted my request , and Mother and I began 
bringing them food and medicines. It wasn’t long before I realized 
that many of the prisoners had been marched through Confederate lines 
on their way to Richmond. They were full of useful information about 
Confederate movements.  This is how I became a spy for the North.

For the next four years I worked diligently at my new occupation.  
I made many mistakes. For example when I started sending information 
to Gen. Sharpe I sent them by regular post.  I was quickly informed 
by his aid that I was lucky they reached the General at all, and that 
I was to find other means to get the information to the General. 
That’s when I set up my network of couriers, and devised a code. All 
through the war I knew I was being watched, and I was very scared that 
one day someone would come up to me and take me directly to the gallows. 
But it never happened. I was able to follow my chosen road to the end.

A note:
For her efforts during the Civil War, Elizabeth Van Lew was made 
Postmaster of Richmond by General Grant.  She held this position 
for eight years.  She died September 25, 1900 , just short of her 
82 birthday.  She was buried in Shockoe Cemetery in Richmond. In 
appreciation of her loyalty to her country the people of Massachusetts 
had a gravestone erected on her grave which read, "She risked everything 
that is dear to man - friends, fortune, comfort, health, life itself, 
all for the one absorbing desire of her heart- that slavery might be 
abolished and the Union preserved.