Evl spy

Elizabeth Van Lew

By Christel Chigawa

  • Elizabeth Van Lew: An Unlikely Union Spy

    Elizabeth Van Lew: An Unlikely Union Spy
    A member of the Richmond elite, Van Lew defied convention and the Confederacy during the Civil War

  • Libby Prison

    Libby Prison
    Confederates put prisoners in tobacco warehouses where they suffered from despair, disease, and hunger.

  • SPY

    SPY
    Van Lew secretly fed intelligence information to Union officers over four years.

  • Escape Plan

    Escape Plan
    Van Lew continuously supplied food and medicine to the soldiers while she helped plan their escape.

  • Dishonored and Alone

    Dishonored and Alone
    Van Lew's actions caused her to lose her family fortune and her elite status. Paul Revere and his family along with other wealthy people in Boston whom Van Lew had helped during the war, regularly gave her money to help her survive.

  • Death

    Death
    Van Lew died alone at her home as a social outcast.