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Born
Emeline Pigott was bron on December 15, 1836, in Harlowe Township, North Carolina. Her parents were Levi and Eliza Pigott. -
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Emeline Pigott
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Civil War
On April 12, 1861, the Civil War started in Charleston, South Carolina. Emeline was 24 years old at the time, and she was a nurse for wounded Confederate soldiers. -
Fell in Love
In November of 1861, Emeline Pigott met and fell in love with Stokes MacRae, a private. She didn't want to go to parties that he wasn't invited too, such as a New Years Eve party held by Confederate soldiers. -
Fled New Bern
In 1862, Emeline was on the last train out of New Bern before Union soldiers took over. She went to Kinston, then Concord, then back to New Bern. -
Stokes MacRae died
Pigott's boyfriend, Stokes MacRae, was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. His body wasn't identified. Pigott became a more active spy after his death. -
Decided to become a spy
After Stokes MacRae died, she felt like she could serve the Confederate army in another way. She decided to become a spy. She held parties for Union soldiers, and she flirted and chat with the soldiers so they would give her information. -
Aresst
Emeline Pigott and her brother-in-law, Rufus Bell, were arrested by Yankee soldiers. Emeline was taking food and information to Confederate soldiers. She was arrested in Beaufort, North Carolina, which is about 10 minutes away from her home in Morehead City. -
Newspaper Article
Newspaper article released about Emeline Pigott's arrest. It says she was giving food to Confederate soldiers and giving them information on the Union Army. She hid things under her hoop shirt, and right before the soldiers took them into coustody, she swallowed papers with information on it. -
Released
Emeline Pigott was released from jail. At first she faced the death penalty. She never went on trial, and she didn't tell anyone why. -
Death
Emeline Pigott died on May 26, 1916, at the age of 82. She loved to tell stories about being a spy, but she never said how she got out of jail. She's buried in a family cemetery in Morehead City, North Carolina.
