| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 91.3

You have not been recognized as a subscriber to JAH online. About 216 words from this article are provided below; about 420 words remain.

If you are a individual member of the Organization of American Historians, you may:: • login here if you have already registered for online access.; • Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.
• Set up your online account for the first time.
If you are not a member of the Organization of American Historians, you can:: • Join the OAH and receive many member benefits including print and electronic issues of the Journal of American History.
• Purchase a research pass to gain two-hour access to the entire History Cooperative web site. You will have full access to current issues of the Journal of American History (86.1-present). Note: the Research Pass does not provide access to JSTOR's holdings of the Journal of American History.
Instititutions can:: • Subscribe to this journal and receive print and electronic issues.
• Activate your existing subscription so that we recognize your IP number ranges.

| Book Review | The Journal of American History, 91.3 | The History Cooperative

Book Review

Southern Lady, Yankee Spy: The True Story of Elizabeth Van Lew, a Union Agent in the Heart of the Confederacy. By Elizabeth R. Varon. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003. xiv, 317 pp. $30.00, ISBN 0-19-514228-4.)

In the fall of 1864, Richmond authorities launched an investigation into the spying activities of Elizabeth Van Lew. Van Lew had successfully evaded suspicion as she gathered information about troop locations, smuggled supplies to Union prisoners of war, and harbored fugitives in her home. In the end, her accusers concluded that "'it does not appear that she has ever done anything to infirm the cause—Like most of her sex she seems to have talked freely'" (p. 180). With that, Confederate officials dismissed the threat posed by Van Lew and the extensive network of her co-conspirators who made up the Richmond Underground. In this engaging and lovingly written biography, Elizabeth R. Varon establishes Van Lew's espionage credentials, revealing the limitations of a Confederate nationalism that underestimated women and slaves and burying once and for all the legend of Crazy Bet. Van Lew did much to "infirm the cause" of the Confederacy, but in the end, Varon argues convincingly, Northern politicians had more to gain from dismissing Van Lew as crazy than did the loyal Southerners she betrayed.

. . .

There are about 420 more words in this article. Please log in (or, if you are not yet an authorized user, please go to the User Setup page) to gain full access rights. Or if you're already logged in register your subscription.