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Special Collections Research Center
William & Mary Special Collections Research CenterEarl Gregg Swem Library
400 Landrum Dr
Williamsburg, Virginia
Business Number: 757-221-3090
spcoll@wm.edu
URL: https://libraries.wm.edu/libraries-spaces/special-collections
Finding Aid Authors: Special Collections Staff.
Administrative Information
Conditions Governing Access:
Collection is open to all researchers. Before publishing quotations or excerpts from any materials, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Preferred Citation:
Elizabeth Van Lew Papers, Special Collections Research Center, Swem Library, College of William and Mary.
Acquisition Information:
Gift. Acc. 2000.54: Service copies and printmaster for microfilm of Elizabeth Van Lew Papers. Filmed by Preservation Resources.
Processing Information:
Reprocessed by Amana Katora in December 2011.
Biographical Information:
Elizabeth Van Lew (1818-1900), also known as "Crazy Bet," was an American spy during the Civil War who spied for the Union from her home in Richmond, Virginia. Born in 1818 in Richmond, Van Lew's father ran a hardware business and owned several slaves. Van Lew was educated at a Quaker school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where she was first exposed to abolitionism. After the death of her father, Van Lew and her mother freed the family's eleven even though her father said they couldn't, the slaves included Mary Bowser. Then they bought and freed some of their relatives. Upon the outbreak of the war, Van Lew began working on behalf of the Union. When Libby Prison was opened in Richmond, Van Lew was allowed to bring food, clothing, writing paper, and other things to the Union soldiers imprisoned there. She aided prisoners in escape attempts, passing them information about safe houses and getting a Union sympathizer appointed to the prison. Prisoners gave Van Lew information on Confederate troop levels and movements, which she was able to pass on to Union commanders. Van Lew also operated a spy ring of 12 people during the war, including clerks in the war and navy departments of the Confederacy and a Richmond mayoral candidate. Van Lew was able to have Bowser hired by Varina Davis, which allowed Bowser to spy in the White House of the Confederacy. To aid in her spying, Van Lew adopted the appearance of a crazy person, letting her hair grow wild and talking to herself in public. Van Lew's spy network was so efficient that on several occasions she sent Ulysses S. Grant fresh flowers from her garden and a copy of the Richmond newspaper. She developed a cipher system and often smuggled messages out of Richmond in hollow eggs. Van Lew's work was valued by the United States. George H. Sharpe, intelligence officer for the Army of the Potomac, credited her with "the greater portion of our intelligence in 1864-65." On Grant's first visit to Richmond after the war, he took tea with Van Lew, and later appointed her postmaster of Richmond. Grant said of her "You have sent me the most valuable information received from Richmond during the war." After Reconstruction, Van Lew became increasingly ostracized in Richmond. She persuaded the United States Department of War to give her all of her records, so she could hide the true extent of her espionage from her neighbors. Having spent her family's fortune on intelligence activities during the war, she tried in vain to be reimbursed by the federal government. Van Lew died on September 25, 1900, and was buried in Richmond.
Scope and Contents
Papers, 1854-1926, collected by John Albree in preparing lectures on Elizabeth Van Lew. Includes letters, notes, newspaper clippings, and photographs. Includes typed copies of her scrapbook. Collection also includes material concerning Jefferson Davis and Civil War letters from North Carolina.
Acc. 2000.54 is microfilm of the collection. Folders 1-10 of the Elizabeth Van Lew Papers are available in Swem Library's microforms area on 1 reel of microfilm, call number E608 .V34 V36.
Separated Material
Mss. Acc. 2000.54 Microfilm of Elizabeth Van Lew Papers transferred to Swem Microfilm Collection.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
- Correspondence
- Notebooks
- Photographs
- United States--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
- Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Physical Characteristics or Technical Requirements:
When available, microfilm, photocopies, digital surrogates, or other reproductions must be used in place of original documents.
Significant Places Associated With the Collection
- Virginia--History--Civil War, 1861-1865
Container List
Two typed copies of Elizabeth Van Lew's scrapbook created in 1904. Contains description of pressed flowers and leaves, letters and poems received by Van Lew, autographs, photos, stamps, receipts, fliers, and notes by Van Lew.
Copy of Harper's Magazine, "Cockney Travels" from June, 1911. Article titled "Miss Van Lew" by William Gilmore Beymer appears on pages 83-106. Article also contains photos of Van Lew, her estate, and paintings by Howard Pyle.
Photographs of Elizabeth Van Lew, her home, and John Brown material with notations by Elizabeth Van Lew.
John Albree's handwritten research on Elizabeth Van Lew on various types/sizes of paper.
Newspaper clippings concerning John Albree's lectures on Elizabeth Van Lew.
The correspondence of John Albree. Also contains a postcard and a few photographs sent to Albree.
Drafts and notes for John Albree's speeches on Elizabeth Van Lew: untitled, "A Woman Who Would Not Tell," "A Union Spy: Her Experiences & Her Correspondents," and "Readings of Van Lew Papers."
Memorabilia of John Albree during his work on Elizabeth Van Lew. Includes bill of sale for Van Lew papers, invitations, and programs of lectures.
Includes letter from C.C. Blacknall to George Blacknall in which he describes his feelings on the year and the effects of the Civil War, A.R. McDonald to Gov. Zebulon Vance in which he describes his impression, as a private, on the problems caused by the three regiments of the North Carolina Home Guard and suggests ideas for reorganization, and Wm. M. Blackell to "Dear Friend" in which he describes his opinions of State Legislature's activities, mass desertions of Southern army, and mentions General Hampton's Calvary.
22 items. Miscellaneous items include postcards of Old Blanford Church, drawings of dogs used to track escaped slaves, a clipping of the "Libby Prison Minstrels," clippings and a program concerning John Brown, a photograph of the petit jury on the Jefferson Davis trial, a print of Hon. James K. Moorhead, a stamp, and a page from a math book.
27 items. Includes Harper's Weekly, February 8, 1862 and February 22, 1862. Also includes photos of Elizabeth Van Lew, Van Lew home, engravings concerning Libby Prison, and other engravings of people, including Frederick Douglass.