Former Slave Turned Union Spy Brought to Life at the Library

She served as a spy during the Civil War, feigning illiteracy to glean key information to help the North. She has been honored by the United States Government. She was an ex-slave.

Vernice Jackson will transform into the former slave-turned Union spy Mary Elizabeth Bowser during a special presentation at 7 p.m. on Nov. 9 in the Main Library Auditorium.

Bringing the past to life, she will recount the story of how Bowser, aided by staunch abolitionist and daughter of the man who once owned her, Elizabeth Van Lew, spied on Confederate President Jefferson Davis in his own home. Letting Davis and his generals believe she was dim-witted and illiterate, the educated Bowser served as a servant in the Davis household and thus was able to overhear key war strategies and read correspondence on troop movement to relay to the Union War effort.

Ruth Pangrace will portray Van Lew, who established the large spy ring in the Confederate Capital of Richmond of which Bowser became a member.

In 1995, the U.S. government honored Bowser for her efforts by inducting her in the U.S. Army Military Intelligence Corps Hall of Fame in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. During the ceremony, her contribution was described thus:

"Ms. Bowser certainly succeeded in a highly dangerous mission to the great benefit of the Union effort. She was one of the highest placed and most productive espionage agents of the Civil War. ... [Her information] greatly enhanced the Union's conduct of the war. ... Jefferson Davis never discovered the leak in his household staff, although he knew the Union somehow kept discovering Confederate plans."