Rose O'Neal Greenhow

Biography

Rose O'Neal Greenhow, born in 1814 in Maryland, was a Washington socialite whose loyalty to the Confederate cause led her to become one of the war's most daring spies. Through her wide circle of acquaintances and coded correspondence, she provided intelligence that helped the Confederacy at the First Battle of Bull Run and other early engagements.

After imprisonment and release, Greenhow attempted to run the blockade in 1864 and was lost when the blockade runner she boarded went aground off Wilmington; her ashes now rest at Oakdale Cemetery, where visitors still recall the resolve she displayed for her beliefs.