This was a pretty well written, interesting look into a part of Civil War history that we don’t always get. Abbott warns at the beginning that some of the stories were told by the characters themselves and may have been exaggerated for the public and I definitely think that’s true at several points in the narrative. That caveat aside, it was really fascinating reading about these women’s lives. It was uncomfortable reading about the confederate characters, O’Neale and Boyd, but I think it’s important to not flinch away from learning uncomfortable parts of history and see people for what they were.
I would have like to have heard much more about Mary Bowser and the story is weaker for not delving deeper since it’s half of Elizabeth Van Lew’s story. It’s criminal that more wasn’t given about her as she was literally living in the Confederate White House while black and one of the most important Union spies. You’d think that someone attempting to give voice to people routinely shut out of history would have seen that gender is not the only reason people are left out, race is too. If anyone knows any good books about her, please let me know.
Despite that flaw, I would still recommend this one if you’re into history. It’s one of the American wars I know the most about and I still learned a lot of interesting tidbits, along with just getting a feel for how things were at that point in time for a lot of women.
