My Imprisonment and the First Year of Abolition Rule at Washington: Annotated and Illustrated

by Rose O'Neal Greenhow, Lucy Booker Roper (Introduction)

Rose O’Neal was a beautiful, well-educated, and charming Washington, D. C. socialite at the beginning of the War Between the States with connections to significant U.S. government officials. Born into the Maryland aristocracy, and the widow of a Virginian, her loyalty was covertly with the Confederacy. Rose used her wiles and connections to learn weighty secrets of Union military operations and passed this intelligence on to the Confederates. Eventually, she was imprisoned. In her own words, this is the story of her imprisonment at the Old Capitol Prison in D. C. The reader will be amused by her candid comments on those who made up the Washington elite in those stirring days. There have been several reprints of this 1863 book, but this one, while remaining true to the original text, has annotations and background information that will aid the modern reader in a clearer understanding of some of the subjects to which she is referring. Her frequent use of French and Latin terminology has also been footnoted with definitions. This 2019 reprint edition has a bonus supplement telling of Rose’s tragic demise and what happened to her children. The book has additional illustrations not appearing in the original.

Genres: Memoir

211 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 28, 2007

About the author

Also published as Mrs. Greenhow
1814-1864

Reviews

[Megan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat incomplete and biased view of the early Civil War...I wish Rose had revealed her sources (knowing that she couldn't, of course) and that her story could have been more fleshed out by talking about her life before the war and how she came to be a spy for the Confederacy. Also, Rose's memoirs are the first I've come across from that contemporary period with really appalling levels of racism, though prison does bring out the worst in everyone.

[David Kent · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rose Greenhow’s memoir following her release from imprisonment for spying for the Confederacy is an excellent example the mindsets and rationalization of those trying to break up the United States. Emily Lapisardi’s excellent annotation improves on that insight.

Greenhow is erudite and connected, seemingly having insinuated herself into pre-Civil War political society. She is on intimate terms with so many of the political leaders of both the North and the South that one starts to wonder if she is exaggerating; yet there are letters and records backing her up. She is highly knowledgeable about history, has a sharp wit, and unafraid to write what she thinks. Alas, what she thinks is a blend of delusion and dishonesty, fantasy and fabrication, and reeks of arrogance and treason. She gives insight into the Confederate – and today’s like-minded ilk – of constantly playing the victim, whining about being incarcerated (for a significant part of the time in her own home with her child and access to her personal library and servants) for something she did not do, while simultaneously bragging about doing exactly what she is being accused of doing. She is a case study in how one can convince themselves that they are doing nothing wrong while openly acting against the United States. Her last chapter is particularly intriguing since it states on the first page that the Civil War had nothing to do with slavery, but then spends over thirty pages demonstrating how it had everything to do with slavery. And yet seeing no contradiction.

Lapisardi’s annotations are first rate. She identifies each of the players mentioned by Greenhow, translates the frequent French and occasional Latin words, explains obscure classical references, and provides insight into the relationships, and rumored relationships, with key figures such as Secretary of State William Seward and Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson (not to mention that Greenhow’s daughter is Stephen A. Douglas’s second wife). The annotations convert the often rambling propaganda memoir (written in England in 1863 to help gain British support for the Confederacy) into a useful window into the mind of a Southern spy.

David J. Kent
Author: Lincoln: The Fire of Genius
President: Lincoln Group of DC

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a slog. Gave me some things to think about though.

[Emily Lapisardi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oz!,AP I I'll I'll look forward when www www in a computer store! I)!)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))!!!!
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