R O S E O ’ N E A L E was born in Montgomery County, Maryland, in 1813 or 1814, but grew up in Washington, DC. Reared by an aunt and uncle who owned and operated a boardinghouse, that once served as the seat of government following the War of 1812, the bright and engaging Rose was a popu-lar figure in Washington social circles as a young lady. She apparently had many suitors, and in 1835 married Robert Greenhow, a highly educated and sophisticated doctor. She bore eight daughters, five of whom died early. They named their youngest Little Rose for her mother. Dr. Greenhow also met an untimely death in a street accident while on an extended business trip to San Francisco in 1854, leaving Greenhow a single mother barely 40 years of age. She settled a lawsuit against San Francisco for enough money to enable her to provide for her surviving daughters back in Washington. An ardent Southern sympathizer, Rose Greenhow helped form a spy ring soon after the Civil War began in April 1861. Captain Thomas Jordan, a former quartermaster in the US Army, recruited her, believing that her social standing, beauty and charm allowed her access to top military and political figures in Washington. She allegedly resorted to intimacy when necessary to gain intelligence from her informants, including, it was rumored, Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson, powerful chairman of the Military Affairs Committee. Sensitive information she passed on to Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard helped his army win the first major battle of the war at Manassas, Virginia, July 21, 1861. 67 WBM Top: Rose O’Neale Greenhow. Above, right: This decoder reportedly was found on Greenhow’s body after she drowned as she fled on a lifeboat from the blockade-runner Condor off Fort Fisher in the early morning hours of October 1, 1864. Opposite, top: Confederate spymaster Thomas Jordan taught Greenhow a rudimentary cipher wheel so she could send secret messages. IMAGE COURTESY OF CHRIS E. FONVIELLE JR. IMAGE COURTESY OF THE CAPE FEAR MUSEUM
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