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Lecture: Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster — The Untold Story of the Abolitionist Southern Belle Who Helped Win the Civil War promotional image
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Lecture: Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster — The Untold Story of the Abolitionist Southern Belle Who Helped Win the Civil War

History Lecture

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Wealthy Southern belle Elizabeth Van Lew had it all. Money, charm, wit, and one of the most elegant mansions in Richmond. So why did she risk everything to become a spy? Author Gerri Willis charts the course of this Civil War spymaster genius, from her early work infiltrating prisons and collecting Confederate secrets. Her path crosses those of assassins, socialites, escape artists, even a cross-dressing spy. As the war ground on, Elizabeth grew more bold, secretly crossing enemy lines, developing agents in the Confederate War Department and collecting the secrets that would prove critical to General Grant’s prosecution of the war in its closing days.

Gerri Willis is an award-winning journalist, television personality, podcast host, and author. Currently a correspondent and anchor for Fox Business, she was the host of two long-running shows for CNN, and an editor and reporter for SmartMoney, Crain’s New York Business, and others. Her journalism earned the prestigious midcareer Knight-Bagehot Fellowship from the Columbia Journalism School. She is the author of Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster: The Untold Story of the Abolitionist Southern Belle Who Helped Win the Civil War. 

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Program Notes:

-Tickets are required for in-person admission. Tickets are not needed if you would prefer to join us live on YouTube or Facebook.
-Admission to this lecture is free for members.  Members, please login to the VMHC website to reserve your free tickets. Your free member tickets will be visible once the items are in your cart. 
-In-person attendees are invited to meet the speaker immediately following the lecture.

Wealthy Southern belle Elizabeth Van Lew had it all. Money, charm, wit, and one of the most elegant mansions in Richmond. So why did she risk everything to become a spy? Author Gerri Willis charts the course of this Civil War spymaster genius, from her early work infiltrating prisons and collecting Confederate secrets. Her path crosses those of assassins, socialites, escape artists, even a cross-dressing spy. As the war ground on, Elizabeth grew more bold, secretly crossing enemy lines, developing agents in the Confederate War Department and collecting the secrets that would prove critical to General Grant’s prosecution of the war in its closing days.

Gerri Willis is an award-winning journalist, television personality, podcast host, and author. Currently a correspondent and anchor for Fox Business, she was the host of two long-running shows for CNN, and an editor and reporter for SmartMoney, Crain’s New York Business, and others. Her journalism earned the prestigious midcareer Knight-Bagehot Fellowship from the Columbia Journalism School. She is the author of Lincoln’s Lady Spymaster: The Untold Story of the Abolitionist Southern Belle Who Helped Win the Civil War. 

The content and opinions expressed in these presentations are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.

Program Notes:

-Tickets are required for in-person admission. Tickets are not needed if you would prefer to join us live on YouTube or Facebook.
-Admission to this lecture is free for members.  Members, please login to the VMHC website to reserve your free tickets. Your free member tickets will be visible once the items are in your cart. 
-In-person attendees are invited to meet the speaker immediately following the lecture.

More about Virginia Museum of History & Culture
The Virginia Museum of History & Culture was founded in 1831 as the Virginia Historical Society. The oldest museum in Virginia and one of the oldest in the United States, the VMHC has devoted nearly two centuries to collecting and preserving the artifacts of our past to share the far-reaching history of the Commonwealth of Virginia with the world. Today, this nationally respected museum and research organization cares for a renowned history collection totaling more than nine million items and engages hundreds of thousands of Virginians and other guests annually.
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