West Virginia Women Spies and Scouts in the Civil War

Introduction: West Virginia's Civil War Divided Loyalties

The Civil War of the United States will more than likely always be remembered as one of the most tumultuous events — and time periods — in the history of this country. More so than any other region during this particular epoch, West Virginia embodied the violent dichotomy that characterized the nation during those fateful years of 1861 to 1865. It should be remembered that during this time frame, West Virginia had not yet achieved its own statehood and was still very much considered an integral component of Virginia proper, which was inextricably linked to the Confederacy in virtually all ways at the onset of the armed conflict. Yet a rash, unpredictable series of events would rapidly overtake the state in the war's early stages and render it in the possession of the Union for the duration of the war, thereby leaving it — and its western region in particular — in the throes of a dogged conflict of resistance most ardently demonstrated by an unlikely hero: the West Virginian woman.

To properly understand the extremist measures of resistance which Western Virginia and its assortment of heroines repeatedly mounted for the greater part of the Civil War, it becomes necessary to chronicle Virginia's capture and unwilling participation as a Union loyalist territory as early as 1861. Virginia played a large role in many of the opening salvos of this martial affair — significantly, it did so as a Confederate partisan. On April 17, 1861, a mere five days after the Civil War commenced at Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, Virginia militia contested possession of the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry by engaging Union forces (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Additionally, West Virginia in particular facilitated much of the state's early involvement in the Civil War by supplying troops for the Confederate forces, and served as the site of what many consider to be the initial land battle of the war, which took place on June 3, 1861, when Colonel Benjamin F. Kelley and the First Virginia Provisional Regiment (later known as the First West Virginia Infantry) clashed — unsuccessfully — with Union forces led by General George B. McClellan (West Virginia Division of Culture and History).

Military Campaigns and the Confederate Resistance Movement

The proclivity towards defeat would characterize much of Virginia's involvement, overtly at least, at the Civil War's onset. Similar defeats were suffered at Rich Mountain in mid-July when Union General William S. Rosecrans succeeded in ousting Confederate forces, primarily headed by General Robert S. Garnett, from Laurel Hill. The most decisive encounter, which would primarily decide the fate of the majority of the northern territory in what is today known as West Virginia, began on July 14th when Confederate efforts were again defeated, this time at Corrick's Ford. That victory also gave Unionists valuable control of key transportation routes, making it increasingly difficult to supply Confederate forces. The Union's triumph in West Virginia was completed by the end of the summer of 1861 when it emerged victorious at the Battle of Carnifex Ferry, successfully delivering Kanawha Valley and the rest of the northern portion of West Virginia under its control.

Due to the fall of West Virginia and its subsequent occupation by Union troops for the vast majority of the Civil War, a zeitgeist of resentment and sedition was instilled among its citizens. These thoughts and feelings were largely exacerbated by the fact that many common citizens who endured this unwilling occupation had relatives and friends actively fighting against the Union forces in the Civil War and in other parts of Virginia. The efforts mentioned in the latter case were frequently spearheaded by General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, whose military campaigns were glorified and revered throughout much of West Virginia as efforts to actively "liberate" it from Union capture. Many of Jackson's overt, martial efforts would directly inspire and fuel sentiments attributed to the covert methods of resistance taken up by West Virginian women. Both Jackson's successes and his defeats served as motivation for seditious acts committed by West Virginia's citizens.

His activities in the Shenandoah Valley were particularly followed and even aided by West Virginian supporters. Jackson enjoyed a considerable amount of success in his initial forays in Virginia, culminating in a spring campaign that advanced as far as Bolivar Heights, located west of Harpers Ferry. Along the way he managed to triumph in the Battle of Winchester, occupy the county seat of Franklin, force Union General John C. Frémont to flee from McDowell into Pendleton County, and capture the small town of Romney — effectively blockading portions of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, a crucial junction for Union supplies (West Virginia Division of Culture and History).

While Jackson's campaign throughout the Shenandoah Valley served as a figurehead upon which civilian patterns of resistance were based, other forms of revolt in West Virginia also fueled such sentiment. Unionist forces prevented the Confederacy from controlling portions of West Virginia for any significant length of time, but they were unable to prevent a series of relatively minor raids in the area — all of which merely aided the spirit of resistance so influential to civilians living in the region. One of the most successful of these raids was led by Albert Gallatin Jenkins of Cabell County, who succeeded in summoning a force of approximately 550 men from Monroe County — not necessarily formal soldiers, but comprising a fair amount of civilian involvement — and capturing Glenville, Buckhannon, Ripley, Weston, and Spencer along the Staunton and Parkersburg Turnpike, all the way into Ohio (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Jenkins' triumph was largely attributed to the fact that Kanawha Valley was an area of weakness for Union forces during the summer of 1862, particularly in August, since they had devoted as many as 5,000 troops to the region of eastern Virginia leading up to the Second Battle of Bull Run.

Similar efforts to liberate West Virginia from Unionist control occurred in mid-September of 1862, some of which directly involved Jackson, who succeeded in capturing Martinsburg to the delight of many West Virginians. Jackson's victory at Martinsburg prompted him to attempt to reclaim Harpers Ferry, which was at the time occupied by a force of upwards of 12,000 men headed by General Dixon Miles. Jackson devised a three-pronged attack involving General Lafayette McLaws and General John G. Walker, who converged on the neighboring areas of Maryland Heights and Loudon Heights, respectively. Their success in these respective positions enabled Jackson to successfully reclaim Harpers Ferry from Miles, in one of the most triumphant moments of the Civil War for Western Virginian Confederate loyalists. The magnitude of this victory — and its resulting effect on the dedication to Unionist resistance of West Virginian civilians — should not be overlooked. There have been only two previous occasions, both of which occurred in World War II, in which larger United States armies were forced to surrender, at Bataan and Corregidor respectively (West Virginia Division of Culture and History). Consequently, these triumphs sufficiently fueled the sentiment of resistance in West Virginia natives, a sentiment that would become manifested most dramatically — and perhaps most eloquently — by a number of remarkable women during the Civil War.

Nancy Hart: Guerrilla Spy and Moccasin Ranger

Up until the time of the Civil War, women had a fairly limited role in martial affairs. Most women were relegated to nursing positions, opting to stay away from the fronts of particular battles in order to treat the wounded and provide limited support for those actively engaged in combat. Despite the fact that many women did participate in these somewhat traditional roles during the Civil War, women in West Virginia and in other regions of the country during this epoch increased their level of participation substantially. For what may have been the first time in the history of this country's military engagements, women participated in deciding the outcome of the conflict in ways both direct and indirect. Female spies, guides, and scouts supplemented the nursing roles — particularly in West Virginia, where the lengthy legacy of battles and a history of partisanship for the Confederacy would not be willingly overridden by Unionist occupation. This spirit of defiance was exemplified by Nancy Hart, who was still a teenager when she became dramatically involved in West Virginia's liberation movement.

To properly understand how Hart became a symbol of the rugged country backwoods terrain that typified most of Virginia — with a fiery defiance that served as an accurate representation of West Virginian citizens' disposition toward subjugation under Union occupation — one must examine her background and upbringing, which played no small part in her career as a military activist. The distinction between folklore and fact is not always as clear as it could be when researching the background of a state heroine, and Hart's humble beginnings are no different in this respect. She was born in Raleigh, North Carolina either in 1846 or 1843, depending on which source is consulted, although most popular accounts tend to credit 1846 as her birth year (Bakeless 1970, 69). By most accounts she was as wild as the Virginian territory she moved to when she arrived in Tazewell County as an infant, and she would never learn to read or write. Descended from Scottish and Irish lineage, Hart is said to have moved in with her sister Mary and her husband William when she was still a child, where she roamed her Roane County environs, perfecting her skill with firearms and horseback riding.

Hart's deadly defiance of Union loyalists was fueled by more than just their arrival in 1861. Due to her brother-in-law's affiliation with the Confederate army, he was eventually taken away from the family and found murdered days later. Additionally, tradition holds that not long afterwards, Hart attended a going-away party for a pair of neighbors who were enlisting in the Confederate army. When Union troops were spotted during the festivities, Hart is said to have taken the opportunity to chide them by voicing her support for Confederate President Jefferson Davis. When the troops responded to her vocalizations with gunshots, Hart barely escaped with her life. A mere three days later, Hart is alleged to have left Mary's residence and taken up with a group known as the Moccasin Rangers in an effort to avenge her brother-in-law and actively combat the Unionist occupation of her beloved West Virginia.

Hart's activities with the Moccasin Rangers and the Confederate liberation movement of West Virginia were manifold. The Rangers were a guerrilla organization with partisan tendencies toward the Confederacy, though they operated distinctly from any official governmental affiliation with the fledgling nation-state. Hart quickly gained wide acclaim — as well as a fair degree of notoriety — for her active involvement with the Rangers, which manifested itself in a variety of ways. As a carrier, the young woman, who was less than 20 years old at the time, transported messages between different Confederate army regiments, often sleeping during the day and traveling alone at night. Considered taboo for a woman to engage in such activity even in contemporary times, Hart's behavior was certainly an anomaly for the mid-19th century. Additionally, the young woman is said to have intervened on behalf of numerous Confederate soldiers injured in battle by locating residences of Confederate sympathizers and safeguarding the wounded troops in such places until their health improved (Bakeless 1970, 73).

Hart supplemented these activities by acting as a guide for Southern troops who had become detached from their respective regiments due to injuries or other unforeseen circumstances, often leading them back to their units. Yet it is her employment in espionage for which she is most well-known, both in contemporary times and during the 1860s. She was able to deceive Union forces on a number of occasions by posing as a vendor offering much-valued food — only to ascertain their location and report their numbers, strength, and current plans to Confederate forces. Hart is said to have worked directly with Jackson in this capacity, spying on Union forces in isolated federal outposts in wild, remote territory and reporting her findings back to the general and his men. There are even a number of sources which claim Hart was permitted to ride with — and possibly even lead — some of Jackson's cavalry during Civil War engagements.