Mary Jane Richards (c. 1841-Unknown) was a formerly enslaved woman who went back into slavery to help take down the Confederacy. Her considerable acting skills allowed her to gain access inside the home of Jefferson Davis.
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Hello, from Wonder Media Network, I’m Jenny Kaplan and this is Encyclopedia Womannica.
Today’s spy was a formerly enslaved woman who went back into slavery to help take down the Confederacy. Her considerable acting skills allowed her to gain access inside the home of Jefferson Davis. Though much about her life is unknown, what is known paints the picture of a brave and cunning woman. Meet Mary Jane Richards.
There is little known about the birth of Mary Richards and her early life. Historians have concluded that she was likely born enslaved in 1841 near Richmond, Virginia. Mary was enslaved by John and Eliza Van Lew. The first known record of Mary’s life is her baptism as "Mary Jane" at St. John’s Church in Richmond on May 17, 1846.
In 1843, John Van Lew passed away and his daughter, abolitionist Elizabeth Van Lew, freed the people her father had enslaved; though not legally.
When Mary was old enough, she was sent to the North to be educated so she could begin missionary work.
In 1855, Mary, now 14 years old and going by the name Mary Jane Richards was sent on a missionary trip to Liberia. But Mary’s time there did not last long; she grew unhappy and Elizabeth Van Lew arranged for Mary to come back to America in 1860.
At that time, it was against the law for any Black person who left Virginia to pursue an education to return. Mary first sailed to Baltimore before traveling back to Virginia. She disguised her identity as Mary Jane Henry and was able to protect herself from scrutiny. This would not be the last time Mary would disguise her identity.
One year later, Mary Richards married a formerly enslaved man named Wilson Bowser in St. Johns Church on April 16, 1861. The marriage came only four days after Confederate troops opened fire on Fort Sumter and right around the time Virginia voted to secede from the union.
Mary’s former enslaver Elizabeth Van Lew was known throughout Richmond for her abolitionist efforts and was shunned by many. Elizabeth, known as “Crazy Bet” set up a Pro- Union underground espionage ring using her most trusted source, Mary. You’ll hear more about Elizabeth’s spy network next week.
Mary used her past experience disguising herself to aid the Union in its fight against the Confederacy. Mary donned the persona of a servant with low intelligence. Her convincing performance landed her a job as the full-time servant of Jefferson Davis, president of the confederacy.
While cleaning his house, Mary would gain access to Jefferson Davis’ documents unseen. She would also listen to conversations around the house and relay the information back to Elizabeth.
Over time, Davis became suspicious that there was a spy in his home. But since he viewed Mary as a slave of low intelligence, he never suspected she was the mole.
Following the fall of the Confederacy, Mary went on to teach formerly enslaved people living in Richmond. In 1865, Mary left the South again for the North to give lectures on her life. Mary used pseudonyms during her lectures to protect her identity, because it was still dangerous for any Black person who aided in the fall of the Confederacy. There are two documented accounts of Mary’s speeches, one at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Manhattan as Richmonia Richards and the other at African Methodist Episcopal Church in Brooklyn as Richominia R. St. Pierre. Accounts of these lectures are said to contain contradicting information.
Mary moved back to the south in 1867 to open a school in St. Mary’s, Georgia. She taught children during the day, adults at night and Sunday school. Little is known about her life after the age of 26.
In 1911, Elizabeth Van Lew’s niece gave an account of Mary’s heroic war efforts to Harper’s Monthly. The article, which contained unsubstantiated claims, was the basis for the 1987 TV movie, A Special Friendship. In 1995, Mary was honored for her work in the Civil War and was inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame in Fort Huachuca, Arizona.
Mary Jane Richards was a brave woman who put her life on the line to take down the Confederacy.
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