Pauline Cushman: The Actress Who Spied for the Union and Faked Illness

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!

Pauline Cushman was born Harriet Wood in New Orleans in 1833 to a Spanish merchant father and a French mother, and grew up at a family trading post in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After her 1862 stage debut in Louisville, Kentucky, two Confederate sympathizers paid her to toast Jefferson Davis in public. She did, was fired by her theater company, and used the resulting reputation as cover while offering her services to the Union Army. This episode follows how she befriended Confederate officers and smuggled battle plans and drawings out of enemy territory hidden in her shoes.

Cushman was wounded twice and caught twice in 1863. The second time she was brought before General Braxton Bragg, tried, and sentenced to hang. Already ill, she exaggerated her symptoms, the execution was postponed, and retreating Confederates left her behind when Union troops advanced. James A. Garfield gave her a brevet rank of major and Lincoln made her an honorary major. She lectured on her exploits and worked with P.T. Barnum, but her later years brought the deaths of children, a failed marriage, poverty, and a $12 monthly pension drawn from her first husband's service.

Her reputation was built on a publicly staged toast to Jefferson Davis that got her fired.
She sometimes crossed enemy territory dressed in a man's uniform.
Ferdinand Sarmiento wrote an embellished biography of her based on her notes.
Her adopted daughter Emma died in Arizona in 1888 at age six, and she separated from Jere Fryer in 1890.
She died in San Francisco in December 1893 and was buried with military honors at the Presidio, under a stone reading Union Spy.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(16184)

The Art of Adult Friendship: Why Quality Matters More Than Quantity

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore how our understanding of friendship changes as we grow old...

9 Marras 18min

Summer Explained: The Science, History, and Traditions of the Warmest Season

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore summer, the season most closely associated with sunshine, ...

7 Marras 18min

Sir Patrick Stewart: From Shakespeare to Star Trek, the Life and Legacy of a Legend

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the extraordinary life of Sir Patrick Stewart, the acclaim...

7 Marras 49min

Larry David: The Genius of Social Awkwardness, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the life and career of Larry David, the comedian, writer, ...

6 Marras 38min

Why Australian Shepherds Aren't From Australia

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the history of the Australian Shepherd, an intelligent, en...

5 Marras 45min

Labrador Retriever: From Newfoundland Fishing Dogs to Modern-Day Heroes

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore the remarkable history of the Labrador Retriever, one of t...

4 Marras 53min

Discovering Ireland: A Journey Through History, Culture, and the Wild Atlantic Way

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!In this episode of pplpod, we explore Ireland through the philosophy of slow travel: go slower, ...

3 Marras 48min

Willie Hutch: An Overnight I'll Be There Lyric and The Mack's Soundtrack

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode!William McKinley Hutchins was born in Los Angeles in December 1944 and raised in Dallas, where h...

2 Marras 21min