4 out of 5 stars
“Women, it seemed, were capable not only of significant acts of treason, but of executing them more deftly than men.”
It’s Women’s History month! What better time to read about rebellious bad ass women who effected the courses of history? Peril be damned, these ladies were not to be stopped. Literally. Imprisoned? Continue spying and exchanging important information from your cell. Broken leg? Drag yourself back up on that horse and keep riding. Confederate general in your house? Continue sneaking Union soldiers through your secret room right under his nose. Exiled to the South? Sneak up to the North to see your relatives anyway.
This book follows four women, two helping the Union and two helping the Confederacy from the beginning of the Civil War until the end. It was genuinely fascinating. One of the ladies was able to sneak Union soldiers back north by dressing them in Confederate uniforms, then the soldiers were to lay at the bottom of a wagon with breathing holes cut into the floor, covered with a tarp, with manure piled on top. Just taking out the dead bodies and manure, y’all. (It worked, a lot.)
If you enjoy history and are looking for some serious feminine power, this is a great read. Even if you don’t agree with some of the ladies’ opinion, the sheer will and power these women flexed during times when women were just to be cozy homemakers is awesome to behold. They’re just a few of many who helped pave the way for women today.
“Her comrades spread stories about women being exposed in the ranks, and such stories seemed to grow more numerous by the day.”
