Question

Which act of espionage did Van Lew perform

before she was recruited as a spy by General
Benjamin Butler?
She gathered information from wounded Union soldiers.
She spoke publicly against slavery.
She wrote letters to Confederate generals.
She carried secret messages across enemy lines.

Answer 1

Answer: A -She gathered information from wounded union soldiers.

Explanation: She was, however, allowed to visit injured Yankee soldiers in the prison hospital. One soldier noted in his journal that “she alone went from cot to cot where lay a sufferer in blue.” She did what she could for the wounded soldiers, bringing them messages and money, and no small amount of food.

In hushed tones, she talked to the men about where they had been and what they had seen and heard. The more she listened to the prisoners, the more she realized that they possessed information that could be of value to the Union army. Alert federal soldiers took notice of rebel troop strength and movement. They recognized who commanded which rebel armies. Overhearing conversations of the Confederates who captured and transported them to prison often offered insight into the morale of the rebel troops. As any good spy will do, Van Lew listened attentively to the information the soldiers provided, and then, with the help of the Richmond underground, she passed it on to Union army commanders.

Answer 2

Option A

Step-by-step explanation:

Elizabeth Van Lew was an American abolitionist and the daughter of a wealthy family in Richmond that operated a spy ring for the Union Army during the Civil War. Elizabeth creates rapport with both capture prisoners and guards by been friendly, providing food and medicine to them and they gave her information on Confederate troops and movements unknowingly, which she was able to gather valuable information about Confederate strategy from both prisoners and guards, which was then passed on to Union commanders. She likewise helped union soldiers, smuggled out letters for them. She also runs her own network of spies. In late 1863, Union General Benjamin Butler recruited Van Lew as a spy because of her strong abolitionist sympathies; she soon became the head of an entire espionage network based in Richmond

Elizabeth Van Lew gathered information from wounded Union soldiers before she was recruited as a spy by General Benjamin Butler because of her strong abolitionist sympathies