Children's Books

[Gene C]

Civil War Spies by Camilla Wilson

I purchased this children's book for one reason. The cover is a photograph of Lewis Powell. Powell is mentioned in this book six times and only in the chapter about Mary Surratt. No real reason why he is on the cover since he is not the focus of any of the chapters.
Softbound, published in 2010, with 102 pages.

There are seven chapters featuring Allan Pinkerton, Sam Davis, John Scobell, Mary Surratt, Benjamin Franklin Stringfellow, Elizabeth Van Lew, and Harriet Tubman. My favorite is Elizabeth Van Lew, a union spy who lived in Richmond, VA.

Mary Surratt has the longest chapter at 23 pages, so I will focus on that. The author seemed non committal on her guilt or innocence as an assassination conspirator, nothing much as to why she would be considered a spy, other than her son was a courier and spy. Anything much against Mary is presented pretty much as guilt by association. Evidence against Mary is either lightly presented or ignored.

A decent introduction for young people (middle to high school age) to the behind the scenes activities of spying during the Civil War.

Available on Amazon. Don't let the cover photo fool you. There is very little in this book about Lewis Powell. I bought mine used for $5.42
https://www.amazon.com/Civil-Spies-Behin...56&sr=1-13