Behind Rebel Lines: The Incredible Story of Emma Edmonds, Civil War Spy

“He had always wanted a son and could never forgive her for being female. She’d tried hard to please him and to win his approval, but without success. Her father had acted as though the whole thing were her fault.”

This passage explains Emma’s core motivation for passing as a man. Ironically, her father’s rejection is what drives her to do more than her traditional gender role allows. Her father’s resenting her for being born female proves her greatest asset in years to come.

“The first involved a Union agent who had been working in Richmond as a spy for McClellan […] The second event involved a Union patrol setting out that very night […] Taken together, these two events played a major part in her future, starting her on a path filled with risk and danger.”

Throughout the story, fate randomly works in Emma’s favor. These sometimes even resemble acts of divine intervention or the orchestrations of luck. This is the first instance of two unrelated events that provide a catalyst to launch Emma into her new career as a spy.

“James must have been about thirty. Only three decades, and all that was left was a dirt mound lying at her feet like a grim joke. Time was a cheat.”

The war’s reality fully hits Emma when she sees her friend shot dead without warning. The event is formative in solidifying her determination to make a difference. Only after James dies does she volunteer for her first spy mission.

“Weakness wasn’t in her nature. She’d faced fear many times—and was ready to face it again. Of course the whole thing might take more grit than she could muster. But how could you know the limits of your courage if you never put it to the test?”

Emma has just left the safety of the Union camp to embark on her first spy mission. Just as James’s grave brought home the reality of war to her, the sight of the rebel camp in the distance weakens her resolve. However, Emma shows her strength of character when she doesn’t let fear stop her from testing her limits.

“To rebel eyes, all slaves were faceless beings, invisible men who were hardly ever noticed. It was the perfect disguise. Black skin would be Emma’s armor.”

As a woman, Emma has already experienced the assumptions that everyone makes about her value and capabilities. She’s now carrying that realization one step further. Enslaved people are anonymous beings to their captors. Emma can exploit this prejudice to her advantage.

“Then, carrying her gear, she hurried to the cabin where her fellow conspirator was waiting. ‘Franklin Thompson’ had served Emma well; a new personality was about to be born.”

Emma’s choice of the word “personality” is telling. She doesn’t simply put on a new costume. She submerges her identity to become the role she plays. Since these roles are typically much less forthright than Emma’s own nature, traveling undetected depends on her ability to seem harmless.

“Hadn’t she ached to avenge James’s death? To support Lincoln and the cause, body and soul? To be a participant in history, not just a bystander? The imp voice was always there, prodding and urging her on. She could no more ignore it than she could stop herself from breathing.”

On several occasions, Emma refers to her inner voice as an imp. The daredevil side of her nature seems to seek expression. “Imp” carries demonic overtones at a time in history when society culturally conditioned women to be angels. Angels don’t wage war; demons do.

“After a while Cuff slipped back to his blanket under the tree. He would need his rest for the day ahead. Lulled by the melodic voices, he fell asleep at last—his head filled with thoughts of work and sweat, of hope and faith, and the courage of black men.”

While Emma is posing as Cuff, she gets an insider’s view of slavery. She experiences the mistreatment, backbreaking labor, and short rations of those also enslaved. However, she’s impressed by their resilience and determination to survive in the face of this abuse.

“The rebel agent was talking away, unaware that he was doomed—but Emma wasted no sympathy on him. Her cause was just, she had a job to do, and fate had thrust this turncoat into her hands.”

In her own mind, Emma needs to find a way to rationalize exposing a rebel agent. She’s an idealist, and the justice of the Union cause is her principal motivation. She later realizes that the Confederacy feels the same way about the virtue of its cause.

“Emma’s war, no longer a grand colorful pageant, became a nightmare of endless fighting, bleeding bodies, and weary men. But through it all, she clung to her belief in the Union’s cause and its future.”

As in the previous passage, Emma refers to the justice of her cause, and a grand cause requires base actions to reach an objective. Previously, Emma betrayed a man she knew. Now, she bears witness to the carnage that her just war creates.

“Meanwhile, Private Thompson kept up his weary rounds at the hospital, nursing the sick and wounded—completely unaware that he was on the brink of another strange and dangerous mission.”

At many points in the story, the circumstances surrounding Emma take control of her life. She finds herself swept into the flow of events by the people and conditions around her. Her next assignment stretches her repertoire of personas and taxes her resourcefulness to its limits. This imminent future role stands in stark contrast to her humdrum daily experience as a nurse.

“Bridget pulled out the blanket, folded it, and tucked it under the young man’s head. Then she sat down near him. She was a firm believer in duty. Military orders were important, but this was important, too. Rebel or not, she couldn’t walk away and let him die alone.”

Throughout the book, Emma demonstrates an ambivalent attitude toward the enemy. While on furlough, she volunteers to nurse at a rebel hospital. In this passage, she stands a deathbed vigil next to a dying Confederate soldier. Despite her fervent Union sympathies, Emma allows common humanity to supersede political values.

“Devil take this ugly war. It was brutal and cruel, yet she knew the Union had to survive. For her, that was all that mattered—it was the one thing she could believe in.”

Much of Emma’s support for the Union may be attributable to her fractured home life. Her cruel father forced her to flee her family. With nothing and no one else to ground her, Emma attached herself to the Union. It became her lost family, and she was ready to die to preserve it.

“In her mind Bridget reviewed her orders—all the details and all the dangers—and fear began to creep in. Could she really carry it off? Would the disguise work this time? Would her luck hold, or was she tempting fate? […] She brushed aside her morbid thoughts. Bother the risks. She wasn’t a timid peddler woman—she was a Union soldier and proud of it.”

Emma’s greatest talent as a spy is her ability to take on the personalities of the characters she inhabits. In this case, that talent works against her. Bridget O’Shea would be a fearful creature, dependent on the goodwill of strong men. Emma needs to remind herself that she’s a warrior, not a peddler, or she won’t be able to summon the courage to complete her mission.

“Wolfing her food, Bridget studied the slaves’ clothing—bandannas tied neatly around their heads, aprons hitched around long, ragged skirts—making a mental note of it. It would be a useful disguise for a future mission.”

While wearing one disguise, Emma’s already planning another. She’s discovered that inoffensive people make the best cover for her spy work. In this instance, enslaved females offer inspiration for yet another non-threatening future persona.

“‘Watch for stray Yanks. If I sent one of my men, they’d shoot ’im for sure—but they’ll never bother you.’ Bridget’s eyes lit up. ‘Don’t you fret, Sergeant. I’ll keep watch. When you’re ready, just start back without me and I’ll catch up.’ Marveling once more at her good luck, the young spy trotted half a mile down the road and slid around the bend.”

Luck has just intervened to give Emma an avenue of escape. Significantly, the rebel sergeant asks her to be a lookout because the Yankees wouldn’t shoot a woman. The rebel believes he’s exploiting her harmless appearance to his benefit. However, Emma is in fact exploiting him using the same tactic.

“The Southern troops, fighting for a cause they believed noble and just, resisted fiercely. For days the battle raged back and forth, in and around the river.”

Emma frequently mentions that the Union cause is just. In this passage, she says that the rebels feel the same way. Even though she can’t agree with their sentiments, this passage shows that she acknowledges the genuine nature of their commitment. This shows a respect for the enemy that most of her comrades wouldn’t demonstrate.

“As far as she was concerned, wounds were wounds and pain didn’t play favorites. The war was a necessity, yes—but the price, the human price, was very high.”

Emma is a volunteer nurse at both Union and Confederate hospitals when she makes this statement. Although her political beliefs often guide her actions, this passage indicates that her sense of humanity takes precedence over politics. Toward suffering, she’s pragmatic rather than ideological.

“Franklin suffered frostbitten feet. His ailments were very painful, but they never stopped him. He was doing what he wanted to do—playing a part in the great war effort—and even the imp voice was quiet.”

Emma describes the winter hardships of being a soldier and a spy. However, she clearly prefers suffering to being in a passive role, safe by some fireside. More importantly, she chooses this path. Traditionally, her culture would never allow a female to make such a decision.

“But wars aren’t fought only on battlefields. Louisville became a center of undercover activity.”

Emma’s overriding desire is to be in the thick of the action. The segment that takes place in Louisville indicates just how dangerous civilian life can be for spies on either side of the conflict. Emma nearly gets shot in the process, and she’s responsible for the apprehension of several rebel spies who certainly hanged for being traitors.

“She hated the idea of personal failure, but she couldn’t seem to break through the shell of secrecy. Another frustrating week went by with no results. Then she came up with a wild plan. It was unusual—daring and dangerous—but it just might bring matters to a head. It might also, if something went wrong, cost Charles Mayberry his life.”

This passage illuminates another aspect of Emma’s character. Although the desire to prove herself the equal of any man motivates many of her decisions, a need to succeed also drives her. This compulsion is so strong that she’s willing to fabricate a plan that might get her killed.

“She remembered feeling this same kind of deep hopelessness when she was sixteen. Then, she’d solved the problem by running away. Now again, flight seemed the best way out—the only way out.”

To escape her cruel father, Emma fled her home in Canada. Now, history seems to be repeating itself. To escape exposure as a female soldier, Emma must flee to get medical treatment in the north. She seems on the brink of assuming the passive role on the sidelines that she always shunned.

“For a time, Emma was heartsick. Then she reacted to this setback the way she always did: with action. Frank Thompson might be finished, but the war was still on, and there were many ways she could be useful.”

Emma has just received the news that the Union has branded her Thompson persona a deserter. Now fully recovered from malaria, she decides once again to defy the role that society has prescribed for her. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, she goes to Washington to serve as a nurse until the war ends.