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

McLellan’s army is finally ready to attack Richmond and cut the Southern supply lines. The battle rages for weeks, costs many lives, and unfortunately results in a Confederate victory. During this time, the Union employs Emma as a courier rather than a spy. She suffers a few narrow escapes in the process. At one point, she and a band of Union soldiers are set upon by bushwhackers who want to rob and kill them, but they manage to fight their way out of the predicament.

On another occasion, enemy troops chase Emma and Rebel, and Emma is shot in the arm. Rebel must jump across a frighteningly wide ditch before the pair can shake off their pursuers. Back in camp, Mrs. Butler dresses Emma’s wound, and Emma is grateful: “‘Thank you, Mrs. Butler,’ she sighed. ‘Guess I was mighty lucky.’ The chaplain’s wife shook her head anxiously. ‘You surely were,” she said. “This time’” (90).

After so many daring expeditions, Emma gets a much-needed furlough for two weeks. She goes to the nearby city of Williamsburg, Virginia but finds leisure not to her liking: “After months of danger and battle, civilian life seemed dull. She was soon bored and spent the rest of her leave doing volunteer nursing” (92).