Fannie Battle (1842–1924) (born Mary Frances Battle) was an American

social reform A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary move ...

er and

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

for the Confederate Army.

A Spy for the Confederate Army

Battle was born in 1842 in Cane Ridge near

Nolensville, Tennessee Nolensville is a town in Williamson County, Tennessee. Its population was 13,829 at the 2020 census. It was established in 1797 by William Nolen, a veteran of the American Revolutionary War. Located in Middle Tennessee, it is about 22 miles south ...

. She attended the Nashville Female Academy. Her three brothers and father enlisted in the Confederate Army at the start of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. Her father, Joel Allen Battle, started a company in Nolensville, called the "Zollicoffer Guards." It eventually became the 20th Tennessee Infantry and Battle became captain. He would eventually serve as a Colonel. He was a prisoner of war and two of Battle's brothers were killed in the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

. Battle joined the Confederacy as a

when the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

occupied Nashville in March 1862. She joined alongside her sister-in-law, Harriet Booker. Battle entered Nashville with a fake Federal pass, traveling in and out of the city, gathering information about the Union Army's work in the area and smuggling medicine and other supplies out of the city. On April 7, 1863, Battle and Booker were arrested for smuggling and holding fake Federal passes. They were first detained at the

Tennessee State Penitentiary Tennessee State Prison is a former correctional facility located six miles west of downtown Nashville, Tennessee on Cockrill Bend. It opened in 1898 and has been closed since 1992 because of overcrowding concerns. The mothballed facility was seve ...

and then they were moved to

Camp Chase Camp Chase was a military staging and training camp established in Columbus, Ohio in May 1861 after the start of the American Civil War. It also included a large Union-operated prison camp for Confederate prisoners during the American Civil War ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. Shortly thereafter, they were transferred to the

Old Capitol Prison The Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C., served as the temporary Capitol of the United States from 1815 to 1819. The building was a private school, a boarding house, and, during the American Civil War, a prison known as the Old Capitol Priso ...

in Washington, D.C., where five other female Confederate spies were held. Battle and Booker were released on May 13, 1863 in

City Point, Virginia City Point was a town in Prince George County, Virginia, that was annexed by the independent city of Hopewell in 1923. It served as headquarters of the Union Army during the siege of Petersburg during the American Civil War. History 1613-18 ...

. Battle returned to Nashville and started teaching at Howard School. She taught math, geography and spelling throughout Nashville until 1886.

Social reformer

In December 1881, the

Cumberland River The Cumberland River is a major waterway of the Southern United States. The U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 8, 2011 river drains almost of southern Kentucky and ...

flooded. Battle met with Nashville leadership and organized the Nashville Relief Society to help poor flood victims living in flood zones near the river. Over 1,000 people were provided clothing, food and coal. As a result, Battle worked with other local leaders to create United Charities. The organization struggled to secure funding to hire an executive director. Therefore, Battle quit her job teaching in 1886 and served as the nonprofit's secretary-general, a position she would hold until her death in 1924. During her work with United Charities, Battle created a

daycare Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

program for the children of working parents. She rented a room in a neighborhood in North Nashville, located near

cotton mills A cotton mill is a building that houses spinning or weaving machinery for the production of yarn or cloth from cotton, an important product during the Industrial Revolution in the development of the factory system. Although some were driven ...

that employed women mill workers. Physicians and other professionals provided pro bono services to the growing number of children in the program. Eventually, the program was named the Addison Avenue Day Home, the first daycare in Nashville. Today, it is named the Fannie Battle Day Home for Children. In 1900, Battle created a

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

for low-income mothers and their children. Located in Craggie Hope, it was named the

Fresh Air Camp The Fresh Air Fund is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit agency founded in 1877. At sleepaway camps in New York’s Mid-Hudson Valley, visiting volunteer host families along the East Coast and in NYC-based programs, children have new experiences, learn ...

. Sixteen years later, Battle created a fundraising campaign for the Day Home, during which carolers would perform during the

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

holiday.

Death and legacy

Battle died in September 1924. Memorial services were held at

McKendree United Methodist Church The McKendree United Methodist Church is a United Methodist church in Nashville, Tennessee. Location The church building is located at 523 on Church Street in Nashville, Tennessee.James A. Hoobler, ''A Guide to Historic Nashville, Tennessee'', Th ...

. She was buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery. After Battle's death, the Addison Avenue Day Home was renamed the Fannie Battle Day Home for Children. In 1947, Battle's service in the Confederate Army was memorialized with a plaque at the Confederate Museum. The archives of Battle, and a portrait of her, are held in the

Nashville Public Library Nashville Public Library is the public library serving Nashville, Tennessee and the metropolitan area of Davidson County. In 2010, the Nashville Public Library was the recipient of the National Medal for Museum and Library Service. The library ...

References

External links

*
Fannie Battle Day Home for Children
in the collection of the Nashville Public Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle, Fannie 1924 deaths 1842 births American social reformers Female wartime spies American Civil War spies Confederate States of America military personnel People of Tennessee in the American Civil War Burials at Mount Olivet Cemetery (Nashville)