Mary Louvestre (or Touvestre) was an African-American

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

spy in

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

during the

United States 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 ...

. Mary delivered details of plans for the conversion of the wrecked to an ironclad that would be named the CSS ''Virginia'' and which represented a great advance in

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

naval capabilities.

Biography

There are multiple accounts about her story. One account stems in part from documentation by then Secretary of the Navy,

Gideon Welles Gideon Welles (July 1, 1802 – February 11, 1878), nicknamed "Father Neptune", was the United States Secretary of the Navy from 1861 to 1869, a cabinet post he was awarded after supporting Abraham Lincoln in the 1860 election. Although opposed ...

. This account states that Louveste worked with another Union spy, William H. Lyons, who was one of the few workers at Norfolk's

Gosport Navy Yard The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling and repairing the Navy's ships. It is the oldest and largest industrial facility tha ...

who did not flee when Norfolk was captured by the Confederate Army early in the war, but who was still providing information about the Confederacy through contacts at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...

. Welles states that Louveste came to him in great secrecy in February 1862 with documents about the CSS ''Virginia'' from Lyons. Another account exists based on the work by novelist G. Allen Foster published in ''

Ebony Ebony is a dense black/brown hardwood, coming from several species in the genus ''Diospyros'', which also contains the persimmons. Unlike most woods, ebony is dense enough to sink in water. It is finely textured and has a mirror finish when pol ...

'' magazine in 1964Foster, G. Allen, Mary Louvestre helped defeat Rebels in crucial sea battle by spying on South. Ebony, July 1964 and on a history by

Benjamin Quarles Benjamin Arthur Quarles (January 23, 1904 – November 16, 1996) was an American historian, administrator, educator, and writer, whose scholarship centered on black American social and political history. Major books by Quarles include ''The Negr ...

written in 1953, aspects of which have been repeated in many other sources, including a 1998 publication by the

US Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

.Smith, Steven D., and James A. Zeidler. A Historic Context for the African American Military Experience. No. CERL-TR-CRRC-98/87. CONSTRUCTION ENGINEERING RESEARCH LAB (ARMY) CHAMPAIGN IL, 1998. This account contains much more detail about Louvestre. In this account, Mary Louvestre was born in the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

and was bought in her early teens by a small farmer. At the time of the Civil War she may have been between 55 and 70 years old. She had a talent for drafting, and to capitalize on her skills was taught to sew and trained as a seamstress. When the farm faced two tough years in a row, they were forced to sell Mary, who was bought by her owner's cousin, Simeon or John Louvestre, in Norfolk. In July 1861, she overheard her employer (she bought her freedom with her money from seamstress skills), who worked as engineer or

ship-chandler A ship chandler is a retail dealer who specializes in providing supplies or equipment for ships. Synopsis For traditional sailing ships, items that could be found in a chandlery include sail-cloth, rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch, linseed oil, ...

in Norfolk's Gosport Navy Yard bragging about the ironclad ''Merrimack'' (later renamed the CSS ''Virginia'') they were building which would dominate the Union Navy. Early in the mornings for the next week, Mary snuck in to the engineers’ office and used her seamstress skills to trace the drawings of the ironclad. In order to get her information to Union leaders, she obtained permission to visit her previous owners in the valley. Pass in hand, she headed for Union lines near Fredericksburg and with the assistance of the underground railroad, reached her destination. She was then escorted to

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

under military guard, where she met with Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles. Welles offered Mary freedom and employment, but Mary preferred to return and await freedom in Norfolk. The Union used the information to hasten the completion of the ironclad , which would later battle the ''Merrimac'' and protect Union blockaders from the ''Merrimacs offensive power. Another contemporary account of her story, ''The Treason of Mary Louvestre'' by My Haley, was published in 2013 and is closer to the Foster version of the story.

Personal life

Louvestre was married to Michael Louvestre and was known to be a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Louvestre, Mary African Americans in the American Civil War Women in the American Civil War American spies Female wartime spies People from Norfolk, Virginia People from the Shenandoah Valley Year of death unknown Year of birth uncertain African-American Catholics