Born June 10, 1833
New Orleans, Louisiana
Died December 2, 1893
San Francisco, California

Stage actress who served as a Union spy

Cushman was one of the more glamorous yet effective Union spies of the Civil War. She was brave and daring, yet always conducted her activities in a quiet, professional manner.

Pauline Cushman. (Reproduced by permission of AP/Wide World Photos.)

Pauline Cushman used her skills as an actress to pretend that she supported the Confederate cause during the Civil War. In reality, she collected information about Confederate spies and strategies and passed it along to Union authorities. In 1863, Cushman was captured and sentenced to death by Confederate general Braxton Bragg (1817–1876; see entry). If the sentence had been carried out, she would have been the only female spy executed by either side during the war. But Union troops arrived in Shelbyville, Tennessee, in time to save her.

Decides to Serve Her Country