Rose O'Neal Greenhow Autograph Letter Signed. Eight pages, recto and verso of two bifolia, 6.25" x 7.75" (sight), Washington; November 18, 1861. An earlier description by The War Between the States auction house says it is the original, extraordinary letter published by The Richmond Whig, but we were unable to verify this . The subsequent publication of this letter caused significant embarrassment for the Lincoln administration and sent shockwaves through Washington society. It is addressed to Secretary of State William H. Seward on mourning stationery and reads in part: "For nearly three months I have been confined a close prisoner, shut out from air and exercise, and denied all communion with family and friends – Patience is said to be a great virtue and I have practiced it to my utmost capacity of endurance... On Friday August 23rd without Warrant or other show of authority I was arrested by the detective Police and my house taken in charge by them. That all my private letters and papers of a life time were read and examined by them. That every law of decency was violated in the search of my house and person, and by the surveillance over me. We read in History that the poor Marie Antonette had a paper torn from her bosom by lawless hands, and that even a change of linen had to be effect in sight of her brutal captors. It is my sad experience to record even more revolting outrage than that, for during the first days of my imprisonment, what ever necessity forced me to seek my chamber a detective stood sentinel at the open door. And that for a period of seven days I with my little child was placed absolutely at the mercy of men without character or responsibility. That during the first evening a portion of these men became brutally drunk, and boasted in my hearing of the "nice times" they expected with the female prisoners... Freedom of speach [sic] and of opinions is the birthright of Americans guaranteed to us by our Charter of liberty and Constitution of the U States. I have exercised my prerogative, and have openly avowed my sentiments. During the political struggle I opposed your Republican party with every instinct of self preservation. I believe your success a virtual nullification of the Constitution...Here I am a prisoner in sight of the Executive Mansion, in sight of the Capital...every right pertaining to the citizen has been suspended by what, I suppose the President calls a ‘military necessity.' A blow has been struck by this total disregard of civil rights... ...You have the power, sir, and may still further abuse it. You may prostrate the physical strength, by confinement in close rooms and insufficient food--you may subject me to harsher, ruder treatment than I have already received, but you cannot imprison the soul. Every cause worthy of success has had its martyrs...My sufferings will afford a significant lesson to the women of the South, that sex or condition is no bulwark against the surging billows of the "irrepressible conflict." The "iron heel of power" may keep down, but it cannot crush out, the spirit of resistance in a people armed for the defence of their rights; and I tell you now, sir, that you are standing over a crater, where smothered fires in a moment may burst forth. It is your boast, that thirty-three bristling fortifications now surround Washington. The fortifications of Paris did not protect Louis Phillippe when his hour had come." Signed, "Rose ON Greenhow." Rose O'Neal Greenhow (1813-1864) was the Confederacy's most famous female spy. She is perhaps best described by the typed testimonial affixed to the frame under the auspicious title Rebel Rose Retaliates: "Washington socialite and widow of prominent Dr. Richard Greenhow, Rose O'Neal Greenhow made a career of being a confidante to Washington's rich and powerful. So when rumblings of the Civil War occurred before Fort Sumter, this Washington belle committed herself to the Confederate cause. She was known to graciously entertain in her home and pass the information gleaned from her personal associations on to her Confederate sources, ultimately to General P.G.T. Beauregard. She is credited with providing Richmond and Generals Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston with the intelligence that spelled victory for the Confederacy at the first Battle of Bull Run in July of 1861. Mrs. Greenhow was under the surveillance of Allan J. Pinkerton in the summer of 1861. Pinkerton was president Abraham Lincoln's security and helped form the Secret Service during the war. On August 23, 1861, Mrs. Greenhow was arrested in her home by Union officials and became prisoner there. As the weeks passed, other female prisoners were placed in Mrs. Greenhow's home, which came to be known as "Fort Greenhow." Although quarantined and under guard, Mrs. Greenhow was still successful in smuggling messages to Confederate sources. She even used her young daughter Rose for these purposes until she was discovered. Three months into her incarceration, Rose Greenhow wrote duplicate letters to her former friend, Secretary of State William H. Seward. One was received by the Secretary and this, the other, was smuggled to the Richmond Whig newspaper where it was published and then reprinted in the New York Herald. The letter's publication embarrassed the Lincoln administration. In January of 1862, Rose O'Neal Greenhow was transferred with her daughter Rose to Old Capitol Prison. By then, the Northern press was calling the widow "Rebel Rose." In June she was exiled to the Confederacy in exchange for her promise not to return to the North for the duration of the war. Taking her daughter with her, she became an unofficial Confederate agent in England in 1863 and 1864. After sending her daughter to a convent school in Paris, Rose planned to return to the South and booked passage on the Condor, a light low-lying ship whose destination was Wilmington, North Carolina. It is suspected that she was carrying an important message from the British government to Confederate President Jefferson Davis. The Union navy had blockaded Southern ports and the Condor was grounded near Fort Fisher, North Carolina. To avoid capture, Rose tried to escape with $2,000 in gold and her secret dispatches in a small boat. The boat capsized and on October 1, 1864, Confederate spy Rose O'Neal Greenhow drowned; her body was washed ashore. She was given full military honors at her funeral." A carte-de-visite of Greenhow and her daughter, little Rose, measures 2.5" x 4" (sight), taken while she was imprisoned in Old Capitol Prison, is included in the frame. It was taken by Alexander Gardner and was published in 1862 by Matthew Brady. It would later appear in Brady's series, Incidents of War. The letter, CDV, typed transcription and two informational plaques are matted and framed to an overall size of 40.25" x 30.5". The letter features a double-glazed, hinged panel to allow for viewing of both sides. Condition: Letter has been silked for preservation. Smoothed mail folds. The frame has some light scratches and dings. Two of the decorative leaf trimmings are detached, though one is extant with the lot. HID03101062020 © 2020 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved