The real Pauline Cushman

PAULINE CUSHMAN: SPY OF THE CUMBERLAND

by William J. Christen, Edinborough Press, $39.95, 436 pages, Illus.

Over the years dating back to the Civil War, writers have presented fanciful sketches of the life of Harriet Wood, who pursued a career in the theater and adopted a stage name.

“Pauline Cushman: Spy of the Cumberland” is the result of author William J. Christen’s effort to rectify this situation by providing a complete biography, or in his words, a “full accounting” of this woman, atypical for her time, who made her mark in a number of ways in different locales. The subtitle is derived from her service as a spy for the Union Army of the Cumberland in Tennessee.

In actuality, spying played a minor role in Cushman’s life. Her involvement in the Civil War was short-lived, and she had a minimal influence on events.

Nonetheless, this independent and spirited young woman parlayed her stint as a Civil War spy, along with an honorary commission as a field officer, into a career as an entertainer. Her self-styled persona as Miss “Major” Pauline Cushman was the catalyst for her popularity.

In keeping with the variety of roles that Cushman played over some 60 years, the author showcases her story in four acts and multiple scenes. Because facts about this heroine’s activities were elusive, the author had to ferret out scattered details to compile a coherent portrait of her adventures. Relying heavily on newspaper files in locations where she performed or conducted business, Mr. Christen pieced together enough data to satisfy his quest for the authentic Pauline Cushman.

The author discovered a woman who did not easily fit into a mold. Her complex personality was seen in a mother who abandoned two young children to pursue the career of her dreams. Yet many whose paths she crossed through the years considered her worthy of admiration and respect. Her natural beauty and endearing personality attracted lovers and companions, but her peripatetic lifestyle and the hard knocks she received along the way eventually led to dependence on drugs.

When the Civil War erupted in 1861, Cushman was in an unhappy marriage. Her musician husband joined the Army but soon succumbed to disease and alcoholism. She left her two children with relatives in Cleveland and went off to Louisville, Ky., to make a living in the theatrical world. She first got involved in cloak-and-dagger activities when the Union provost marshal there recruited her to inform on Southern sympathizers among local residents.

In the spring of 1863, she sought work at a new theater in Nashville, Tenn. Word of her undercover work in Louisville reached Col. William Truesdail, espionage chief for Maj. Gen. William Rosecrans, commander of the Army of the Cumberland. He hired her as a scout to cross enemy lines and gather information about the strength, position and fortifications of the Confederate army under Gen. Braxton Bragg.

The author as much as possible sorts fact from fiction in Cushman’s story as her expedition eventually went sour, and she was taken into custody as a spy.

Rebel cavalry leaders John Hunt Morgan and Nathan Bedford Forrest both questioned her and sent her on to Bragg’s headquarters. There a court-martial convicted her of spying, with a sentence of death by hanging. She barely escaped with her life, as Rosecrans’ army overran the area and dramatically rescued her in a weakened condition.

Upon arrival back within Union-held territory, Cushman was acclaimed a hero and cared for by high-ranking officers, including getting personal attention from Lt. Col. James A. Garfield, an acknowledged fancier of women and future president of the United States.

In relating Cushman’s involvement, the author provides an account of Rosecrans’ 1863 spring campaign against Bragg’s army in Tennessee, including efforts of both sides to employ spies to gain information about the size and disposition of enemy forces.

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