As the Civil War ground on, an underground Unionist movement flourished in the heart of the
Confederacy, led by an unlikely leader. Elizabeth Van Lew, a wealthy and well connected member of Richmond’s elite, risked everything to help save the Union, skillfully directing this clandestine group and becoming General Ulysses S. Grant’s spy in Richmond. Surrounded by a cadre of “slaves” secretly freed and working with her at the risk of their lives—and hers—Lizzie becomes a pivotal character in the narrative that reveals the complexity and horror of war and the possibility of ultimate redemption.
Based on an incredible true story,
Lizzie's War
revolves around a number of elements:
the intrigue involved in Elizabeth’s double life, her scheme to plant a former slave as her spy in the Jefferson Davis home
,
her secret romance with a Union prisoner
the dangerous work and
conspiracies entailed in running a spy network for the Federal Government in the Confederate capital
terrifying flights to freedom engineered by Elizabeth for escaped prisoners and slaves, and
ongoing Confederate surveillance, investigations and arrests of Unionists.