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Arts & Entertainment

Meet "Crazy Bet", Southern Belle & Union Spy

Jeanmarie Dwyer-Wrigley introduces us to Elizabeth Van Lew a.k.a. "Crazy Bet", leader of the most productive espionage operation of the Civil War.  From the heart of the Confederacy she freed her family's slaves, operated a spy ring, obstructed the war efforts of the South, and helped Union soldiers escape from Richmond prisons.  Who could believe that a southern genteel lady was a significant part of such scandalous activities!

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