THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410060428
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: GEORGE TUCKER
LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
MRS. E.H. BAKER, a ``mild and unspectacular'' 19th century Yankee widow who had once lived in Richmond, was not as flamboyant as some of the more spectacular petticoat Federal Civil War espionage agents. Even so, the vital information on ``infernal machines'' that she acquired in the Confederate capital during the winter of 1861-62 saved from destruction the Union blockading fleet at the mouth of the James River.
Mrs. Baker was described by a contemporary as having ``a manner that allowed her easily to assume the character of a woman of means who was faintly bored with life.'' She was among a group of spies recruited by Allan Pinkerton, the celebrated Federal detective, after the bombardment of Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. When Pinkerton learned that year that the rebels were experimenting with underwater explosives near Richmond, he sought Baker's help.
She wrote from Washington to a Capt. and Mrs. Atwater, former Richmond friends, saying she was restless and would like to visit Virginia again. Swallowing the bait, the Atwaters invited her for an extended visit. Traveling southward in a roundabout manner to avoid suspicion, Mrs. Baker arrived in Richmond in November 1861. Her charm and openly expressed admiration for the Southern cause gained her immediate popularity.
At first, Mrs. Baker showed no interest in the frenetic wartime activities that had transformed the city into an armed camp. Gradually, however, she began accepting invitations to visit the hastily thrown up fortifications around the Confederate capital. She was invited to join a party on a bluff overlooking the upper reaches of the James River, where she was promised a spectacular surprise.
When the group arrived under the protection of Capt. Atwater, she gazed down on a big scow anchored in midstream. Later she saw three young men lower themselves into a strange oblong metal craft resembling an oversized cigar. She also noted a small float painted the color of the water anchored directly above where the machine containing the three men had submerged. A feigned, half-hearted inquiry on her part elicited the explanation that the float was connected with tubes to the submarine below to provide the crew with air.
Mrs. Baker noticed that the float moved slowly forward to the edge of the scow. A few minutes later, it moved off again. Capt. Atwater informed Mrs. Baker that the three men in the submarine had just attached to the scow a powder magazine that was connected with the rapidly retreating underwater craft by a long wire. He then handed her his binoculars and warned her not be surprised at what happened next.
Suddenly, a blinding flash and a terrific explosion blew fragments of the scow high into the air. This was followed by cries, ``It worked! It worked!'' Then everyone began crowing that the Confederacy had finally come up with an ``infernal machine'' capable of blowing the blockading James River fleet out of the water.
Mrs. Baker joined in the jubilations so heartily that her host volunteered to take her the next day to the Tredeger Iron Works, where other submarines were being constructed. Returning from that jaunt, Mrs. Baker feigned a severe headache and went to her room. There, she wrote out a detailed account of what she had witnessed, including several sketches that Pinkerton later declared were specific enough to be of great use to naval experts.
A few days after her secret notations were completed, Mrs. Baker informed the Atwaters that she was homesick. Still unaware that he was harboring a spy, her host secured a pass for Mrs. Baker to go by train to Washington by way of Fredericksburg. When Mrs. Baker stepped off the car in Washington, Pinkerton was waiting for her. She reached into the crown of her embroidered bonnet, ripped out the closely written notations and handed them to him.
Pinkerton immediately relayed the information to the commander of the James River blockading squadron. Shortly thereafter, a lookout on one of the ships spotted a float like the one Mrs. Baker had described headed for his vessel. Raising an alarm, the float was halted in its progress. The tubes leading to the submarine were fouled, resulting in the death of the men who had intended to blow up the blockading fleet.
Mrs. Baker's espionage had saved the day. by CNB