Pryce lewis biography

Lewis left Cincinnati with a servant on June 27, on the streamer Cricket. They landed at Guyandotte the next day, and Lewis decided to drop his disguise and get by as an ordinary English citizen. The next morning, Lewis and his servant started towards the east, asking the way to White Sulphuric Springs. Patton, second-in-command. Lewis acted indignant about his detention, stating that he wanted to travel though the area to view the natural beautify before returning to England.

Pryce lewis biography: Pryce Lewis was an operative

The next morning, Lewis and his servant started towards the east, asking the way to White Sulphur Springs. Near the mouth of the Coal River that were picked up by the Confederate pickets, taken to Camp Tompkins and brought before Captain George Smith Patton second-in command. Patton was impressed by his guest and wrote him a pass to Charleston.

The captain and the spy say down to support in the antebellum mansion at the camp. The Professor, who is originally from Ohio, said Lewis had made a "significant contribution" to a number of military campaigns during his career as a spy. As well as Pryce Lewis, Professor Hunter points out that there were other important Welsh Americans involved in the campaign.

Like many of his soldiers, he lived in Ohio before the war, but he led 2nd West Virginia Cavalry, a Union regiment, and played a large role in the guerrilla fighting in the mountains, helping to curb Confederate Raiders like Mosby. Many Welsh-Americans before and during the Civil War actively opposed slavery, with Professor Hunter revealing that by the start of the war in the intellectual, moral and religious leaders of Welsh-speaking America were united in their opposition to it.

He added: "The Welsh-American press tended to portray the war at least in part as a war against slavery, and, based on a study of the great number of letters and a few diaries by Welsh-speaking Union soldiers which have survived, it seems that this ideological interpretation of the war was embraced by many common Welsh-American soldiers.

More so than among other ethnic groups in the Union army, it would seem. He did more than any other single person to radicalise Welsh America and list Welsh-speaking Americans in the struggle against slavery. The involvement of Welsh Americans and Welsh immigrants in the Civil War is as colourful as the story of the war itself.

Pryce lewis biography: Pryce Lewis was born

Men such as Pryce Lewis ensured the passion and tenacity of the nation spread across the globe — whilst selflessly risking their own lives. Many Welsh Americans took part in armed combat and came away with military medals for their efforts. A blacksmith by trade, he was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honour for extraordinary heroism in action at Franklin, Tennessee for capture of the Confederate flag.

He won his medal during the landing and attack on Fort Fisher in January He only served one year in the navy and was discharged on June 17 The Captain of the 2nd West Virginia Cavalry charged an captured a strong enemy camp with just 20 men, none of whom lost their lives. By Kathryn Williams. Keep up to date with the latest "pryce lewises biography" with our WalesOnline newsletter More Newsletters.

Subscribe Please enter a valid email Something went wrong, please try again later. More Newsletters. This may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. More info. Write a Review. Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book! Community Reviews. Search review text. Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews.

A must for anyone who is interested in Civil War or spy history. The reader will not only find thoroughly researched and detailed information on the life and activities of Pryce Lewis but also of all people and places involved. An orderly extensive list of sources makes it easy for anyone to see where Mortimer obtained his information but will also aid in any personal searches.

I grabbed this book at a thrift store almost a year ago and just got around to reading it. I loved it even more than I thought I would. Living in West Virginia and having spent time in the areas where Pryce Lewis traveled, it was thrilling to read about what was happening here years ago. I'm also thankful that Mortimer was able to finally get Lewis's story in print.

Mortimer did a great job. The book was detailed, well-researched, and entertaining without feeling like he "spiced" any parts up to keep readers entertained. The incredible amount of additional sources he provides is helpful for any history buff. Double Death is a great glimpse into the past. I won this ARC off of first reads. This book is a great account of a forgotten Union spy.

Perfect literature for history, spy and Civil War fans. In order for me to appreciate non-fiction, I have to go into that mode and usually I can. I have to step out of wanting to be entertained by good fiction and step into wanting to learn something true. This agency soon became a secret service for the Union. Lewis and few others employees acted as if they were Englishmen touring the south when in reality, they were spies.

For 19 months they suffered from hunger, rats, lice, and being shackled, plus their guilty sentences hung over their heads. One agent, Timothy Webster, was accused for being a double agent and was hung. When they were finally released from jail the damage was done. Instead of thanking their former boss for his role in getting them released, Lewis went out against him accusing Pinkerton of forgetting his men and letting one be executed.

Lewis made observations of the strength and number of Confederate troops he encountered during his return trip to Chicago, which he relayed to Pinkerton after relocating to the agency's new headquarters in Cincinnati. Upon his return to Cincinnati, Lewis was assigned to investigate the location and strength of rebel forces in Charleston, Virginia and the surrounding Kanawha Valley area.

Lewis would reprise his role as an English noble touring the countryside, accompanied on his journey by Sam Bridgeman, a fellow Pinkerton operative who would pose as his manservant and carriage driver. The two agents set off from Cincinnati on June 27,traveling in a carriage well-stocked with food, expensive liquor, and a British Army chest strapped prominently to the exterior.

Lewis was taken to see the colonel at his camp in a nearby farmhouse. Patton received Lewis warmly after hearing his cover story and gave him a full tour of the encampment as well as a pass that would let Lewis continue to Charleston. After dinner and a night of champagne and cigars at the farmhouse, Lewis resumed his journey along the turnpike and arrived in Charleston on June Upon their arrival, Lewis and Bridgeman checked into the Kanawha House Hotel, the headquarters of General Henry Wisecommander of the Confederate forces in the region.

Lewis approached Wise in the hope of receiving another pass that would allow the pair to leave Charleston if necessary, but the general refused, and Lewis was forced to write to George Moore, the British consul in Richmond, for permission to travel further. While he waited for Moore's response, Lewis continued to observe rebel movements in and around Charleston, including details of Wise's camp and fortifications at Twomile Creek.

Lewis, who had become anxious to depart the city after several incidents in which a drunken Bridgeman confronted Confederate officers, asked the colonel for a travel pass in Wise's absence. Tompkins was not authorized to issue such documents, but he assured Lewis that mentioning the colonel's name would be enough to satisfy most Confederate pryce lewises biography.

Lewis and Bridgeman left Charleston on July 12,and were able to make it back into Union territory after being stopped only once in the village of Logan Court House, Kentucky. Acting on Lewis' knowledge of the quality of Wise's troops, Cox was able to overwhelm the rebel fortifications and capture Charleston on July After their return from Charleston, Lewis and Bridgeman spent some time investigating secessionist activity in Baltimorebefore being called to Washington DC to rendezvous with the recently relocated Pinkerton.

Lewis was responsible for keeping an eye on Greenhow during the search and at one point she attempted to threaten the detective with an uncocked revolver. After the discovery of multiple sources of incriminating information at her residence, Greenhow was put under house arrest, with Lewis remaining at the house as one of her guards.

Pryce lewis biography: Pryce Lewis (February 13, –

The day after Greenhow's arrest, Pinkerton agents detained the family of U. Representative Phillip Phillips on similar spying charges, and the women of the family, including Phillips' wife Eugenia, were relocated to the Greenhow residence and put under Lewis' guard for the remaining weeks Pinkerton had him stationed there. Following the Greenhow incident, Lewis investigated other suspected rebel sympathizers in Washington including Elizabeth Morton, the wife of Florida Senator Jackson Morton.

In FebruaryPinkerton ordered Lewis to travel to Richmond, Virginiato investigate the status of Timothy Webster and Hattie Lawtontwo of Pinkerton's top agents who had ceased communication with the agency. Lewis raised serious objections to the mission, fearing that the number of deported Confederate sympathizers in the city that knew him to be a federal agent would pose a risk to his cover.

Pinkerton assured him that the Morton and Phillips families would not be in Richmond during his time there, and Lewis ultimately agreed to the plan, mostly due to his respect and concern for Webster. Pinkerton partnered Lewis with fellow agent and Englishman John Scully for the mission, and the two left the capital on February Lewis and Scully arrived in Richmond on February 26 and were able to locate Webster and Lawton at the couple's room in the Monumental Hotel.