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The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Several months before the start of the Civil War, Kate Warne was masquerading as a Southern sympathizer and keeping company with women of refinement and wealth from the South. When war did break out, those women were unafraid to express how much in favor they were of the Rebels. Some of them were secretly supplying the Confederate forces with information they had acquired using their feminine wiles. Kate was tasked with staying close to opponents of the government who were seeking to overthrow it and secure proof that secrets were being traded.

For weeks Kate had been monitoring the movements of Mrs. Rose Greenhow, a Southern woman believed to be engaged in corresponding with Rebel authorities and furnishing them with valuable intelligence. By late August 1861, Allan Pinkerton and a handful of his most trusted operatives, including Kate, had compiled enough evidence against Rose that a warrant for her arrest was granted. She was outraged when Pinkerton detective agents invaded her home and began gathering boxes of secret reports, letters, and official, classified documents. She called the agents “uncouth ruffians” and objected to her home being searched.

Pinkerton and his team left none of Rose’s possessions intact in their quest to extract all suspicious paperwork. The headboards and footboards of all the beds were taken apart, mirrors were separated from their backings, pictures removed from frames, and cabinets and linen closets were inspected. Coded letters were found in shoes and dress pockets. Among the items found in the kitchen stove were orders from the War Department giving the organizational plan to increase the size of the regular army, a diary containing notes about military operations, and numerous incriminating letters from Union officers willing to trade their allegiance to their country for a romantic interlude with Mrs. Greenhow.

According to Rose’s account of the inspection of her house and the seizure of many, sensitive letters, the “intrusion was insulting.” One of the investigators at the scene complimented her on the “scope and quality” of the material found. It was “the most extensive private correspondence that has ever fallen under my examination,” the operative confessed. “There is not a distinguished name in America that is not found here. There is nothing that can come under the charge of treason, but enough to make the government dread and hold Mrs. Greenhow as a most dangerous adversary.”

Pinkerton had hoped to keep the arrest quiet, but Rose’s eight-year-old daughter made that impossible. After witnessing the operatives foraging through her room and the room of her deceased sister, she raced out the back door of the house shouting, “Mama’s been arrested! Mama’s been arrested!” Agents chased after the little girl. Having climbed a tree nothing could be done until she decided to come down.

A female detective Rose referred to in her memoirs as “Ellen” searched the suspected spy for vital papers hidden in her dress folds, gloves, shoes, or hair. Nothing was found. Historians suspect the operative Rose referred to as Ellen was Kate Warne. Kate divided her time between guarding the prisoner and questioning leads that could help the detective agency track and apprehend all members of the Greenhow spy ring. Rose realized quickly that Kate was not someone to be trifled with, and she kept her distance.

To learn more about Operative Ellen, the cases she worked,

and the other women Pinkerton agents read

The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Enter for a chance to win a copy of

The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

The newspaper ad that appeared in publications throughout the city of Chicago in 1861 highlighted the talents of a fortune teller named L. L. Lucille. The remarkable soothsayer whose descendants were from Egypt was making her first appearance in the Midwest and invited residents to visit her at the Temple of Magic anytime between the hours of ten A.M. and one P. M. “She will cast the horoscope of all callers,” the advertisement boasted. “She will tell them the events of their past life and reveal what the future has in store. The Great Asiatic Sibyl proudly announced that she had cast the horoscope of all the crowned heads of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania and specialized in helping the sorrowful and affiliated. “She will tell who loves you; who hates you; and who is trying to injure you. She will show you your future husband or wife.” The fee for such services was $10.00.

According to Allan Pinkerton, who had written the notice about Lucille, the trade of fortune telling was unique at the time and many people were attracted to the idea. Pinkerton described the mystic’s place of business on Clark Street as nearly square with a large mirror the shape of the doorway on one end. “The wall and windows were draped with dark colored material that blocked any sunlight from getting through. There was a swinging lamp in all four corners of the room and one in the center. They were bronze and silver, with Oriental patterns, and they swung slowly around in a circle. Several charts, mystic symbols, and small gloves filled low shelves and a variety of tables. Near one of the tables was a small table upon which stood a peculiarly shaped retort, and from this, issued pungent, aromatic incense.”

It was into this mystic, perfumed setting that L. L. Lucille would greet enthusiastic patrons anxious to receive predictions about important aspects of their lives. Customers waited in a lounge area in large, easy chairs for the fortune teller. At just the right time the medium would slip into the room through the folds of a curtain at one side of a gigantic mirror. Kate Warne played the part of L. L. Lucille and Pinkerton wrote in his case files that “he hardly knew her, so great was her disguise.” Kate’s face and hands were stained a clear olive, and instead of wearing her hair up as she usually did it hung down in heavy masses to her waist. She wore a long dress made from rich fabric and trimmed with Oriental accents. She carried a small wand around which had two serpents twined at the top. Her whole appearance was dignified and imposing. Pinkerton was confident Kate would deliver a convincing performance and help apprehend the woman attempting to kill one of the agency’s clients, Captain J. N. Sumner.

To learn more about Kate Warne, the cases she worked, and the other

women Pinkerton agents read

The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Enter for a chance to win a copy of

The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

President-elect Abraham Lincoln showed no sign of being nervous or apprehensive about the late night ride Pinkerton operatives arranged for him to take on February 23, 1861. Kate Warne noted in her records of the events surrounding Mr. Lincoln leaving Pennsylvania that he was cooperative and congenial.

When the politician arrived at the depot in Baltimore with his colleagues and confidants, Ward Hill Lamon and Allan Pinkerton, he was focused and quiet. He was stooped over and leaning on Pinkerton’s arm. The posture helped disguise his height, and when Kate greeted with a slight hug and called him “brother,” no one outside the small group thought anything of the exchange. For all anyone knew, Kate and Mr. Lincoln were siblings embarking on a trip together. Neither the porter nor the train’s brakeman noticed Mr. Lincoln as the president-elect. Kate made it clear to the limited, railroad staff on board that her brother was not well and in need of solitude.

It took a mere two minutes from the time the distinguished orator reached the depot until he and his companions were comfortably on board the special train. The conductor was instructed to leave the station only after he was handed a package Pinkerton had told him to expect. The conductor was informed the package contained important government documents that needed to be kept secret and delivered to Washington with “great haste.” In truth the documents were a bundle of newspapers wrapped and sealed.

The bell on the engine clanged, and the train lurched forward. The gas lamps in the sleeping berths in Mr. Lincoln’s car were not lit, and the shades were pulled. Kate and Pinkerton agreed it would be best to prevent curious passengers waiting at various stops from seeing in and possibly recognizing the president-elect. No one spoke as the train slowly pulled away from the station. All hoped the journey would be uneventful and were hesitant to make a sound for fear any conversation might jeopardize what had been done to get Mr. Lincoln to this point. It was Mr. Lincoln who broke the silence with an amusing story he had shared with Pennsylvania governor Andrew Curtain the previous evening.

“I used to know an old farmer out in Illinois,” Mr. Lincoln told the three around him. “He took it into his head to venture into raising hogs. So he sent out to Europe and imported the finest breed of hogs that he could buy. The prize hog was put in a pen and the farmer’s two mischievous boys, James and John, were told to be sure not to let it out. But James let the brute out the very next day. The hog went straight for the boys and drove John up a tree. Then it went for the seat of James’ trousers and the only way the boy could save himself was by holding onto the porker’s tail. The hog would not give up his hunt or the boy his hold. After they had made a good many circles around the tree, the boy’s courage began to give out, and he shouted to his brother: ‘I say, John, come down quick and help me let go of this hog.’

Mr. Lincoln’s traveling companions smiled politely and stifled a chuckle. Had the circumstances been different, perhaps they would have laughed aloud. Undaunted by the trio’s subdued response, the president-elect continued to regale them with amusing tales of the people he’d met and experiences they shared. The train gained speed and soon Philadelphia was disappearing behind them.

To learn more about Kate Warne, the cases she worked, and the other

women Pinkerton agents read

The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Enter for a chance to win a copy of

The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Doctor Mary Edwards Walker caressed the heavy medal pinned on her lapel while staring at the letter in her hand. Frustrated and angry she sat the letter aside then turned her attention to the document on the table next to her:

Medal of Honor

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker

November 11, 1865

Walker, Dr. Mary E.

Rank and Organization:

Contract Acting Assistant Surgeon (civilian), U. S. Army

Places and Dates:

Battle of Bull Run, July 21, 1861

Patent Office Hospital, Washington, D. C., October 1861

Chattanooga, Tennessee, following Battle of Chickamauga, September 1863

Prisoner of War, April 10, 1864 – August 12, 1864, Richmond, Virginia

Battle of Atlanta, September 1864

Entered Service At:

Louisville, Kentucky

Born:

26 November 1832, Oswego County, New York

Citation:

Whereas it appears from official reports that Dr. Mary E. Walker, a graduate of medicine, “has rendered valuable service to the Government and her efforts have been earnest and untiring in a variety of ways,” and that she was assigned to duty and served as an assistant surgeon in charge of female prisoners at Louisville, Ky., upon the recommendation of Major Generals Sherman and Thomas, and faithfully served as contract surgeon in the service of the United States, and has devoted herself with much patriotic zeal to the sick and wounded soldiers, both in the field and hospitals, to the detriment of her own health, and has also endured hardships as a prisoner of war four months in a Southern prison while acting as contract surgeon; and
Whereas by reason of her not being a commissioned officer in the military service, a brevet or honorary rank cannot, under existing laws, be conferred upon her; and Whereas in the opinion of the President an honorable recognition of her services and sufferings should be made:
It is ordered, That a testimonial thereof shall be hereby made and given to the said Dr. Mary E. Walker, and that the usual medal of honor for meritorious services be given her.
Given under my hand in the city of Washington, D.C., this 11th day of November, A.D. 1865.

Now after fifty-two years of wearing it proudly, the U. S. Government revoked the honor it had once bestowed upon her and struck her name from the list of recipients. In mid-January of 1917, eighty-four-year-old Mary and 910 other recipients were notified their medals were being rescinded because new regulations required “actual combat with an enemy . . . above and beyond the call of duty.” At the prompting and connivery of Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton during the Civil War, it appears that the Federal government had abused its powers of issuance regarding the 27th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment when the War Department forwarded 864 medals to the commanding officer. With concern raised and a change in standards, a 1916 board of five army generals, led by Lt. General Nelson A. Miles, identified 911 awards for causes other than distinguished service. Mary E. Walker and Buffalo Bill Cody’s were among those identified. Even though not combat related, Mary was infuriated at the great injustice that her meritorious service was disregarded by her government. “They’ll have to pry this from my cold, dead body,” Mary fumed to herself. With the firmest of irrepressible determination, she kept the medal, wearing it until the day she died.

To learn more about Mary Edward Walker, the cases she worked,

and the other

women Pinkerton agents read

The Pinks:

The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

2017 Oklahoma Book Award Finalists

The following books have been selected as finalists in Oklahoma Book Award Competition.  The books are listed in alphabetical order according to the last name of the lead author, illustrator, designer, and/or photographer.

NON-FICTION

Ma Barker: America’s Most Wanted Mother by Howard Kazanjian and Chris Enss Two Dot/Rowman & Littlefield

4th and Boston: Heart of the Magic Empire by Douglas Miller and Steve Gerkin Mullerhaus Legacy

The Red River Bridge War: A Texas-Oklahoma Border Battle by Rusty Williams Texas A&M University Press

Right Down the Middle: The Ralph Terry Story by Ralph Terry with John Wooley Mullerhaus Legacy

The Pinks: The First Women Detectives, Operatives, and Spies with the Pinkerton National Detective Agency

Reviewed by Meg Nola of Foreword Review
June 27, 2017

The Pinks reads like a historical thriller, with the fascinating plot twist of being based wholly on truth.

Chris Enss’s The Pinks offers an engrossing look at the women’s flank of the famed Pinkerton group, which provided services of security, protection, investigation, and, in many cases, infiltration by its initially all-male staff of “private eyes.”

Pinkerton had an innovative and invasive approach to dealing with crime and criminals. After immigrating to the United States from Scotland, he eventually established the Pinkerton offices in Chicago. Six years after the agency opened, Kate Warne had the audacious foresight to apply for a job as a Pinkerton detective, despite the fact that Pinkerton himself had never considered hiring women. Warne argued that women could assume undercover roles as ably as men, and that feminine intuition and charm could help them excel as undercover agents.

Though Pinkerton knew the work would be dangerous, he hired Warne and assigned her to numerous cases. Enss depicts Warne as an excellent actress, able to alter her appearance, accent, and mood quickly and convincingly. Pinkerton’s investigations were often complex and went on for extended periods of time as the agents gained the confidence of key individuals—or the guilty parties themselves. Warne rose to every challenge, including escorting a disguised Abraham Lincoln to Washington via train in 1861. The then president-elect was in danger of assassination by a Baltimore cadre of secessionists who wanted Lincoln dead before he even had a chance to take office.

The Pinks notes how Warne’s success encouraged Pinkerton to employ other women, placing them in roles of general investigation or even espionage during the Civil War. They pursued murderers, carried classified documents, decoded messages, and maintained their cover in highly charged situations. Ultimately, the Pinkerton logo became that of a watchful female eye, accompanied by the apt motto of “We Never Sleep.” However, despite Allan Pinkerton’s equal-opportunity mind-set, official American police forces did not hire female detectives until the late nineteenth century.

The Pinks details Kate Warne’s career as a Pinkerton detective, along with various other cases assigned to female agents like Hattie Lawton, Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, and the artistically gifted Lavinia “Vinnie” Ream. Filled with intrigue, suspense, bravery, and women’s accomplishment, The Pinks reads like a historical thriller, with the fascinating plot twist of being based wholly on truth.

Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The author of this book provided free copies of the book to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. No fee was paid by the author for this review. Foreword Reviews only recommends books that we love. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.