Confederate Spy
Posted by: Darth Null
N 38° 57.472 W 077° 24.169
18S E 291799 N 4314846
Laura Ratcliffe, Confederate Spy, 1836-1923
Waymark Code: WMRH
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 09/01/2005
Views: 86
A single grave stone, inside a fenced-in area totally hidden by high hedges, right in front of a hotel on a major road in Herndon, VA.
[from about.com]
Laura Ratcliffe's home in the Frying Pan area, Fairfax County, Virginia, was sometimes used as a headquarters by CSA Col. John Singleton Mosby of Mosby's Rangers during the American Civil War. Early in the war, she discovered a Union plan to capture Mosby and notified him of it so that he could elude capture. When Mosby captured a large cache of federal dollars, he had her hold the money for him. She used a rock near her home to conceal messages and money for Mosby. She was also associated with Major General J.E.B. Stuart.
Although it was obvious that her home was the center of Confederate activity, she was never arrested or formally charged for her activities.
Further reading and a photograph: (
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Note -- This replicates a virtual cache, GCGJ7W (check there for more information about the site). If the owner of that cache wants to convert to a waymark and it ends up conflicting with this listing, I'll archive this in favor of his finding this in the first place :).