Female spies were commonplace during the Civil War. Emeline Pigott was one of them who found a particularly unique way to hide secret messages.
Females made good spies because of their large hoop skirts. They were able to smuggle a lot of stuff in big pockets under their skirts, until their tactics were noticed.
Emeline Pigott, a Confederate spy, found one way to get around this. Not only did she pass inspection from Union troops while delivering important information, she stunned Confederate General Pierre Gustave T. Beauregard and soldiers on how she managed to pass without incident. Upon her arrival to the camp, she asked the General for a knife then stabbed her fat little lapdog in the side. The men were horrified at this cruel act but also bewildered to why the dog appeared unharmed. They soon learned that the dog's skin was a fake coat of fur that Pigott had sewn around her dog's midsection, hiding the documents.
Emeline Pigott was eventually arrested, sent to jail and faced the death penalty. But after a couple of months, she was inexplicably released without going to trial. After the war, she returned to her family's farm. She enjoyed telling others about her missions, but she never told anyone how she came to be released from prison. Pigott died in 1919 at the age of 82.
