Pauline Cushman can be described as only a minor character on the 19th century American stage. It was a brief time in Kentucky in 1863, while a member of a theatrical troupe playing in Louisville, that marked her name in the records of Civil War history. Her work as a spy for the United States became her source of fame, but was of little consequence to the outcome of the war. She left no legacy based on her acting ability on stage. She was a fascinating woman of the Victorian era who may have contributed more to the morale of Northern soldiers and the public by her on-stage efforts than her espionage work.

Ferdinand Sarmiento’s 1864 "biography," The Life Of Pauline Cushman, has been the source of almost all published information on her life. My research into the contents of Sarmiento’s book and a search for other primary material is the subject of my presentation. A few discoveries along the way that have added to the facts of her life and the excitement of visiting many of the scenes of her life have contributed to the enjoyment of trying to solve the puzzle of her life despite some still missing pieces.

The record of her life still remains more fiction than truth. This presentation relates a brief outline of her life and incidents during my search. It is supplemented by a collection of photographic images and visual reminders of her life. In addition to ongoing research for a published biography I am working with Lorriane Gray, a nationally known motion picture producer, as a consultant for a film about Pauline Cushman.

Her early years are a mystery with few verifiable details. Her real name was Harriet Wood. In the early 1850s she embraced the life of a theatrical performer as a member of Thomas Placide’s Varieties. It was then that she took the name Pauline Cushman. She married Charles Dickinson, a music teacher and theater musician, in New Orleans in 1853. They had a son Charles, born in 1858 and a daughter Ida, born in 1860. Dickinson was a member of the regimental band of the 41st Ohio Infantry. Suffering from chronic dysentery during the Shiloh campaign he was discharged and sent home to Cleveland where he died in December 1862. The children were left with in-laws in Ohio and she was away when the son died in 1864 and the daughter in 1868.

During the spring of 1863, while performing in Louisville, she was approached by the Provost Marshal of the city to information regarding Confederate activity in the area. Accomplishing little in Louisville she was sent to Nashville. She was sent south of Nashville to visit General Bragg’s headquarters. She was captured and sentenced to be hanged as a spy. The rapid retreat of Bragg’s Army of the Tennessee left her free.

Had she ever met Bragg or Morgan or Bedford Forrest? Her early biographers indicate that she did. No official records, diaries or manuscripts provide verification. The only evidence of her being on the Federal payroll is a voucher (approved by James A. Garfield) paying a board bill. In December 1863 she left Nashville wearing a riding habit of military design with the insignia of a cavalry major on it. This is the sole basis of her claimed military rank.

Returning to the stage in 1864 she lectured, sold copies of her autobiography, shared the stage with musicians playing patriotic airs and raised money for the Fenian cause. P.T. Barnum promoted her as "The Spy of the Cumberland." She appeared at his American Museum in New York City in June 1864. Barnum’s "generosity" gained her popularity and recognition.

Fame clearly was more important to her than family, and unfortunately for her, fame was fleeting. By 1872 she no longer held the public’s attention in the East so she traveled to San Francisco. There she met and married August Fictner in December 1872. Within a year she was widowed again. She spent the next five years working among the redwood logging camps near Santa Cruz.

In 1879 she met Jere Fryer and moved to Casa Grande, Arizona Territory. They married and operated a hotel and livery stable. He became the sheriff of Pinal County. Her attempts at domesticity were dashed by the death of an adopted daughter. Grief over the death lead them to separate in 1890.

Destitute, Pauline applied for a pension based on her first husband’s military service. It was granted in June 1893. She spent her last days in a boarding house in San Francisco working as a seamstress and charwoman. During the night of the 1st of December 1893 she took too much pain medicine, and was found dead the next morning by her landlady.

In the end, playing her many roles had taken its toll. Her final moment of fame came after her death when members of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Women’s Relief Corps conducted a huge funeral. "Major" Cushman’s remains now rest in Officer’s Circle at the Presidio’s National Cemetery in San Franciso. Her simple gravestone…the same as any Union soldier…is marked, "Pauline C. Fryer, Union Spy."

[primary source material – a complete list of secondary material, manuscripts and newspaper accounts is available from the author]

Cushman, Pauline, An Inside View of the Army Police: Thrilling Adventures of Pauline Cushman, the Distinguished American Actress and Famous Federal Spy of the Department of the Cumberland, Rickey & Carroll, Cincinnati, OH, 1864

Cushman, Pauline, The Romance of the Great Rebellion: the Mysteries of the Secret Service…Pauline Cushman, the Famous Federal Scout and Spy, in the Department of the Cumberland, Wynkoop & Hallenbeck, New York, 1864

Sarmiento, Ferdinand L., Life Of Pauline Cushman, John E. Potter & Co. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1865

Material from the National Archives: Letters sent by the Provost Marshal, Department of the Cumberland, Entry 901, Vol. 119, pages 52-53 (10W2/21/1/D); Endorsements sent by the Assistant Provost Marshal, Department of the Cumberland, Entry 902, Vol. 126, pages 186-187 (10W2/21/2/A); Letters and telegrams sent, Provost Marshal, Department of the Cumberland and Division and Department of Tennessee, Entry 1091, Vol. 118, page 297 (10W2/21/1/D); Register of letters received, Department of the Cumberland and Division and Department of Tennessee, Entry 1095, Vol. 122, page 122, letter G-79 (10W2/21/A/A); Correspondence RE Guides, Scouts, and Spies, (12W1/10/14/A/Box 2); RG 94, Adjutant General’s Office, Records cards for AGO document file 1202587, (8W3/24/5/D/Box 1534); Record cards for Record and Pension Office Document, File 249272, (8W3/15/4/D/Box 102); Old Record Division 201 File RE : Pauline Cushman, (14W3/8/9/C/Box 270); RG 15, Veterans Administration Pension Application Case File WC 362 644, (Pauline Cushman — widow of Charles C. Dickinson)

Rice, Mike, from "The Reminiscences of Mike Rice" — date of letter 18 June 1931, Arizona Historical Society Library, C986-3. "In regards to my knowledge of Mrs. Pauline Fryer…," 11 page typescript.

Scrapbook #37 in the California Historical Society Library, San Francisco, CA…source: purch: Whitlock Farm Books, 1966…there is a "no. 4" written on the inside front cover, and a description written on one of the pages indicates that it belonged to Pauline Cushman…also handwriting on dates near many of the pasted in newspaper article appears to be hers…first page contains an illustration of "Miss Pauline Cushman…in the parlor, in the field"…engraving of her in uniform and a dress…may be a playbill.

San Francisco Chronicle, 3-7 December 1893, from transcripts prepared by Arthur L. Rasmussen in February 1935 for A.W. Gressinger of Florence, Arizona.