contact

people in the waiting room was a federal officer who apparently never guessed he had just witnessed a classic scene of espionage.

    Trouble arose when the dentist’s wife began to show more than friendly interest in Stringfellow, who personally had the highest of moral codes. The dentist, already aware of his assistant’s true identity, noticed his wife’s seeming infatuation and promptly reported the agent to Union authorities. Perhaps for the first time—but certainly not his last—Stringfellow fled for his life.   Not every episode in Stringfellow’s career as a spy is as well documented as this one, but those that are sometimes seem to defy belief. Kane states in the introduction of his book on the subject: "A plotmaker concerned with credibility would hesitate to let his characters do some of the things these spies did in real life."

    Other noteworthy exploits of Frank Stringfellow are recorded in the book by John Bakeless:

◾Held up a sutler’s wagon at gunpoint and robbed him of his pass in order to penetrate enemy lines

◾Was recognized in Washington and, again fearing for his life, hid beneath an old lady’s hoop skirt while federal agents searched the house

◾Bluffed his way through a Union outpost and later led a cavalry raid against it

◾Disguised himself as a woman on more than one occasion, and even danced with blissfully ignorant federal officers, who were often "starved for feminine companionship" (Foster)

◾Refused to drink a toast to Abraham Lincoln and proposed one instead to Jefferson Davis, in the presence of several Union agents (then beat a hasty retreat)

◾Endured capture and prisoner exchange several times; whenever necessary he ingested any "incriminating documents" (This was evidence that could have hanged him; whenever he was arrested authorities never seemed to guess the full extent of Stringfellow’s activities.)

◾Hid on top of a beam in an attic, aided by his slight frame

◾Continued spying until the very end of the war, since "the Confederate secret communications system was still working smoothly, while everything else was falling apart."