Hattie Lawton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hattie Lawton
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Hattie Lawton with fellow, Union, Pinkerton agent, Timothy Webster, before his execution, in Richmond, Virginia, by a Confederate firing squad, for wartime espionage, from the 1882 book, The Spy of the Rebellion: Being a True History of the Spy System of the United States Army During the Late Rebellion..., by Allan Pinkerton
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| Born | 1837 |
| Died | (aged ?) |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Hattie H. Lawton, Hattie Lewis Lawton |
| Occupation | detective, spy |
| Known for | Female detective, in the Pinkerton Detective Agency's Female Detective Bureau and Union spy in the American Civil War |
Hattie Lawton was an American detective. She also used the names Hattie H. Lawton, Hattie Lewis, and Hattie Lewis Lawton. Hattie worked for Allan Pinkerton, who ran the Pinkerton Detective Agency. She was likely born around 1837, but not much is known about her life before or after the American Civil War.
Hattie Lawton was part of Pinkerton's Female Detective Bureau. This group was started in 1860. Its goal was to "discover secrets" in ways that male detectives could not.
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Helping Protect Abraham Lincoln
Hattie Lawton worked with another female Pinkerton detective named Kate Warne. They helped other Pinkerton agents uncover a plan to harm Abraham Lincoln in Baltimore in 1861. At the time, Lincoln was the President-elect, meaning he had been elected but had not yet become president.
Working as a Spy in the Civil War
During the American Civil War, Hattie Lawton continued her work with the Pinkerton Detective Agency. Allan Pinkerton wrote that in early 1861, Lawton was in Perryville, Maryland. She was there with Timothy Webster, another Pinkerton agent.
Pinkerton later started a "Secret Service" for General George B. McClellan. Lawton and Webster joined this service in Washington on August 8, 1861. In early 1862, Lawton went to Richmond, Virginia, pretending to be Timothy Webster's wife. Pinkerton had sent them to Richmond to gather important information about the Confederate army's movements.
Arrest and Time in Prison
While in Richmond, Timothy Webster became very sick at the Monument Hotel. Hattie Lawton cared for him, which stopped them from sending important information back to Allan Pinkerton. During this time, John Scobell, an African American Union spy, worked with Hattie Lawton. He pretended to be her servant.
Allan Pinkerton sent two more agents, Pryce Lewis and John Scully, to Richmond to find out what happened to Webster and Lawton. They found them, but Lewis and Scully were recognized as Pinkerton agents. They were arrested and later released in a prisoner exchange on March 18, 1863. Some reports say that one or both of these men, either to save themselves or after being tricked, told the Confederates who Webster really was. Webster and Lawton were then arrested. After a quick trial, both were found guilty.
Timothy Webster was sentenced to death and was executed on April 29, 1862. Hattie Lawton was sentenced to one year in Castle Thunder prison in Richmond, Virginia. Confederate records describe Lawton as "Mrs. Timothy Webster." She was part of a group of four Union prisoners exchanged for Confederate spy Belle Boyd on December 13, 1862.
While Hattie was in prison, Elizabeth Van Lew visited her. Van Lew was a very successful Union spy in Richmond. It is not clear if Van Lew knew Hattie's real identity.
Life After the War
After Hattie Lawton was released from prison, nothing is known about her life or death.
