UKTV - Historys Ultimate Spies (2015) Part 6 Elizabeth van Lew

Treason has always been one of the most severly punishable crime. Every country, state, crown or government has its enemies, even when they're not at war. These battles are fought in the murky shadows and grey underworld, in obscure buildings and hidden rooms, where the prize is not territory or land…..but information. Long before any forms of mass communication, history's spymasters invented and established any number of sophisticated spy networks, many of which formed the basis for the rules of modern day espionage. It was these men and women who pulled the invisible strings, chose the operatives and established the methods used by the first secret services of the world. They were the cold eyed, ruthless servants prepared to do anything to serve their political or royal masters. The stories of History's Ultimate Spies are woven around many notorious plots and infamous characters, and they'll feature in a series that delves into the psyche of the men and women who set up the networks - or destroyed them. Scenes like these have been played out for centuries by infamous figures who wielded the power behind the throne. It is these men and women and their methods that are the subject of this series. From Tudor times to the early 20th Century, It is the stories of these spymasters and their methods that feature in this six part series.

Part 6 Elizabeth van Lew

The American Civil War was notable for its female spymasters. Hear about the tricks employed by Elizabeth van Lew's effective network, who smuggled out messages in hollow eggs. Elizabeth van Lew was one of the bravest and most important Northern spies in the American Civil War and one of the bravest women in American history. She freed her slaves long before the Civil War and later used them as spies and informers behind Confederate lines. Their information relayed to Union generals helped end the brutal war.

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Episode One Shown Here