Rebecca Wright Bonsal

Born:  January 31, 1838, Winchester, Virginia

Died:  May 15, 1914, Washington, District of Columbia

Resting Place:  Glenwood Cemetery, Washington, District of Columbia

Brief History:  Rebecca Wright was the oldest surviving child of furniture manufacturer Amos Wright and his wife Rachel. The Wright family were members of the Hopewell Meeting and thus did not own slaves. In September 1864, U.S. Gen. Philip H. Sheridan heard rumors that Confederate forces had left the Shenandoah Valley to rejoin Gen. Robert E. Lee’s army at Petersburg. Wanting to confirm this information before attacking Gen. Jubal A. Early’s army, Sheridan concocted a dangerous and intriguing scheme. He had learned that a loyal Quaker named Rebecca Wright lived in Winchester on this site.

She conveyed information about General Early's forces which a Confederate officer had publicly bragged about the previous day, namely that Confederate infantry and artillery battalions had left town. After Wright wore a brooch given to her by General Sheridan in early 1867, her Confederate-sympathizing sister told a reporter its provenance. The resulting newspaper article led to social ostracism of Rebecca Wright and a boycott of the boarding house her mother ran with her daughters' help, and forced them to move to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.