y older women who were toughened veterans. If her husband died, she had the choice of being sent home or marrying another soldier. During the War of 1812, some soldiers’ wives were widowed two or three times.
Many wives became as hardened as the men. They cursed, drank and earned the disdain of the officer class through thievery and immoral behaviour. Nonetheless, there were those who were conscientious, capable and resourceful. They planted vegetable gardens and raised chickens and pigs for extra food. They earned money by working as servants for officers. Those who were literate schooled their children and even gave lessons to soldiers. They served as nurses to sick and wounded men. An American officer could well have been referring to common soldiers’ wives on both sides when he wrote of “good, honest, industrious (women) ever ready for a fight, yet kind of heart in a rough manner, always ready to assist in times of distress.”
Women of courage
Laura Secord, wife of a Canadian militiaman, became famous for warning a British officer of an impending American attack. On the other side of the line, another woman allegedly delivered a warning. But her reward was notoriety.
Elizabeth Coles Stewart was British-born but immigrated to the United States as a girl. Her husband, James Stewart, was a British merchant who established a prosperous import business in New London, Conn. President James Madison’s decision to declare war on Great Britain in 1812 received very little support in the New England states. James Stewart continued to trade with the British, and he provided information and supplies for the Royal Navy fleet that was blockading the New England coast. He was also the agent for British prisoners of war brought into New London.
In the summer of 1813, Commodore Stephen Decatur, suspicious of James Stewart’s activities, had him banished to an inland community. A pregnant Elizabeth was allowed to remain in New London. She supposedly kept her husband’s spy network alive. She would have had plenty of help, because the New Londoners resented Decatur’s interference with their lucrative smuggling operations.
The Royal Navy had kept Decatur’s fleet bottled up. On the moonless, overcast night of Dec. 12, 1813, he decided to try to run the blockade. Decatur was sailing in complete darkness, without any running lights, when he spotted some strange blue lights on shore. They were obviously a signal to the British that Decatur was making a run for it. He aborted the attempt.
Decatur demanded an investigation of the “blue light incident,” but not much was done about it. Most local people were sure Elizabeth Stewart was behind the plot to warn the British, but no one could prove it. She claimed she was too preoccupied with pregnancy and the care of her children. After the war, Elizabeth and James eventually returned to England. Like the wives of officers and common soldiers, Elizabeth Stewart was a woman of the War of 1812, and quite possibly a spy.
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