Catherine Moore, Smuggler for the Union

Catherine Moore pictured here in 1909, saved the flag in 1862.

Library of Congress

“It made me feel like I was a soldier if I only had on the uniform.”
-Catherine Moore

Catherine Moore was on an undercover mission for the Union army on September 15, 1862.

700 miles with a 10-month-old baby

Moore’s husband, Andrew, was a soldier in the 65th Illinois Volunteer Infantry in 1862. Mrs. Moore learned that her husband had become sick while stationed in the Shenandoah Valley. She traveled nearly 700 miles from Andalusia, IL, with their ten-month-old baby to reach her husband in Martinsburg, VA. Soon, with Confederate forces approaching, the 65th was marched to Harpers Ferry. On September 12th, the battle of Harpers Ferry began and the Moores and the rest of the US forces found themselves surrounded by Confederate soldiers. Andrew, who was still sick, didn’t fight in the battle.

Smuggle out the flag

Sometime after Maryland Heights was captured by Confederate troops on September 13, Catherine Moore was approached by one of the 65th’s officers, Captain Robert Montgomery. He had a small flag that Company B had carried since leaving home. Montgomery asked Moore if she would hide the flag, along with two swords and two revolvers, should the garrison surrender. Moore agreed: “I wore the flag as a skirt and ran the swords and revolvers through the cord and kept them for three days and nights, and I think no one but Captain Montgomery and Mr. Moore knew I had them.” On September 14, the Confederates bombarded the town. “Several shells passed through the house” where Mrs. Moore and her baby sheltered. The next day, the US soldiers surrendered, ending the battle of Harpers Ferry.
On September 16, the 65th Illinois and other US soldiers left Harpers Ferry on September 16th. As part of the surrender agreement, they had to leave behind their weapons, ammunition, and regimental flags. Unknown to the Confederates or most of the 65th, though, Catherine Moore still had Company B’s small flag, the swords, and pistols hidden under her dress. She carried her baby and walked with her husband as the soldiers marched out. Once they reached US Army lines, Catherine removed the flag from her skirts and handed it to Captain Montgomery. Overjoyed that the flag had escaped Confederate capture, Montgomery “cut a sapling, fastened the flag to it and rode out where it could be seen, and maybe you think the hurrahs did not fill the air with music. It made me feel like I was a soldier if I only had on the uniform.”

Aftermath

Catherine, Andrew, and their child all survived the war, and eventually moved to California. In 1909, an Illinois newspaper found Catherine Moore and recorded her story for future generations.
Read the newspaper article Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, April 02, 1909, Page 8, Image 8 « Chronicling America « Library of Congress (loc.gov)