This undated portrait of Anna Ella Carroll by S. B. Peacock (after a photo) hangs the Maryland Historical Society Museum in Baltimore, Maryland.
"A woman rarely gifted; an able and accomplished writer" -- Anna Ella Carroll's epitaph
"Anna Ella Carroll's Story is a riddle for historians. Daughter of a Maryland governor from the Eastern Shore, she had a talent for politics and war. She could 'scheme, connive, and maneuver as well as any man.' Freeing her slaves after Lincoln's election, she worked for the Union. Carroll was a military strategist and wrote Union propaganda but, as a woman, never received credit as an important Lincoln advisor. Was she a presidential confidante who shaped events during the war? The debate about that question continues today." - Maryland Historical Society
This c. 1861 engraving by John Chester Buttre identifies the photographer as Mathew Brady.
Thank you for posting this. I had the opportunity to purchase this painting in 2003 when it went up for sale on Ebay but I didn't meet the reserve. I am a living historian from Missouri but born in Maryland. I present first person talks as Anne Carroll. My goal is to educate the public as Miss Carroll on her life and unknown work during the War Between the States for President Lincoln. Please share my willingness to present Miss Carroll and my email address.
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