A group of women forgotten by history are finally getting their due in a new limited series, The Gray House. Their efforts to defeat the Confederacy would have been nearly impossible if it weren’t for the bravery of a Free Black woman who posed as a slave in the house of Confederate president Jefferson Davis.
The woman has been called many names, including including Mary Elizabeth Bowser, and Mary Jane Richards. In the series, she is referred to as Mary Jane.
Not only could she read and write, but she had a photographic memory which allowed her to look at documents in Davis’ house, and share them with a mother and daughter team, Eliza and Elizabeth Van Lew, who would send them through the spy network to the Union.
Amethyst Davis stars as Mary Jane, while Mary-Louise Parker and Daisy Head are her contacts. Another woman, Clara, a lady of the night who also gleaned intelligence from her clientele, is played by Hannah James.
The Gray House debuts on Amazon Prime February 26.