Richard Thomas Zarvona (October 27, 1833 – March 17, 1875), born Richard Thomas Jr., was an American adventurer, soldier, and a

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

who became known as "the French lady" after he disguised himself as a woman to seize a passenger steamer during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Early life

The eldest son of former

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

House of Delegates speaker Richard Thomas Sr. and the nephew of Maryland

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

James Thomas, Richard Thomas Jr. was born and raised in "Mattapany," the Thomas family

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

south of the

Patuxent River The Patuxent River is a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay in the state of Maryland. There are three main river drainages for central Maryland: the Potomac River to the west passing through Washington, D.C., the Patapsco River to the northeas ...

.Cox, Richard P., ''Rebel raider disguised in hoop skirt'', Washington Times An accomplished athlete and sportsman, Thomas attended Charlotte Hall Military Academy and another military school in nearby

Talbot County, Maryland Talbot County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 37,526. Its county seat is Easton. The county was named for Lady Grace Talbot, the wife of Sir Robert Talbot, an Anglo- Irish statesma ...

, before receiving appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1850. Thomas survived his plebe year with 189 demerits, but resigned in October 1851.Holly, David C., ''Richard Thomas Zarvona (1833-1875)'' He then traveled the world, serving in the

Second Italian War of Independence The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Sardinian War, the Austro-Sardinian War, the Franco-Austrian War, or the Italian War of 1859 (Italian: ''Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana''; German: ''Sardinischer Krieg''; French: ...

. He served either in the Sardinian or in the French Army, no written proof for which one available; though his new proficiency of the French language (coupled with a lack of Italian) and a deep interest in

Zouaves The Zouaves () were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army and other units modelled on it, which served between 1830 and 1962, and served in French North Africa. The zouaves were among the most decorated units of the French Army ...

strongly favour the later. It was then that he added "Zarvona" to his name; family legend establishing a French love who died and whose name he took. He returned to America in early 1861.

Civil War

In April 1861 Zarvona formulated his idea to support the Confederacy by either becoming an engineer officer or by going to the sea. A month later he formed a command of Zouaves that eventually would become Company H of the 47th Virginia Infantry Regiment. Simultaneously he started to plan the takeover of a ship; a plan that, with support of the government of Virginia, started on June 28. A disguised Thomas and a crew of accomplices seized the Bostoner passenger steamer ''St. Nicholas'', planning to use it to raid the sloop of war .

Notes

References

Biography
*Cox, Richard P.
''Rebel raider disguised in hoop skirt''
October 6, 2007,

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American Conservatism, conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It covers general interest topics with an emphasis on Politics of the United States, national politics. Its broadsheet daily edit ...

(accessed October 14, 2007) * Official records of the Union and Confederate Navies in the War of the Rebellion; Series I, Volume 4, pages 549-555 * Confederate States Army officers American Civil War spies People of Maryland in the American Civil War 1833 births 1875 deaths Charlotte Hall Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy alumni {{AmericanCivilWar-bio-stub