Do you know the story of Rebecca Wright and Thomas Laws? They aided Union General Philip Sheridan with information regarding Confederate General Jubal Early’s troop movements in and around the Winchester area. Rebecca Wright, a Winchester school teacher with loyalty to the union, would collect intelligence about troop movements and pass that information along to Thomas Laws. He was an enslaved man who would carry that intelligence to Union scouts. The information provided by Rebecca Wright and transported by Thomas Laws was crucial to Sheridan’s decision to attack Winchester a few days later.
Inspired by these events, local retired educator Sharon W. Dixon wrote a one act play entitled Rebecca and Thomas: A Civil War Spy Tale. The Handley Regional Library Stewart Bell Jr. Archives is excited to offer a reading of the play for the public. The event will take place at the Handley Library Robinson Auditorium on Thursday, September 19 from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm.
Registration is not required. Click here for more information about the event. If you have any additional questions, please contact the Archives Department by email at archives@handleyregional.org or call (540) 662-9041 ext. 17.