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The Cary Invincibles

(Excerpt from Jackson’s Option)

The Cary girls, and particularly Jennie, play a crucial role in Jackson’s Option. The excerpts from three different chapters below are those references to “The Cary Invincibles.”

From “Friends on McCulloch”

En route to White’s house on McCulloh, and with John recounting recent events on the way, I stopped to send telegraph messages to Richmond, St. Louis, Nashville, Alexandria, and Shepardstown. My last visit to the Surratt Tavern would need to wait until later in the week.

Knowing that being early meant more time to enjoy the company of Levi and his family, I went directly to his house from the Telegraph Office. When I arrived, a servant greeted me at the door but hearing my voice Levi and his wife were in the hallway before a formal introduction could be announced. The parlor was filled with a number of young women; all of them were talking quite excitedly.

As I entered the parlor, two of these women immediately caught my eye. To avoid seeming obvious, I turned to Levi to ask him a few polite questions about his business and to inquire of Mrs. White as to her well-being. Before I could speak, however, Levi raised his hand to indicate that I should wait a moment.

“Alexandre, I would like to introduce ‘The Monument Street Girls,’ who seem to have taken control of my house. It would seem that McCulloh Street would be more appropriate, but they think that is quite inappropriate since their founders demonstrate their loyalty to the South on Monument. Nonetheless, let me make the necessary introductions,” Levi said.

With each introduction, I received a polite curtsy and a nod of the head. From each young woman to the next, the response was identical until he reached the two who had first garnered my attention.

Levi continued. “ . . . and these two are Jennie and Hetty Cary, the founders of this group of female Southern sympathizers.”

Hetty spoke first with no deference to social graces whatsoever. “Levi White, if I’d had my way, we’d be the Cary Invincibles. Fact is, when it’s just us two girls, that’s what we’ll be. These Yankees are completely intolerable. That homely beanpole isn’t my President. Let’s cheer for President Davis.”

Jennie joined her sister and the others in support of the newly elected President of the Confederate States of America. All the while though, Jennie’s eyes stared straight at me with just a hint of the sparkle of youth enjoying the moment. Jennie and her sister both had red hair that seemed to match their fiery and vibrant personalities.

From “Manassas”

On July 11th, I received a letter from William Falkner, who now was a Colonel in the Confederate Army. His letter recounted several stories about Jennie, Hetty, and Connie Cary, who were chaperoned by Connie’s mother, Monima Fairfax Cary. A few days before the date of his letter, Jennie had sung “Maryland! My Maryland!” for Pierre Beauregard and his officers at Fairfax County Courthouse to the new tune of "Oh Tannenbaum."

Subsequently, Pierre apparently had granted Hetty's wish by renaming the "The Monument Street Girls." They formally became the "Cary Invincibles." In a mock ceremony, the General went further by commissioning Connie as "Captain General," Hetty as "Lieutenant Colonel," and Jennie as "First Lieutenant." I laughed as I read Falkner’s letter. All three of them probably took their new "commissions" very seriously to the dismay of the officers gathered for the occasion.

From “Grey Wolf Legion”

“But McPhail was out on the Eastern Shore. He wouldn’t try that in Baltimore. There’d be a riot,” Jennie declared. “Besides, everyone has been trying to talk her out of going for weeks. Hetty’s simply inconsolable and deathly homesick.”

“If that’s the true situation, I need her to do me a favor. Think she’d be willing?” I asked as matter-of-factly as I could manage.

Her answer was equally casual. “What would that favor be?”

We had turned toward the Fairfax home. “I need to get a message to Levi and very quickly. None of my operatives are available. All of them are elsewhere. Could we sew the message into her hoop? Belle does it all the time. The Yankees won’t search her.”

All she said was, “I’ll ask her.”

We continued to talk until we reached the house. Just before we reached the gates, Jennie volunteered, “Hetty, Connie, and I aren’t the first Cary Invincibles you know.”

I wasn’t sure what she meant. “Who was first?”

“Father told us about them when we were just children. The very first Cary Invincibles were among the last defenders of the Alamo” Jennie said emphasizing the word first for the second time. There weren’t more than a dozen of them. They were at the southwest wall. All of them died fighting, or at least that’s what Papa said.”

Another piece of history I didn’t know. “So the Carys really are a scrappy bunch,” I replied.
Laughing, Jennie answered, “Sometimes I think Connie got a bigger dose of scrappiness than everyone else in the whole family.”

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