Biography

Eugenia Phillips was a Secessionist married to Democrat and Unionist Phillip Phillips, who served in the House of Representatives as a legislator from Alabama. She had several encounters with famous Confederate spy Rose Greenhow, and they underwent house arrest together, with their children as well. Once released, she again found herself in trouble, this time with General Butler, who found fault with her for laughing during the funeral for a Union soldier in New Orleans. This is the story that General Butler recounts at a dinner party Fanny Adeline Seward attended and recorded in her 1862-1863 diary.