But Elizabeth wanted to do more than simply minister and comfort the wounded. A Unionist, believing in "one nation . . . indivisible," she needed to do more. When she learned of Virginia's secession from the Union in 1861, she felt, in the words of one historian, "profoundly betrayed." She believed that the secessionists did not represent the majority of the citizens of Virginia. She was compelled to act in any way she could to help repair a nation torn apart.
—The Dark Game,
Paul Janeczko

How does this paragraph develop the central idea that spies in the Civil War era were amateurs?


It explains why someone without training would want to help her country.