Because her undercover activities on behalf of the government were secret, there is a lack of corroborative information about her life at this time.

After the war, however, she began a tour celebrating her experiences as a Union spy, working at one point with P. T. Barnum.

In 1865, a friend, Ferdinand Sarmiento, wrote an exaggerated biography titled The Life of Pauline Cushman: The celebrated Union Spy and Scout, detailing her early history, her entry into the secret service, notes, and memoranda.

Sources state that in 1879 she met Jere Fryer, and moved to Casa Grande, Arizona Territory, where they married and operated a hotel and livery stable.

She had applied for back pension based on her first husband's military service which she received in the amount of $12 per month beginning in June 1893 [citation needed].

Disabled from the effects of rheumatism and arthritis, she developed an addiction to pain medication, and on the night of 2 December 1893 she took a suicidal overdose of morphine.

The time of her Civil War fame was recalled at her funeral, which was arranged by members of the Grand Army of the Republic; Cushman was buried with full military honors.

In 1961, the television series Rawhide aired an episode, "The Blue Spy" with Pauline Cushman as the central character, portrayed by veteran actress Phyllis Thaxter.