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The most useful ] of the ] was probably provided to Union officers by ]s and ]s. There were, however, conventional ] working for each side.
Tactical or battlefield intelligence became vital to both sides in the field during the ]. Units of spies and scouts reported directly to the commanders of armies in the field, providing details on troop movements and strengths. The distinction between spies and scouts was one that had life-or-death consequences: if a suspect was seized while in disguise and not in his army's uniform, he was often sentenced to be hanged. A spy named Will Talbot, a member of the ], was left behind in ] after his battalion had passed through the borough on June 26–27, 1863. He was captured, taken to ], and executed on orders of Brig. Gen. ].<ref name="Fishel">Fishel (1996). ''The Secret War for The Union''.</ref>


==Confederate spying==
==Confederacy==
Intelligence-gathering for the Confederates was focused on ], and the surrounding area.


] created a network of agents that included ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harnett |first=Kane T. |title=Spies for the Blue and the Gray |date=1954 |publisher=Hanover House |pages=27–29}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Markle |first=Donald E. |title=Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War |date=1994 |publisher=Hippocrene Books |isbn=078180227X |page=2}}</ref> Greenhow delivered reports to Jordan via the “Secret Line,” the name for the system used to get letters, intelligence reports, and other documents across the ] and ] rivers to Confederate officials.{{Citation needed|date=October 2015}}
], a former ] officer who became a ] colonel, started an embryonic spy network in ] as early as ]. He turned over control of the network to ], in the summer of ]. Much of the valuable intelligence she gathered came from her ], ] of ], who was the chairman of the ].


The Confederacy's Signal Corps was devoted primarily to communications and intercepts, but it also included a covert agency called the ] Bureau, which ran espionage and counter-espionage operations in the North, including two networks in Washington.<ref name="United States">United States (2005) ''Intelligence in the Civil War''.</ref>
] was the head of the ], a secret spy network that extended as far north as ]. ] from ] was the Confederate agent in ]. The most famous female spy, ], was employed by the Confederacy and worked in ], where she solicited military intelligence from Union officers. Many spies operated out of Canada, including ] in Halifax.


===Confederate spies===
In November ], ] was sentenced to death by the Union for spying at ].
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*]<ref>Swanson, James L., ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer''. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, p. 258.</ref>
*]<ref name="NPL">{{cite web |title=Fannie Battle Day Home Records, ca. 1905 - ca. 1998 (bulk 1905 - 19 72 ) |url=http://findingaids.library.nashville.org/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_Fannie_Battle.pdf |website=Finding Aids |publisher=Nashville Public Library |access-date=5 October 2018 |archive-date=5 October 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005111931/http://findingaids.library.nashville.org/Special_Collections_Division_Finding_Aid_Fannie_Battle.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref>
*]
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*William Bryant<ref>Swanson, James L., ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer''. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, p. 259.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussionSymposium/thread-1513.html|title=Is the name Bryant or Bryan?|website=rogerjnorton.com|access-date=2 April 2018}}</ref>
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*]<ref>Swanson, James L., ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer''. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, p. 258f.</ref>
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*Thomas A. Jones<ref>Swanson, James L., Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. New York, HarperCollins, 2006.</ref>
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*]<ref>Swanson, James L., ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer''. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, pp.167, 256.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ehistory.osu.edu/world/PeopleView.cfm?PID=162|title=Search}}</ref>
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* ]
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==Union== ==Union spying==
<table align="right"><tr><td>
<center>]<br><small>''Pinkerton with ].''</small></br></center>
</td></tr></table>


] (left) with ]]]
] of the Union ran the Federal ] and Brig. Gen. ] was the chief of War Department detectives.
Famous female operators included ], a ] resident who managed to plant a spy among ]'s own slaves; ], who gained entrance to Confederate camps near ] disguised as a black slave; and ] who was captured, but escaped after being sentenced to ], enabling her to provide further important intelligence. Most famously however, ] put her considerable experience as a resistance fighter with the [[Underground Railroadhopes of freedom with Union victory supplied intelligence to the Northern forces whenever they had the opportunity.


The Union's intelligence-gathering initiatives were decentralized. ] worked for Maj. Gen. ] and created the ].<ref name="United States" /> ] conducted intelligence and security work for Lieutenant General ], commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army. President ] hired ] to spy in the South and report to Lincoln directly.<ref name="United States" />
] of ] commanded a 58-man band of scouts and served Maj. Gen. ] during the last year of the war.


As a ] in Missouri, ] was ordered by Maj. Gen. ] to start an intelligence organization.<ref name="United States" /> Grant came to understand the power of intelligence and later made Brig. Gen. ] the head of his intelligence operations that covered an area from ] to ] with as many as one hundred secret agents.<ref name="United States" />
==External link==

Maj. Gen. ], who became commander of the ] in January 1863, ordered his deputy provost marshal, Col. ], to create a unit to gather intelligence. Sharpe set up what he called the Bureau of Military Information and was aided by ], who had worked for ] and had made maps for ]. Sharpe's bureau produced reports based on information collected from agents, prisoners of war, refugees, Southern newspapers, documents retrieved from battlefield corpses, and other sources. When Grant began his siege of Petersburg in June 1864, Sharpe had become Grant's intelligence chief.<ref name="United States" />

African American slaves and free persons provided valuable intelligence supporting Union military operations, often exploiting their ability to move across lines without attracting attention. African American Civil War Intelligence Contributions (formerly known as ''Black Dispatches''.</ref> contributed significantly to the Union's ultimate victory.<ref>David A. Welker "African American Intelligence Contributions during the American Civil War," International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, vol. 37, No. 4, Winter 2024-2025 </ref>

===Union spies===

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*]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://ncpedia.org/biography/galloway-abraham|title=Abraham Galloway|website=NCPEDIA|author=Franck, Julie|year=2013|access-date=November 21, 2019}}</ref>
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*William J. Lawton
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==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* Fishel, E. C., ''The Secret War for The Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War''. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co, 1996. {{ISBN|0395742811}}
* Quarles, B., ''The African American in the Civil War''. Boston, Little, Brown, 1953.
* Rose, P. K., .''Black Dispatches: Black American Contributions to Union Intelligence During the Civil War''.]{{Dead link|date=May 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} Washington, D.C., Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, 1999.
* United States Government, . Washington, D.C., Central Intelligence Agency, 2005.
*Swanson, James L., ''Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer''. New York, HarperCollins, 2006. {{ISBN|0060518502}}
*

==Further reading==
*{{Cite book |last=Abbott |first=Karen |title=Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War |publisher=Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers |date=2014 |isbn=9780062092892 |oclc=878667621 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/liartemptresssol0000abbo}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Melanson |first1=Philip H. |last2=Stevens |first2=Peter F. |title=The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency |publisher=Carroll & Graf Publishers |date=2002 |isbn=0786710845 |oclc=50478513 |url=https://archive.org/details/secretservicehid00phdp_0}}
*{{Cite book |last=Stern |first=Philip Van Doren |title=Secret Missions of the Civil War: First-Hand Accounts by Men and Women Who Risked Their Lives in Underground Activities for the North and the South |publisher=Bonanza Books |date=1990 |isbn=0517000024 |oclc=18683019}}
*{{Cite book |last1=Ryan |first=Thomas J. |last2=Sears |first2=Stephen W. |title=Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign: How the Critical Role of Intelligence Impacted the Outcome of Lee's Invasion of the North, June-July, 1863 |publisher=Savas Beatie |date=2015 |isbn=9781611211788 |oclc=865495253}}

==External links==
* *

]
{{American Civil War}}
]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:American Civil War Spies}}
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Latest revision as of 15:31, 27 November 2024

Tactical or battlefield intelligence became vital to both sides in the field during the American Civil War. Units of spies and scouts reported directly to the commanders of armies in the field, providing details on troop movements and strengths. The distinction between spies and scouts was one that had life-or-death consequences: if a suspect was seized while in disguise and not in his army's uniform, he was often sentenced to be hanged. A spy named Will Talbot, a member of the 35th Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, was left behind in Gettysburg after his battalion had passed through the borough on June 26–27, 1863. He was captured, taken to Emmitsburg, Maryland, and executed on orders of Brig. Gen. John Buford.

Confederate spying

Intelligence-gathering for the Confederates was focused on Alexandria, Virginia, and the surrounding area.

Thomas Jordan created a network of agents that included Rose O'Neal Greenhow. Greenhow delivered reports to Jordan via the “Secret Line,” the name for the system used to get letters, intelligence reports, and other documents across the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers to Confederate officials.

The Confederacy's Signal Corps was devoted primarily to communications and intercepts, but it also included a covert agency called the Confederate Secret Service Bureau, which ran espionage and counter-espionage operations in the North, including two networks in Washington.

Confederate spies

Union spying

Allan Pinkerton (left) with Abraham Lincoln

The Union's intelligence-gathering initiatives were decentralized. Allan Pinkerton worked for Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan and created the United States Secret Service. Lafayette C. Baker conducted intelligence and security work for Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, commander-in-chief of the U.S. Army. President Abraham Lincoln hired William Alvin Lloyd to spy in the South and report to Lincoln directly.

As a brigadier general in Missouri, Ulysses S. Grant was ordered by Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont to start an intelligence organization. Grant came to understand the power of intelligence and later made Brig. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge the head of his intelligence operations that covered an area from Mississippi to Georgia with as many as one hundred secret agents.

Maj. Gen. Joseph Hooker, who became commander of the Army of the Potomac in January 1863, ordered his deputy provost marshal, Col. George H. Sharpe, to create a unit to gather intelligence. Sharpe set up what he called the Bureau of Military Information and was aided by John C. Babcock, who had worked for Allan Pinkerton and had made maps for George B. McClellan. Sharpe's bureau produced reports based on information collected from agents, prisoners of war, refugees, Southern newspapers, documents retrieved from battlefield corpses, and other sources. When Grant began his siege of Petersburg in June 1864, Sharpe had become Grant's intelligence chief.

African American slaves and free persons provided valuable intelligence supporting Union military operations, often exploiting their ability to move across lines without attracting attention. African American Civil War Intelligence Contributions (formerly known as Black Dispatches.</ref> contributed significantly to the Union's ultimate victory.

Union spies

References

  1. Fishel (1996). The Secret War for The Union.
  2. Harnett, Kane T. (1954). Spies for the Blue and the Gray. Hanover House. pp. 27–29.
  3. Markle, Donald E. (1994). Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War. Hippocrene Books. p. 2. ISBN 078180227X.
  4. ^ United States (2005) Intelligence in the Civil War.
  5. Swanson, James L., Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, p. 258.
  6. "Fannie Battle Day Home Records, ca. 1905 - ca. 1998 (bulk 1905 - 19 72 )" (PDF). Finding Aids. Nashville Public Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 October 2018. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
  7. Swanson, James L., Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, p. 259.
  8. "Is the name Bryant or Bryan?". rogerjnorton.com. Retrieved 2 April 2018.
  9. Swanson, James L., Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, p. 258f.
  10. Swanson, James L., Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. New York, HarperCollins, 2006.
  11. Swanson, James L., Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. New York, HarperCollins, 2006, pp.167, 256.
  12. "Search".
  13. David A. Welker "African American Intelligence Contributions during the American Civil War," International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, vol. 37, No. 4, Winter 2024-2025
  14. Franck, Julie (2013). "Abraham Galloway". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 21, 2019.

Bibliography

  • Fishel, E. C., The Secret War for The Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co, 1996. ISBN 0395742811
  • Quarles, B., The African American in the Civil War. Boston, Little, Brown, 1953.
  • Rose, P. K., The Civil War: Black American Contributions to Union Intelligence.Black Dispatches: Black American Contributions to Union Intelligence During the Civil War.] Washington, D.C., Center for the Study of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency, 1999.
  • United States Government, Intelligence in the Civil War. Washington, D.C., Central Intelligence Agency, 2005.
  • Swanson, James L., Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer. New York, HarperCollins, 2006. ISBN 0060518502
  • Search | eHISTORY

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