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.[1]
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.[2][3] 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.[citation needed]
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.[4]
As a brigadier general in Missouri, Ulysses S. Grant was ordered by Maj. Gen. John C. Frémont to start an intelligence organization.[4] 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.[4]
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.[4]
^Franck, Julie (2013). "Abraham Galloway". NCPEDIA. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
Bibliographyedit
Fishel, E. C., The Secret War for The Union: The Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Co, 1996. ISBN0395742811
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.][permanent dead link] 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. ISBN0060518502
Search | eHISTORY
Further readingedit
Abbott, Karen (2014). Liar, Temptress, Soldier, Spy: Four Women Undercover in the Civil War. Harper, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN9780062092892. OCLC 878667621.
Melanson, Philip H.; Stevens, Peter F. (2002). The Secret Service: The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency. Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN0786710845. OCLC 50478513.
Stern, Philip Van Doren (1990). 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. Bonanza Books. ISBN0517000024. OCLC 18683019.
Ryan, Thomas J.; Sears, Stephen W. (2015). 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. Savas Beatie. ISBN9781611211788. OCLC 865495253.
External linksedit
Espionage in the Civil War
William J. Lawton killed 1864
February 16, 2024
american, civil, spies, tactical, battlefield, intelligence, became, vital, both, sides, field, during, american, civil, units, spies, scouts, reported, directly, commanders, armies, field, providing, details, troop, movements, strengths, distinction, between,. 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 1 Contents 1 Confederate spying 1 1 Confederate spies 2 Union spying 2 1 Union spies 3 References 3 1 Bibliography 4 Further reading 5 External linksConfederate spying editIntelligence 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 2 3 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 citation needed 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 4 Confederate spies edit Joseph Baden 5 Fannie Battle 6 John Yates Beall Belle Boyd William Bryant 7 8 James Dunwoody Bulloch Confederate Secret Service Sam Davis David Owen Dodd Nancy Hart Douglas Zora Fair Antonia Ford Sarah Ewing Sims Carter Gaut Mary Jane Green Rose O Neal Greenhow Thomas Harbin 9 Henry Thomas Harrison Elizabeth Carraway Howland Annie Jones Thomas A Jones 10 Thomas Jordan Alexander Keith Jr Joseph Clinton Millsap Virginia Bethel Moon Samuel Mudd William Norris Emeline Piggott Sarah Slater 11 12 Richard Thomas Zarvona William Orton WilliamsUnion spying edit nbsp Allan Pinkerton left with Abraham LincolnThe Union s intelligence gathering initiatives were decentralized Allan Pinkerton worked for Maj Gen George B McClellan and created the United States Secret Service 4 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 4 As a brigadier general in Missouri Ulysses S Grant was ordered by Maj Gen John C Fremont to start an intelligence organization 4 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 4 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 4 The most useful military intelligence of the American Civil War was probably provided to Union officers by slaves and smugglers 13 Intelligence provided by slaves and blacks was called black dispatches 14 Union spies edit Mary Elizabeth Bowser Charles C Carpenter George Curtis Pauline Cushman Grenville Dodge Sarah Emma Edmonds Abraham Galloway 15 Philip Henson William J Lawton Hattie Lawton Pryce Lewis Allan Pinkerton Albert D Richardson John Scobell Harriet Tubman Elizabeth Van Lew Kate Warne Timothy WebsterReferences edit Fishel 1996 The Secret War for The Union Harnett Kane T 1954 Spies for the Blue and the Gray Hanover House pp 27 29 Markle Donald E 1994 Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War Hippocrene Books p 2 ISBN 078180227X a b c d e f United States 2005 Intelligence in the Civil War Swanson James L Manhunt The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln s Killer New York HarperCollins 2006 p 258 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 Swanson James L Manhunt The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln s Killer New York HarperCollins 2006 p 259 Is the name Bryant or Bryan rogerjnorton com Retrieved 2 April 2018 Swanson James L Manhunt The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln s Killer New York HarperCollins 2006 p 258f Swanson James L Manhunt The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln s Killer New York HarperCollins 2006 Swanson James L Manhunt The 12 Day Chase for Lincoln s Killer New York HarperCollins 2006 pp 167 256 Search Quarles 1953 The Negro in the Civil War Rose 1999 Black Dispatches Franck Julie 2013 Abraham Galloway NCPEDIA Retrieved November 21 2019 Bibliography edit 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 permanent dead link 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 eHISTORYFurther reading editAbbott Karen 2014 Liar Temptress Soldier Spy Four Women Undercover in the Civil War Harper an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers ISBN 9780062092892 OCLC 878667621 Melanson Philip H Stevens Peter F 2002 The Secret Service The Hidden History of an Enigmatic Agency Carroll amp Graf Publishers ISBN 0786710845 OCLC 50478513 Stern Philip Van Doren 1990 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 Bonanza Books ISBN 0517000024 OCLC 18683019 Ryan Thomas J Sears Stephen W 2015 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 Savas Beatie ISBN 9781611211788 OCLC 865495253 External links editEspionage in the Civil War William J Lawton killed 1864 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title American Civil War spies amp oldid 1199099385, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
