The Role Of Spies In The Civil War

Male and female spies were essential sources of information during the Civil War. The best spies were people you would never suspect. Spies were brave, faceless and they knew the environment very well. Their presence was incredibly excepted. Whether they dressed as men and joined the army, posed as mindless slaves, or just kept their ears opens in collective circles, spies provided necessary information. It was even a woman spy who provided Union battle plans to Confederate Army, which allowed them to win the First Battle of Manassass (First Bull Run). Throughout history, men have been spies and the American Civil War was no exception. The finest spies are people you would never suspect. Spencer Kellogg Brown, George Curtis and Philip

It’s little wonder, then some women, like many men, kept at the change for adventure by volunteering to fight when Civil War has broke out. About 250 female civil war soldier have been recognized through historical and there were probably more. They took every major battle, at the battle of Shiloh in April 1862, for example, there were about six women fought including

In the early years of the Revolutionary War, General Washington started using what would become the forerunner of today’s counterintelligence and counterespionage fields by utilizing undercover agents, spy rings, and discreet reporting methods, much of which was focused

All agencies working together to maintain peace and provide the government with the knowledge to make informed decisions. In hindsight, the nation realized what a huge impact espionage had on war and attempted to use it to their full advantage. Spies now have countless new technologies and scientific breakthroughs to allow them to succeed in many more ways than the women during the Civil War. The Cold War was one event where new espionage techniques were crucial and immigration was limited to try to block Soviet spies from entering the United States. During World War II, Japanese internment camps were set up to try to prevent espionage within the Asian community along the West Coast. The fear of enemy spies tended to consume the American public because of the enormous damage they can inflict. The brave women who served as soldiers during the Civil War had to live in constant fear of superiors learning their true gender. Their courage allowed for women to eventually become integrated into the American Army. Now women are being recognized as war heroes and continue to fight for their

Espionage at the commencement of the American Civil War was not an organized system; however the war necessitated the development of more structured intelligence systems for both the Union and the Confederacy. By the middle of the war the dimensions of the espionage system had augmented significantly. Thus espionage came to play a critically important role that affected general’s decisions in both the North and the South, ultimately affecting the outcome of the Civil War as a whole.

The civil war had many new technologies arise that made it unique compared to the wars of the past. One of these technological improvements was the introduction of the Ironclad warship. This technology was introduced during the showdown between the Monitor and the Merrimac . These two Ironclad warships fought to a stalemate , but this struggle forever changed how ships would be designed. Another technology that had not existed in previous wars in american history was the reconnaissance balloon it allowed the union to gather information and send it through telegraph to the various commanders. The civil war brought the first submarine, The CSS Hunley. The Hunley successfully sank the Union ship Housatonic, but unfortunately the Hunley itself was damaged. The submarine would eventually prove to be important for all armies in the wars to come.

Women in the Civil War were important because they played important roles. They played as nurses, spies, and some even disguised themselves as soldiers. The women could only play one of these roles. For example they can only be either a spy or nurse or a soldier. They can’t be two like a spy and a nurse.

Mary Surratt’s position pointed out the changing roles of women in society, particularly during the Civil War where women not only served as nurses but also as soldiers, spies, abolitionists, wearing pants in public. Women particularly working in espionage posed a dilemma for Union soldiers and federal officials. Did they treat them like they would a man? Or did they deserve special treatment because of their

The telegraph was invented by Samuel Morse in 1844, and telegraph wires soon sprang up all along the East Coast” (http://www.pbs.org/opb/historydetectives/feature/civil-war-innovations/). During the Civil War, there were 15,000 miles of cables laid for the telegraph, mainly for military reasons. The telegraph also helped news reporters to be able to spread the news more quickly. Obviously now we don’t use telegraphs anymore, but since the Civil War technology has developed and now the telegraph has basically become the telephone. Today, we have updated the telegraph to fit modern society, but the basic principle of the telegraph is still used

The spy network laid the groundwork for some of the tactics used. Allan Pinkerton would only work for George B. McClellan and would go on various scouting missions for information. Pinkerton made an agency for spies and recruited Pryce Lewis. In 1861, Lewis was chosen to go scout enemy troops in West Virginia and did so with great accuracy. McClellan ordered Lewis to go to General Cox and give him the information. “Cox wasted no time in exploiting the new intelligence. ... Surprised, the Confederates fled south, abandoning Charleston to its fate” The information that Lewis had gotten to Cox proved vital in the strategy that he used.

Actions taken by Union spies had little impact on events during the Civil War. Shortly before the Civil War officially begun, a plan to assassinate the newly-elected President Lincoln was about to take place in Baltimore, Maryland. Luckily, due to information found out by Allan Pinkerton and spies from the Pinkerton Detective Agency, they were able to prevent the assassination by sneaking Lincoln out of Baltimore and to Washington D.C. (Floyd Jr., 9). Despite taking place before the war, it is considered the greatest achievement of Union spies of the Civil War era since they were able to prevent the death of the president. If Lincoln had died, it would have been a morale booster for the Confederacy and might have helped them later on in the war.

There is another woman you forgot to mention a courageous woman, Loreta Janeta Velazquez. Loreta was a Cuban born female that enlisted in the Confederate Army under the name of Harry T. Buford after she failed to convince her husband to let her enlist. During Loreta’s military profession, she gained the rank of Second Lieutenant, enlisted 236 men, fought at the Battle of Bull Run, at the siege of Fort Donelson and at the Battle of Shiloh. Moreover, after the Battle of Shiloh, Loreta became a Confederate spy, disguising herself as male and female as to the mission

On both sides of the Revolution, the art of espionage was responsible for discovering military movements, tactics, and fortifications of the opposing side. Spies often relied on invisible ink to protect messages, along with a unique cryptogram of over 700 number-to-word codes for common words, names, and phrases. Even fake letters were created to be purposely intercepted, thus throwing off the enemy.

The telegraph was intercepted by British Intelligence and transmitted to the American government by the Brits.

The telegraph was the first major advancement in communication technology. In 1838, Samuel Morse perfected and demonstrated the first telegraph machine. His machine used Morse code to send electronic currents along a wire, allowing the first high speed long distance communications. By the 1850s, the telegraph was widespread. In 1861, Western Union installed the first trans-continental line and by 1866, the first trans-Atlantic line was completed. At this time, telegraphs were all keyed by hand and transcribed from Morse code to English by ear. Fredrick Creed invented a way to convert Morse code into text in what became known as the Creed Telegraph System. That was in 1900, and by 1914, these automatic transmissions handled twice what a