The Secretive World Of Espionage During The Civil War

George Curtis, another first-rate spy, was living in New York at the beginning of the Civil War, and he joined a New York Infantry Regiment. He then became a Pinkerton agent, and a tremendous spy. He was selected in 1862 to obtain information from Richmond. He made his way to the Confederate capital as a contraband merchant selling gun caps, ammunition, and the much-needed quinine. The day after reaching Virginia he was taken to the Confederate lines and to an audience with Lt. General Ambrose Powell Hill. General Hill gave him a pass to go on to Richmond and also asked Curtis if he would carry some dispatches as well. Curtis gladly agreed to carry out his chore. When Curtis reached Richmond he was introduced to Confederate Secretary of War Judah Benjamin where he negotiated for the delivery of his contraband goods and received a pass to move in and out of Richmond freely.

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.

Most Americans know John Wilkes Booth as the assassin of Abraham Lincoln- shot at a play at Ford’s Theater on April 14th, 1865. However, the names of the conspirators that surrounded Wilkes Booth are relatively unknown, especially that of Mary Surratt. Mary Surratt, a mother and boardinghouse proprietor, was arrested and tried for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln along with her son, John Surratt. Pleas from her family, lawyer, and fellow conspirators did not allow her to escape her fate, and she was hanged for her crimes on July 7th, 1865. Even from the scaffold, Lewis Powell, another conspirator condemned to die, cried, “Mrs. Surratt is innocent. She doesn't deserve to die with the rest of us.” So who was this woman, and most

Another example of a most courageous African American spy during the Civil War was Mary Touvestre, a former slave who worked for one of the Confederate engineers making the USS Merrimack into the CSS Virginia. While at work, Touvestre heard her employer discussing a steam propelled warship, which they referred to it as ironclad, and its importance to the southern war. Realizing the threat that the CSS Virginia posed to the northern blockade, Mary Touvestre daringly stole the ship’s plans and fled to Washington, DC. Walking from Portsmouth, Virginia to the capital, Touvestre risked severe punishment if rebel authorities would have found her with the plans.

General McClellan had Allen Pinkerton, his secret service watch her Greenhow was fully aware of it. In one occasion the detectives that were watching her tried to trick her. They had someone she new give Greenhow a letter to go to Richmond and tell her to send it over there, however Greenhow didn’t fall for the trap. Eventually Allen Pinkerton determined he had enough information to put Greenhow and her youngest daughter under house arrest. Both were held in a few rooms in their homes and they were always being watched the other rooms in her house were for other suspected spies. The two agents that watched Greenhow sent an undercover Union spy to spy on the Confederates soon they discovered him and put him in prison and soon after that they executed

James Ewell Brown Stuart or J.E.B. Stuart is known for his military expertise on both the Union and Confederate sides during the Civil War. Coming from a family of famous military commanders, Stuart grew up with the knowledge of war and combat. He served under Robert E. Lee, and was involved in many important battles leading up to the start of the Civil War. He eventually follows his commander and became part of Confederacy. Stuart really helped the Confederates, not only by commanding army regiments but also by attaining information during reconnaissance missions. His missions helped them win several battles but in the end not following orders was the death of him.

James Longstreet; perhaps one of the most controversial Confederate Civil War Officers to have ever lived. Nicknamed many things such as “Old Pete” and “My Old War Horse” by Robert E. Lee, another historical General. A man who has been through it all before, during, and after the war. Someone who started, like many, in the Mexican War to end up fighting in the Indian Wars as a Major in the military. After all this, James became one of the best leaders in the Confederate army during the Civil War.

The book, Secret Missions of the Civil War, impacts me in my life today =because I know the stories of the missions that Confederate spies and Union spies did during the Civil War. I read Tthe book and it explains accounts of spies and the missions they did for the Confederate or the Union states in the Civil War. The book tells impacts me because I know the history of the country and how it became united like it is today. I it also explains what happened to them in the Civil War during their missions and gives information about their impact. F that they did for example, there was a spy whose named was Charles P. Stone who was a veteran of the Mexican-American Wwar. Stone led an attack onto the Confederate army to gain control of their territory,

The generals of the American Civil War, Robert E. Lee, Ulysses Grant, William Sherman and James Longstreet, reign in infamy as the pivotal generals that shaped the outcome of the war and military history. Although the generals contributed to the war in various ways, but Ulysses Grant stands above his peers in generalship, because of the Grant’s resilience, unpredictability and strategic mastery. Grant is followed in generalship by Lee, Sherman, and Longstreet in respective order.

Elizabeth Bowser an African American slave. later in her life with the help of Mary Van Lew became a spy for the Union army. Born as Mary Elizabeth Richards sometime around the year 1839, she was a slave of John Van Lew of Virginia. In the 1840 - 50’s, when John Van Lew died, Mary Elizabeth was moved to serve the Davis family, that is, the family of the Confederate President Jefferson Davis for part time. This soon led to a full time position at the Confederate White House in Richmond. During Mary Elizabeth Bowser’s time there, she used her education and photographic memory to help gather intelligence by reading military documents left on top of desks or tables and eavesdropping on people's conversations. Bowser then delivered the information

One of the most colorful characters of the civil war was a General named William T Sherman. During the period of the war (1861-1865),General Sherman went full circle from being forced to retire on trumped up charges that he was insane, to becoming a key player in bringing this bloody war to a close. On Sherman's ¨March to the Sea¨he and his men stole food and livestock and burned the houses and barns of people who tried to fight back. The Yankees were ¨not only fighting hostile armies, but a hostile people,¨ Sherman explained.

Along with several other conspirators like John Wilkes Booth, David Herold, Lewis Powell, and George Atzerodt.

James Armistead is famous throughout the history of America as being the first African American to be a double spy. During the period

     The first battle of the Civil War occurred on April 10, 1861 when Brigadier General Beauregard demanded the surrender of Fort Sumter. The commander of the fort, Major Anderson, refused. Two days later Confederate artillery came crashing down on the fort. On

When you think of the civil war, the first thing that pops into your head is most likely soldiers lined up to fight. While this did happen, there was much more happening behind the scenes and many more people fighting and risking their lives in a different way to help accomplish the same goal. Spies took up a very dangerous yet important role in the civil war, by findWhening out information that changed the course of the war.