Up next on American History tv, clayton lori discusses espionage and intelligence gathering tactics used during the civil war. How intelligence was used during so few and why they are primary source documents on civil war area intelligence gathering. Associatesnian hosted this event. It is a little under two hours. With thea historian Central Intelligence agency. He joined the u. S. Government in at the a staff Historian Army center of military history, where he served for 14 years before he joined the cia. During his time with the agency he also served in rotational assignments as deputy and chief historian at the National Reconnaissance office and at the office of director of National Intelligence. Taught dr. Taught at the American University and university of maryland at baltimore county. He specializes at the history of intelligence. He is the author of 40 articles on both military and intelligence history from the 19th century to the present. Give you a warm welcome to dr. Clayton laurie. [applause] laurie i would like to thank you all for coming here tonight and i would like to thank the smithsonian associates. Can you hear me in the back there . Out as part ofnt the introduction i am born and so i come from a northern state. When i first moved here i live to i lived for many years in maryland and spent the last 16 years in Northern Virginia. I say that because i do not have a dog in this fight. I have been north and south and in between. Historian here trying to enlighten, instruct, and inform about civil war intelligence. The other caveat i want to point is i noticed my title slide is different from the side in your program from the slide in your program. There will be no secrets revealed tonight. The things we will talk about were secret at the time. In my decades as a historian and teacher i spent some time with civil war intelligence history, but i found that this topic, more than any other i had experience with with, is subject to myth and legend. There is a dearth of coverage in the broad literature of the civil war. Unlike other has picks of the there is primary source documents in civil war intelligence affairs. These are the documents historians used as their baseline hard evidence from determining what went on. These could be somebodys briefing, somebodies chart. Cityrichmond fell the burned and most of the records of the confederacy went up in smoke. Even Union Records became scattered. We dont know everything we need to know about civil war intelligence because the evident is just there. That will come up several times ande explore these myths hard intelligence successes and failures. Theres not a lot of evidence to support either way. This primary record that is very very thin to begin with is clouded somewhat by selfserving who were Intelligence Officers in the civil war. Egerton comes to mind. Pinkerton lost all his records. Recordssedly had good in 1861 and 1862. They were all lost in the fire of 1871. He said he had to reconstruct his exploits from the photographic memory he has. [laughter] then again even the primary players are embellishing somewhat their exploits and records, and that further confuses the actual historical record. As well takes a good and attention in undercutting his chief rival, a man by the name of lafayette baker, who claimed to be the chief of u. S. Secret Service Intelligence during the civil war. Twoas a title that those individuals claimed that nobody else affirmed or took during the civil war. The memoirs tend to cloud the record. These were covert operations. These were highly secret operations. Records,t often keep they didnt often keep true lists of the names, and a fairly and they very rarely recorded what they did. There is an example we will see tonight of an organization that did keep those records that we use today still. Most of these organizations are in. They were only there for a short period of time. Enough money to record their histories, they are not bothering to archive paper even if they have it. Most of these are not going to be there. Finally, we are going to talk about the hundreds if not thousands of people north and involved in the broad applications of intelligence during the civil war. Most of these people are amateurs because there are no professional Intelligence Organizations. They will do work for a week, month, two months, then disappear. We have references to many people who supposedly provided information to lincoln or the confederate government and various military leaders. And they provided this information read we will note several of these later on tonight. There is no continuity of personnel or recordkeeping. Intelligence in the United States is one where we adopt Intelligence Organizations where the war or until the disappears next time there is a war or crisis. There are no organizations like the intelligence communities today or the Central Intelligence agencies that are there 24 7. They are not keeping these records. A fulltime or permanent Intelligence Community until after world war ii. The use of intelligence in American History is very much an ad hoc and amateurish affair. Only in times of war and crisis and then it disappears. At the time of the civil war all the lessons had been learned from the time of the mexican war. All of the lessons that were learned during the revolution had probably one of the most extensive Intelligence Organizations. For both north and south, it is not an existence won the war starts in 1861. Nobody knows how to do this and there is no written record to go back and take out the how do man u the howto manual. We see a great deal of innovation and technology, which will also carry down to the future 20th century organizations. Aboutwhat we want to talk is the open force and the vast majority of intelligence collected during the civil war is coming from what we call multiple sources, newspapers, magazines, journals, and just plain simple observations. Somebody sees a unit going by. Nonetheless in spite of the deeds of derringdo and the intelligence is collected from open sources, coming from both sides. Mainly newspapers and the reporting of war correspondence. And the use of northern newspapers to collect intelligence will prop sherman to state that newspaper correspondence nonetheless efforts will be increased on both sides during the civil war to clamp down on the presence of newspaper reporters and military camps. We do have open press in this country and the civil war where most are allowed to go into the encampment. When the army is mobilized it is off on a march 3 at and these new these newspapers are fed into the intelligence line, so they make it to richmond or they make it to washington. So you have open source reporting that is often revealing some very sensitive things. True today that open source is a major source of intelligence information. Go back to 1861 and the first use of intelligence and Intelligence Services. 1861, the spring of during the time of lincolns inauguration, as most of you know washington is a southern city. Maryland is a border state, a slave state nonetheless with a good many who prefer to see themselves joined the confederacy. At the same time we have virginia, which had seceded by april 1861. Enormous numbers of southern sympathizers throughout the washington dc area. Federal government, most people live either in virginia or in maryland or d. C. Sympathies weed see a lot of southern sympathizers in the primary departments of government, including the War Department. You see them among the congressional staffers. You see them in the patent office, they are everywhere. Of them are actively watching and listening to see what federal plans are. We are going to see it fill with sympathizers. When he was making plans to deploy down to the battle of first manassas. They would not talk about plans or intentions. He would actually take people he needed to speak to out into the halls into the hallway and whisper plans and intentions because he cannot be sure that somebody who was a southern sympathizer would not be listening. Soon after lincoln, who left springfield for washington rumors of assassination were swirling around washington. A union opposite is going to be appointed to oversee the d. C. Militia. The d. C. Militia was thought to be chock of rebel sympathizers. So it would be a stones throw to see if these people would be rooted out or forced into retirement. Throughout the spring and early summer of 1861, stone is going to be looking for people in the d. C. Militia who are openly hostile to the union, as well as rooting out federal employees. Detectives will provide security during lincolns inauguration, and they will secure the capital in summer of 1861. These assassination rumors are still swirling around when lincoln is coming from springfield to his inauguration. Allan pinkerton will first appear at this time. Pinkerton is a Railroad Detective from chicago, and hes going to be the man who secures the route for lincoln to get safely in. He is going to create an elaborate plan to smuggling can into the capital by Cutting Communications and distributing watch officers and watching for any specific any suspicious activity. This appeared all over in the press of Abraham Lincoln dressed up as a female. True. S not Abraham Lincoln did like shawls. He is always wrapped in a shop. Platforme came off the but his critics said he is coming in dressed as a woman. Story causes lincoln great discomfort and caused him to basically issue personal security for much of the war, that he was afraid of what the critics might say. Pinkerton, after he safely cut secured byo the city stone, offered his services to Abraham Lincoln at that time in early spring of 1861, offering to provide personal security. But lincoln had hired his own intelligence officer. Meant bythe way i the name of William Alvin lloyd. Lincoln hired lloyd as his personal intelligence agent and paid and the norm is some of 200 per month, which is comparable to 4000 per month today. Mission to travel around and collect information on southern sympathizers and travel into Northern Virginia and report on confederate dispositions directly to lincoln. Lloyd is an interesting character because we do not know a great deal about him today. We dont know what he told lincoln. He stayed as lincolns personal intelligence agent all the why all the way through lincolns assassination. Musts much of what he reported is lost to history. Lincolns cabinet did not even know he was getting information from his own personal representative. Lloyds activities were extremely secret and we still dont have a very good read on going to be reported to the president. The picture is one you can go visit today. This is colonel one of the unit one of the new york firemen. Federal troops are reported in the city in 1861. Sitting here in washington dc, he looks over the horizon to alexandria. And on top of a hotel that used to be in a location directly across from the Government Center on king street, there is a hotel with a rebel flag. Again, an indication that there are rebels right across the river. So he will take a detachment over to the hotel, and this detachment will go to the top and tear down the stars and bars and come down the stairs here. Is a man named marshall, who will promptly kill ellsworth by shooting him point blank in the chest. It is an early indication that passions in this city were extremely harsh, even in these earlier days. Be theth is going to first Union Officer killed during the civil war, and his pistols are available on display at the National Portrait gallery downtown owned by the smithsonian. Lets talk about espionage and intelligence collection. The confederate signal corps is going to include a covert secret Service Bureau run by a man this islliam noris, and the closest thing the confederacy has to weigh National Intelligence service. It will be at the heart of intelligence activity in the confederacy for most of the war. They will create a secret headquarters in canada, which we will discuss later on. And they will also set up espionage missions, propaganda, and covert collection activities in europe, primarily in Great Britain and france. This is going to be an incredibly Sophisticated Network for this early in the war. It is good to serve the intelligence needs of president Jefferson Davis, who recognize the celfin harry didnt recognized the self inherit two advantages. Very much like George Washington at the start of the revolution. He is outclassed, howd fund, outgunned, outnumbered. Davis, due to Benjamin William noris, said to the camp we have to know when the north is going to do it, they outnumber us and are much stronger. They will start setting up intelligence lines. There are going to be three of them. The largest and most secretive is the line down to richmond. The other two are called the doctors line and the postman line. That is because most of the people who worked on these lines were either doctors or postman. Doctors had to make house calls in the middle of the night. They couldblack bag, put secret documents in that black bag. Or in the Eastern Shore region of maryland, nobody is going to suspect they are doing anything. Had a network of doctor to doctor to doctor, smuggling documents into richmond down through the northern neck. Postman line is even mourn if areas. Service employees who have severance of the fees who the next southern sympathizer is down the line. You can give them a secret document, delivery to the next guy, deliver to the next guy, and then across the record and often to the richmond. , who worked with there are stone all these networks that are of theng information out Washington Area down to the south and being very effective in doing that. One of these is going to be used by who is often referred to as the star espionage agent of the confederacy. We will get more to the controversy in just a bit. Edc socialite, she is 44 years old. Is a widow. She is openly prosouth. She has quite a reach. She is a personal friend of president buchanan. Marriage toed by james and dolly madison. And she is described by one historian as an agent with masterly skill who bestowed the knowledge and all the forces trained at the capital. She socialized with many federal Government Employees and soldiers. She developed ciphers to socko to smuggle secret reports down through richmond and eventually employed a ring of 17 agents that were all replaced by april of 1861. After the battle of bull run, put under surveillance by Allan Pinkerton. She was exposed by the spy and arrested in august 1861 with much incriminating evidence being smuggled by one of her cohorts, an agent by the name of betty duvall. The story, if it is true, is and treating one is an intriguing one. Told her, we suspect you of espionage, and immediately roses daughter started screaming to the neighborhood they are arresting my mother, they are arresting my mother, which is a good tip off any of her sympathizers in the area to get out of the area. Rose says i need to go to the bedroom and change clothes. While she is in her bedroom, which is her operating office, that he do fall is there that he do fall is there. Duvall is there. She had so much secret material under her clothing. Is going to be arrested for espionage. She is going to be sent to the old capital prison. This is on the site of where the Current Supreme Court sits. This is the general prison for everybody. There are murderers and robbers and all sorts of unseemly people. And rose is the socialite. She goes in there with her daughter. I have some means of protecting myself and say yeah, take this to your cell with you. She was virtually under house arrest. She personally negotiates her role with Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln says that lincoln says we will let you go. Lincoln says we will a few go. The firstplace she visits is Jefferson Davis and she offers her services to Jefferson Davis. Her secret network is going to behold. But Jefferson Davis asks her, england be my envoy to and see if you can get those two nations to support our cause . She will be the toast of the town throughout england. She will meet with the Prime Minister lord palmerston. She will actually have an. Udience by 1863, especially after the first of january when the emancipation proclamation is it cant is issued, neither afford to have the moral sake moral stigma. Rose has nothing else to do. She boards a blockade runner by the name of condor. And they come to the coast off of wilmington north carolina. The seas are very choppy. He absolutely insists to the captain to take me ashore. It is way too dangerous. The seas are too choppy. We will put you ashore the next morning. Rose is not one to be denied and she insisted. The captain said ok, we will put you in the bow. They get away from the main ship. Shore. W either swims to day when they find her body, they discover she had large quantities of gold bully bullion so it into her dress gold bullion sewed into her dress. Every year on the anniversary of her death they do have a ceremony in her honor. Raises one of the questions that she is one of the controversial figures that we have a difficult time separating myth from legend. Greenhouse legacy represent the controversy surrounding many civil wars spies. Some clay she was some claim she was the greatest spy of the civil war. And also the fanciful stories that show up in the Allan Pinkerton memoirs and those of lafayette baker. Ember, baker and pinkerton big ten trying to establish his business after the civil war, baker trying to establish his reputation with history, try to make her out as an excess tension is an existential threat to the United States. Pinkerton especially, if you are trying to sell protective Law Enforcement services it is always good to have a memoir to give to a client that tells you that tells them how absolutely great you are. The republican abolitionists government had it hands around the neck of the washington capitals. Said io secretary baker did an awful lot with her as well and these are the things she was up to. Doesnt have that documentary evidence. There are several good biographies out of there, but again the evidence is not as solid as it is for some others. One of the things rose is supposed to be most famous for is that her and 17 agents, including betty do fall betty duvall and a man by the name of antonio ford supposedly provided the information to general beauregard that allowed him to prevail over the union forces under urban myth under Irving Irving servin mcdowell. But the great controversy still exists, did she really revived enough of the information that allowed Confederate Military historians have often pointed out that the defeat at bull run was caused by federal intelligence not knowing where rebel forces were, poor leadership on mcdowells part, raw union troops, most of whom had only been in washington for a few weeks before they were called to battle. And this is not necessarily an intelligence crew on the part of the south, but a military leadership tactical failure on the part of the north. I would not suggest, however, that in roses credit, it is extremely hard to hide a noisy and large federal force that is going to the south with hundreds of picnicking d. C. Residence going along to see the fun. This picture was painted to picking the routes after depicting the route after union forces were defeated were depleted from the battlefield, along with local d. C. Residence who had their picnics interrupted by the civil war. Roses legacy is one that we wish we had more information on, but that is not the case. Onto the next, almost all of you have heard of belle boyd. The nickname the cleopatra of the secession came from, i have never seen that in an official document, she is from west virginia. She is also a spy for the south. At that time, it is virginia, now it is west virginia. Coverage in their opposition to the republicans and the union. One thing she did accomplish is that in may of 1860 two, she provided intelligence to Stonewall Jackson on the disposition of union forces in the valley, allowing him to defeat that force. As the popular rendition of this goes, on one occasion she dashed through open fields under open waiting to get Stonewall Jackson information. She had her hair up in a bun, and when she got to jacksons headquarters, she took out her needle ofpulled out a intelligence that she had smuggled in her bun. She was arrested by baker on many occasions. She was very vocal in what she was doing. Baker arrested her. She characterized him as an arrogant route she could easily outwit. He did not get her to admit to espionage activities, but he did indicate that her career might be short. Abroad, spent several years in england, and eventually came back on a union naval vessel where she fell in love with a union naval officer. They were buried, and this connection by a union naval career. Ruined his he eventually create committed suicide, making her a widow at the age of 21, which e to get out of the espionage business, write her book, and then took her act in the stage and spent the rest of her life on stage for training instances out of her espionage career doing during the civil war. Historians say she did this one thing for sure. Nonetheless, they are not sure if she was as vital to the oftenerate war as portrayed. The union also had spies with notable successes. Perhaps some of the most famous was Timothy Webster. He was hired by Allan Pinkerton in 1861. He was a british board in new york city policeman who actually infiltrated richmond. Militaryomething services wanted to have, someone in the confederate capital, as high up in the military structure as you could get them. Webster was a social individual, met Jefferson Davis. He actually befriended the confederate secretary of state of war. Because he trusted webster so much, he hired him to curate documents for the confederate War Department. They cannot get any better than this. Webster went back and forth between washington and richmond. But at least four occasions, on at least four occasions, dealing what were his detailed intelligence assessments. These intelligence reports were so detailed that it took pink men and two operatives all night to sit and read and assess them. Bickerton did not have pinkerton did not have Career Services or a network. He did have safe houses. When webster took materials from richmond to washington, often on a very direct route, he is carrying the actual documents on his person, which is extremely bad tradecraft. Documentsuld collect and say, well, i can go the next month or the month after that and make a document drop. So often times, the information was stale, weeks or months old. The one thing that you always want any Intelligence Service is timely intelligence. If its not matter happened two months ago. Spring, Timothy Westerman is sick. He will be bedridden for several weeks. Duringhis accidents his absence, pinkerton is getting the report from webster. He is getting concerned about what happened. So bickerton is going to buckle and send two more agents south to richmond to figure out websters condition, what is going on with webster. These intelligence agents by the name of bryce lewis and john scully are wellknown to many of these prosouth patriots who have left washington and gone to richmond. When they get to richmond, they are rapidly identified by people who need them. Toair, they are turned over the authorities. They confess they are agents for peter 10 looking for somebody else. Forinkerton, looking something else. They say if you do not give us the information we want, you are going to go to the gallows. Both said it is Timothy Webster. So Timothy Webster is arrested. He confesses and is tried. He is convicted of espionage. In this early time of the war, the same thing true with military forces, often times visitors were exchanged for parole. Later on in the war, somebody convicted or tried for espionage would be hanged or shop. Shot. There was a time where the north could intervene on websters behalf and get him parole. Rose is another example, although during the war they did not shoot or hang female spies. They would usually be let loose. Websters attempts to have free parole failed. This is perhaps because of benjamin. He not only betrayed his trust, but his friendship. He went to the gallows on the 29th of april, 1862, and in another bizarre twist, he had to be hanged twice. When they dropped the first time, his body snapped, they picked him off the ground, dusted him off, marched them back to the top, put in other rope on him. He muttered the words as i die a second time, indeed he did. Probably one of the better intelligence agents of the war. Of the war is elizabeth family. Van lue. Who isan aristocrat educated in philadelphia. While she is going to college, she becomes an ardent abolitionist and wants to devote the rest of her life to slavery in the south. When the war breaks out, she is well connected in richmond society, and she will put together a 12 member agent ring that is probably stateoftheart for the time. She is going to run an escape route for union pows from the south. She is going to create her and ciphers, as you see up to. She is going to have a series of live safe houses between richmond and washington dc, where agents can go to the safe house, drop off materials, and go back home. It can relay information in a very rapid manner. She will figure out new ways of hiding information. For example, she is going to invent the hollowed out egg, where you blow out the egg and you have a shell. You put a document inside the hollowed out egg. You put it in a basket with a bunch of other eggs, and you could just start washing start walking toward washington. She also invented the technique of putting coated messages into dress patterns. She also created a very simple taking a document with intelligence on it, folding it up and wanting it into a ball, stuffing it in her pocket. You take it up to somebody in the north, and they will sit down and peace that information together. She will also create invisible ink. Will reporthe directly to president lincoln. President lincoln will pass her to secretary of war stanton, and later in the war she would report to george sharp, the Union Military bureau of information chief, and this is why we know so much about her. She becomes part of that former intelligence chain that the union army has. She will do this on her own time and time. Dime. As one individual stated, she risked everything that is dear to man friends, fortune, comfort, health, life itself, all for the desire that slavery might be abolished and the union preserved. We know more of her because she was in the union reporting chain, and the other factor is that because she spent her own money, when the war ended she was destitute. She waited for several years then filed a complaint with the federal government for the expenses she had. The federal government says, yes, we will reimburse you, but you need to tell us absolutely everything you spent and everything you did. She spent her latter years writing down everything she did and all the expenses she had to get the reimbursement, which she eventually did. Will talkuld we about her in the future as well. She comes up again. The last one we want to talk about his polling bushmen polly cushman. She is a kentucky aspiring actress come a very much like belle boyd. She retired early but established her prosouth credentials from the stage. She would get up for performances in 1861 and 1862, and before she started her act, she would denounce the north, denounce republicans, and speak highly of the south in Jefferson Davis. Her activities did not last very long. She was discovered on one of her first Intelligence Missions in the south. She was taken into custody by the Confederate Army. Very shortly after she was detained, the troops guarding her work all the way were called away, redeployed. They had no idea what to do, so they just left her. When she made it to the north, she said, im done with this. She wrote her memoirs and spent the rest of her life on strange, making money and describing her intelligence exploits. Slaves and former slaves proved the next want willing source of information for the north, and they constituted a network at the start of the war. Runaway slaves gave tactical information to Union Commanders. A move easily between the lines and inside the south. The material they provided to the union was referred to as black dispatches. Words. A play on not only is it being delivered by africanamericans, black is a word for covert. They were valued for their timeliness, and they were considered some of the highest quality intelligence available. The slave population in the south, 3. 5 million, provided a source of information for Union Commanders and Intelligence Services. Smart military officers in the. Nion took advantage of this when slaves would come to the union army, they would sit them down and say, where have you come from . What have you seen . Are the rebels in the local area . The best the vast majority were willing to provide information. Some were more useful and special than others. Example, was ar former mississippi slave that was hired by pinkerton in late 1861. He worked with Timothy Webster. He traveled around the south as Timothy Websters personal servant. When webster was arrested, he was intensely interrogated by the confederate secret service, right along with one of his other cohorts, a woman by the name of lofton, a female operative. They did not bother to integrity eight to interrogate scoble at all. They just told him to go away. He would not have been involved in an economy espionage whatsoever, something you would not assume a former slave would do. In any kind of espionage whatsoever. Took on on our jobs throughout virginia. He worked on riverboats come a centers,oats, military and continue to feed information back to elizabeth family that was still getting up to the north. Another freed africanamerican religiously reported to northern commanders confederate troop movements and dispositions during the 1862 campaign in the peninsula. Mary was a freed slave who worked in the home of a confederate engineer who happened to be designing the css inmerrimack css merrimack 1962. She had a photographic memory and noticed the plans for the merrimack sitting on the desk of this confederate engineer, and she took the news of that to u. S. Navy officials, who speeded the development of the uss monitor, in time to con in time to counter in 1862. Finally, Mary Elizabeth bowser was placed by elizabeth lue. The guardian to Jefferson Daviss children. She was supposed to be illiterate as well, but she did not have slaves working beside the house. Security for her was nonexistent. She basically would go to Jefferson Daviss office every see what was laying on the desk and report that to elizabeth. She was described as having a photographic mind and saw everything on the rebels desks and would repeat it werent for word. Word. D for finally, harriet tubman. Most americans are familiar with their exploits, creating the underground railroad for runaway slaves. Tubman was born in maryland. She put together this system prewar. Ready Intelligence Network when the war began. It is a way of fondling intelligence assets up to the north where they can be interrogated by the indian officials. She will also put a network together in the carolinas. She puts together nine x slaves. They would collect intelligence on with the rebels were doing in those areas. She would also do some early military covert operations in july of 1863. Its what a Union General reported to the secretary of war, this is the only military command in American History where a woman, black or white, led the raid. That, of course, there is a officerate Union Comment here that they know the country very well and are willing to share that information with us. Again, they become a vital source of intelligence. On the cia public website, there is a small monograph called black dispatches, talking about these individuals freed slaves who agreed to go back to the south because slaves could move more easily throughout the south, sometimes as northern intelligence operatives could. It is a very good monograph based on some good solid information. Operations also take place during the war on both sides. Perhaps the earliest was one that is familiar to most of you, the great locomotive chase of the andrews raid, which took place in april 1862. This was when volunteers from the union army led by a civilian, james j anderson, or test to travel undercover to steal a rebel train and sabotage a rail line between atlanta and chattanooga to prevent rebel reinforcements in advance of a union assault. Rail network in the south, as most of you know, is operator extensive, so this rail line between atlanta and chattanooga is pretty vital for keeping rebel armies supplied. Andrews is already a scout known on both sides. He is a scout and parttime spy from kentucky, also reputed to be a gunrunner and a smuggler. He will recruit 22 Union Soldiers and one other civilian and will sit down and plan the , andtion and chattanooga they make their way to northern georgia, down to marietta, where they will hijack the train near what is now kennesaw, georgia. That isan operation supposed to be causing great mayhem to rebel logistics in that area. Due credit to walt disney, the first part of his the actual taking of the train is fairly accurate. When he gets to the end game where things start getting serious, a kind of goes it kind of goes off the rails. Nonetheless, Andrews Group waits for the general to pull in, and as was done at that time when there is no food, everybody goes off the train and gets into the includingstaurant, the conductor and his crew. At that point, andrews and his people get on the locomotive, they push it forward, and off they go. The story goes, the Kentucky Derby of the drain the conductor of the train watches it leave the station, says a says i am not going to allow this, and eventually finds a locomotive of his own to give chase. This chase will cover 160 miles north of big shanty, go north of ringgold. It will be just a few miles south of chattanooga when locomotive runs at a halt. All captured. Seven of the raiders, including andrew, are executed as spies. They were deemed to be engaged in access in acts of unlawful belligerency. Eight others of the andrews party will manage to escape after trial. Six others are returned 1863 and a p. O. W. Squad. The medal of honor is up there because the first medals of honor were awarded to the them. S raiders, 19 of only military people qualified because andrews was a civilian, and his other party was a civilian as well they were not given that award. They were not eligible. But this represents one of those early attempts to cover operations that could have done some real damage to the southern logistics chain in that session of georgia. Section of georgia. Theynaged to tell up managed to tear up some rails and telegraph lines but did not accomplish the mission. The south as well will lead a chase itself. If you ever go to big shanty, a huge visitor center. The confederates also engaged in covert action far more sophisticated than what we see with the north. This is covert operations not only in the United States, but especially abroad. Again, as we mentioned earlier with rose great how, the south to reduce british and french intervention on behalf of the confederacy. There is considerable sympathy among segments of the british population, especially those among textile mills, who are not getting cotton from the south as their primary source. South will send two former u. S. Senators, john slidell, former senator from louisiana to france for my and es mason, a former center france, and james mason, a former senator from virginia to the united kingdom, and they will seek to covertly obtain ams and ships used for blockade. In europe, security is so poor that they find out what ship they are on. They will intercept the ship in atlantic, take mason and slidell into custody, and return them to new york city. These are diplomatic personnel accredited by the french and the richest, and they both protest, and it becomes a major flap adjoined United States and britain. The United States will put these guys back on the shift on the ship and they go off to perform their duties. Slidell in particular is very active in obtaining arms and carrying plenty out proslave propaganda campaigns by distributing handbills and planting articles in british newspapers, and recruiting and american and european agents. He is recruiting europeans because he wants to buy arms. It is illegal to sell arms to a belligerent. He will hire a british subject that will go through the deal, by the weapons, put them on the ship, the confederate blockade runner will put them on the side and the deal is done. Slidell will create a foreign extension of the secret line. They will hire foreign agents to create blind purchases. He will also succeed in the purchase of two raiders ships the css florida and css alabama. In conjunctionis of another famous confederate agent who was a relative of theodore roosevelt. He will also try to purchase rams from the layer company, the ships that you see in the center. They are actual ironclads that produce real damage. These are stateoftheart warships. Bullock is putting together the agreement. This is going to before oil that the last minute by several , henryn diplomats sanford, the u. S. Minister to belgium. He will catch word that this is taking place and work with the u. S. Council of london, a man by the name of harlow morse, and the u. S. Council of liverpool, where the rams are being made. They will succeed in bribing workers to give us the blueprints, the timetable, the dimensions of the ships and when they are expected to be released. They will collect this information, forward it on to the u. S. Ambassador in london, who will go to the foreign minister and tell him flat out, if these rams end up in confederate hands, we would consider that a u. K. Act of war against the United States with results that you could expect. Andbritish will defer cancel the sale. The two ironclads i think one was sold to france, the other turkey, but it did not end up in u. S. Hands. But again, in confederate hands. This is done behind the scenes, so none of it is known publicly except for the parties involved. War, the United States will file a lawsuit against the british for the damages done by the uss florida and the british will actually end up settling and making good most of the damage done by the confederacy on Merchant Shipping in the latter years of the civil war. Covert operations in cash at home covert operations at confederates, the will create an intelligence budget in the amount of 5 million to finance campaign indest campaign sabotage the north. 1 million of this will go to toronto, canada. Canada at the time is proself. Prosouth there is a pervasive belief that if the south doesnt secede from union, the United States does secede from the union, the United States will compensate by invading canada. Not sure where that came from, but they will tolerate southern seven southern sympathizers. The first ring is operating out of toronto. It is carried out by Thomas Henry Heinz, one of the more active confederate agents. His project is to organize prosouth northerners living in what we would call the old northwest today indiana, ohio, michigan, illinois. What heinz wants to do is reach out and see if we can organize all the prosouth residence of these northern states into a rebellion, creating a northern confederacy. As one historian pointed out, Thomas Henry Heinz was very much a southern patriot and idealist, and he happened to come in t contact with a lot of people who did not necessarily share his enthusiasm. He goes onto to other things. He has a plot to seize chicago during the Democratic National convention in 1864. He will actually have 70 of his operatives in his city during wordonvention, waiting for from richmond to go ahead and do this. After they take over chicago, they will liberate the pows at camp douglas, releasing these several thousands of prisoners into the northern heartland. Part of the plan was that they would go nextdoor to indianapolis and liberate the prisoners in a camp they are some of them go up in a camp there, then go up to sandusky, ohio and liberate confederate officers there, having a massive rebellion behind the lines. That did not work as well. This would eventually be exposed by an infiltration agent by the name of felix steiger, who would be placed inside one of the indiana prosouth organizations known as the southern knights of the golden circle. He will take notes on who he meets and what plans he hears. He will turn this over to Union Military authorities, and this ring will be wiped out, wrapped up, and rolled up following 1864. Another confederate agent, very fuel, is john yates another agent coming out of toronto. He is very active in new york. One of his plots was to seize the uss michigan, the navy gunboat on the great lakes. Not come tod fruition, so he had to sabotage railroads, burning railroad bridges in new york. He is caught. He is tried, convicted, and sabotaged, and he would be hanged in 1864. One of the last times that we actually do here at this Toronto Group is their plot in november of 1864 to start a series of fires in new york city in hotels, with the hope to burn down the city and sparked riots, similar to the race riots that had occurred the year before. They do actually set fires in new york city, but the conflict was not nearly the extent that they want. This is a certificate from the confederate treasury, written on a stationary of the executive office of Jefferson Davis. Other famous covert action raid by confederates operating out of toronto, one of the most successful, also made for a bad movie in the 1950s, the rate on saint albans in october 1964. This involves confederate operatives operating out of toronto who attacked saint albans. If you have been there, it is barely across the border from canada. They rob several banks of nearly 200,000, and then they escaped back into canada. The United States will pressure the canadian government to track these people down. They are tracked down and imprisoned in canada for violation of canadas law against launching armed attacks into other nations. They will be released at wars end. Again, one of the most successful reactions. One final point we want to make before we go away from the stash during the civil war, distinctions between scouts and. Pies are going to be blurred the distinction between what they would Call Information or what we would call intelligence today is also blurred. Many of these terms are used interchangeably. When it comes to scouts working for the military or spies working for civilians, a custom widget didnt work theyll a custom would tend to prevail if you are caught in a uniform, you are a prison will a prisoner of war, if you were a hanged andould be possibly shot. The number of spies executed by both sides through the civil war is unknown because of the lack of records. In 1865. Rds burned there was scant Record Keeping in most military units north and south. If somebody was suspected of being a spy, they were probably dealt with harshly, and we dont have a record of scores for hundreds, perhaps thousands of people. We also want to point out during the civil war, Technical Innovations become prominent. The United States is in the opening stages of the industrial interceptingnd military communications is going to become a very rich source of intelligence on both sides. The primary player here for the ,orth is albert j myers pictured here, who becomes in 1863 the chief of the u. S. Army signal corps. He is the direct report to general stanton. This is a very important post. Myers had worked before the war as a telegraph operator, and as a medical officer on the frontier. He had noticed various American Indian tribes using smoked Smoke Signals and hand signals to communicate with each other. He sat down and thought about this and came up with something known as the wig system of communications. Wigwagged systems of communications. If you move flags to the right or left, it represents letters and numbers. Standing atop large signal soldiers could communicate across large distances. They can alsoes, observe and maintain communications. Myers deputy setting up the system is a captain in the union army, nobody name of the alexander porter. Ratherter says, i would go home and serve the south, and he takes myers system with them. System becomes a central Communication System for the confederacy as well, public hitting things. Each side can read each others communications. Both sides have developed code systems to encode their communications. Myers would remain with the core long after the war, and would end up being the founder of the u. S. Weather service. This is the major albert myers who fort myer in virginia is named after. They signal communications as their primary mission, but you can imagine if you are studying a 100 foot tower in the countryside, you are looking for the highest absolute point to do that for the maximum visibility. Once you get that tower hestructed and get a signal, northernonfederate or forces. They are often collecting intelligence on dispositions or movements when that is not primarily the purpose. A good amount of intelligence would come from the signal corps. Disclaimer,anders promising that i am not going to steal your information as he goes off to the south. Is comparable to what people would sign today, saying i am not going to reveal the secrets, but he nonetheless did. Also, the invention of the telegraph will prompt the invention of signals through wiretapping. This takingances of place in the civil war are very scant. There are illusions allusioi n that wires were tapped that wires were tapped, but it is quite rare. The atlantic telegraph cable and just got into operation in 1858. It is coming in through the north. There are no only Getting Communications to mystically, but they are getting Foreign Communications with an intelligence value as well. Through took place captured telegraph offices. Telegraph operators would scramble words and prearranged patterns to make them secure, a technique known as the routing code they kept communications for being read that kept communications from being read. There will be a memo from robert e lee telling people not to send messages from a telegraph because they can be intercepted. One of the most famous cases is Albert Sidney johnston, who at that time is going to be headquartered in bowling green, allucky, is going to have of his medications for a seven month. Acepted and translated several month period intercepted and translated. They had actually gotten the wire off the pole and put it in their tents because it is more comfortable. This might not actually be something that is real. This might be a postwar creation of what you could not do. And ciphers. Again, the confederates will use an encryption system. Not too wisely, they will use one is developed in france in the 16th century am i called in the 16th century. It is a keyword set up to a isrix, in which each letter coded. The system is widely known in europe and the United States. It is very easily broken. Through most of the war, the union was reading coded confederate messages. In the north, out berkemeyer would develop a cipher disk, that looks much like the picture here that the confederates use. Stagger will be hired, the general manager of the Western Union company. Remember, mcclellan is a railroad engineer prior to the war. Already. Stagger stagger would put together a cipher system that is going to be used throughout the war by the north. It contains a message at a number of three determine columns that are read by their read either up, down, or across according to a key given in the first word of the message. Translating the codeword tells you that you read the first portion topdown, then you go to the second column bottom up, then the third topdown, the fourth bottom up. This is a system that serves the north quite well. They dont have a deciphering problem that the confederacy did. Had annt lincoln interesting decryption. He thought this was fascinating. He would go over to the War Department how, often sitting next to three of the decryption experts. Bates. Named david homer these three were name is the sacred three were named as the sacred three, because they had a talent at breaking messages. Innovation,nical will maked sc lowe the first balloon ascent above washington in june of 1861, in a demonstration of overhead president ance for lincoln. He will provide the first realtime message from the air to the president. I understand this was recreated by the smithsonian on the one 50th anniversary, on the 150th anniversary, but he would take his balloon close to where the Washington Monument is today, and he would have this message sent down to lincoln. Out that thisg could be in a intelligence asset to the union. The Union Army Balloon corps is going to be for visit result in 1961. Resident lincoln is impressed. Inwill be formed as a result 1861. Lincoln is impressed. Those balloons are a Technical Innovation for the day. Unlike most balloons at the time filled with hot air, most balloons use hydrogen gas per lift. Balloons are a company by wagons which contain two departments, one full of iron findings and another with liquid sulfuric acid. When they pull up to the point of points, they are combined to my and a Chemical Reaction takes place, producing hydrogen gas. While the hydrogen allows the balloons to stay aloft longer, the Transportation Network at the time is making the movement difficult. In addition, the fastpaced truth movements troop movements means balloons are behind. It would typically take three to four hours to raise this balloon enough that you can get in the loft and actually put a man in it. You can imagine the army moving off, and you are back there filling up your balloon, not timely intelligence. The greatest success of the balloon corps is between march and may of 1862. They provided intelligence in the army of the potomac, verifying the defenses in richmond, as mapped out by john c babcock. They mapped out the defenses of richmond from the air. You can see the map coming up her. John c babcock is going to be doing this. Also provide order of battle information, which is the number of troops in confederate fair oaks, virginia, and they will use this to determine rebel strengths. Counting rebel campfires at night is a good way to determine the size of the rebel army. You can extrapolate numbers of enemy soldiers. He also engaged in artillery spotting for federal batteries. Also interested Union Soldiers, in particular fitzgerald porter. He is pictured here courtesy of lowe. Followed by George Armstrong custer. Porter ann kuster had somewhat of a rivalry. Custer was actually ordered to go up and maintain daily followup a sense. Ascents. Hes adjusted going aloft after revelry every morning to observe breakfast he suggested going aloft every morning. Of the enemy could be seen at many points, and an approximate strength could be formed. An assessment impossible to make in daylight. Through daily observations, custer becomes an expert at locating enemy positions, determining daytoday enemy troop movements. His first reaction is reported , a few weeks after porter said, i want you to go up, george. He later reported that when he was asked, he said, i really dont want to, but i dont care. Nonetheless, it becomes a very vital intelligence collection tool. But as with any new technology that comes into the intelligence world, there are going to be efforts to counter it. The confederates would initially try to shoot down these, but the muskets lacked the range. Artillery fired at balloons brought rapid counter fires. s locations were communicated by telegraph. The union made attempts to conceal their efforts, creating fake cannons, known as quaker cannons, locks painted black to look like artillery pieces from the air, and telling troops that you are going to have to blackout your cap, extinguisher campfires, or consolidate them. Logistical difficulties in operating those balloons proved very frustrating for those in the balloon corps. Level also ran lowell also ran a file on secretary of war stanton for allegedly some provision of funds. A legend misappropriation alleged misappropriation of funds. Lowe instead wrote a 3000 word history of his a compliments, then resigned and returned to private life in june of 1863. The u. S. Army balloon corps was disbanded soon after that, not to return until later on in the century. Military intelligence in the civil war. Going away from the technical and espionage to what military services do with this. What are the major problems . One of the major problems that Intelligence Organizations had during the civil war is, even when you get good intelligence, it iste intelligence, difficult sometimes to get the commander to accept it as genuine or make proper use of that. That is a problem with Intelligence Services around the world, even yet today. Good intelligence not used by a policy for whatever reason. Norths a problem in the and south during the civil war because of the traditional military doctrinal idea. Military intelligence, up into the time of the civil war and even beyond that, is considered to be a function of command, something that any professional officer should know how to do and should do. The intelligence dependent on the intelligence of the was seen as a command function. If the commander understood the importance and use of intelligence, prudent decisions could and would be made. If the commander had no ideas what the intelligence was or how to use it to inform decisions, disaster could and very often did result. Even when a commander had an Intelligence Service this happen on both sides they often relied on their own judgment of making command decisions and found much of the information they were presented to be suspect or unreliable. Ulysses s. Grant, a very good book on grants use of intelligence during the war, was one of these receptive to intelligence being given to him. He was good at sorting out what was valid and what was not, but he would never let the intelligence dictate what he did. If he saw an opportunity, may be a risk, he would take that opportunity rather than use intelligence reporting. During the civil war, intelligence reports came from a variety of sources. Again, very rarely is a military commander getting intelligence from a solesource. He is more than likely being inundated i information from multiple sources that he has to sort out. The secretary of war, Army Commanders, all received at one time or another received a multitude of reports from scouts and spies. Commanders tended to be skeptical about the reliability of the information they are , not necessarily a bad thing. Come from the u. S. Armys official history of military intelligence, written by two colleagues. On whatinto depth intelligence was like in the army of the time, right through the first world war. It is very telling. Again, sometimes intelligence is very vital to a commander, sometimes its not. It often depends on the individual. Most military commanders were receiving intelligence from a single individual. For example, Allan Pinkerton is going to be the contractor, not government official, the contractor hired by george mcclellan, who set up an Intelligence Service for his command. First, the division of the ohio, and later, when the kellen and later when mcclellan becomes commander of the army of the potomac. The curtain is a scottish born immigrant to the United States. Likecides he does not being a policeman and sets up his own private detective agency. Usedis the signboard that to hang outside his office. This is where we get private eyes, the eyeball in the center. We never sleep, so the eyeball is always open. He made a Good Business out of this. He knew lincoln before the war and worked with mcclellan. He was a natural to be hired by mcclellan when mcclellan took command of the army of the potomac. He took on the cupboards name of e j allen, coverts name of the e j allen. No one else considered him that, that was a title he kind of made up for himself. He is going to have an agency of about 28 people working for him. We are going to do a very good job of they are going to do a very good job of trying to do strategic assessments. Remembered to be today for providing erroneous estimates of rebel strengths to mcclellan. This is a controversial topic. You can find stories on both sides. Allegedly the worstcase scenario is that mcclellan provided pinkerton provided mcclellan the numbers that mcclellan wanted to hear about strikes, rather than the information he should have given that was more accurate. Peninsula campaign, for example, mcclellan estimated that there were 100,000 rebels under lees command, when the number was actually about half that. , mcclellanat fall will claim that lees force is advancing into maryland and has over 170,000 people. As a sanity check, the army of Northern Virginia never exceeded 170,000 people. He says, i need more people. Mcclellan is just brandnew on the payroll and estimates he is going to estimate from mcclellan that lees army is 98,000, double from what it was. Mcclellan is saying 170,000, a guesstimate at best, he has no idea. The gurman is supposed to have the agents out peterman is going to come up with a figure intends is as i 170,000, but again, it was 98,000, twice what it was. They knowingly inflated figures, presumably because mcclellan was seeking more resources in troops. More troops and resources. Peter 10 pinkerton will retire with mcclellan and go back to his private practice in chicago. After the war, he is going to run a very successful Law Enforcement agency. He will produce the james brothers. The pinkertons would become very notorious in the 19th century, and egerton will die in 1884, very much and pinkerton will die in 1884, still a controversial figure. We do wantval to point out that mcclellan is getting the services of pinkerton, only pinkerton is not working for the entire union army, he is the personal intelligence for pinkerton. Same thing for lafayette baker. He was ae civil war, vigilante in california, very active in San Francisco during the vigilante era. He initially worked with charles in murry Charles Pomeroy 1861. Like pinkerton, he called himself chief of the u. S. Secret service, even though he initially worked for enfield scott, and he worked for secretary of state stewart, finally working for edwin stanton. He ran an association with 30 employees centered in washington. He did very little outside work, few interjections few infiltrations of the was aeracy, but baker zealous at working against prostitutes, racketeers, and gamblers. He is also known to apply Law Enforcement and intelligence collection. He is notorious for talking to suspects at a prison, that lincoln once remarked to a citizen complaining about an organ grinder on the street, that baker would steal the organ and throw it in the old capital, and would never be troubled with this guy again. Like others, baker allegedly allegedly traveled through cover in virginia. He was released to federal authorities. This is detailed in his memoirs. There is no surviving celibate documentation support any of that. One of his critics said yes, his memoirs are full of an incredible number of tall tales. Man, notrving a necessarily the entire cost. One individual we oftentimes overlook, one of the more successful Intelligence Officers is the intelligence chief, and i direct report to u. S. Grant and William Sherman in the west. Hes a former railroad engineer. He had a broader view of , and a lot of thought into organizing military services. Agents through8 mississippi and georgia. Over 200 Intelligence Missions on record that his people carried out. He was very adept in using multiple searches, including runaway slaves. Very quick to use women. As well as scouts, cavalry, and prounion southerners that he recruited for reconnaissance belonged the lines. Very adept at gathering information on any source that he could. He understood counterintelligence and the first soldiers to encrypt all of his communications and those of his superiors. He was instrumental in providing intelligence for shermans march to the seat in 1864. March to the sea in 1864. He funded his recruits and paid their salaries by someone contraband, they came across. Contraband cotton they came across. What are you doing with all this money . When asked. And dodge said im running a business for William Sherman, and he said, thats fine with me. [laughter] from council bluffs, iowa, to chamfer the scope to San Francisco in 1869. He has a memoir which is not very detailed. It brings the point is that those that tended to write the most about their intelligence exploits tended to have the fewest. Exploits those that did more tended to write less. Intelligence failures north and south, and we will take a short break. Intelligence failures jeb stuart often acted as the eyes and ears of lees army in virginia. He never bought a piece of false information. Stuart provided reconnaissance and scouting. One of his most useful agents was Benjamin Franklins stringfellow. If youre familiar with stringfellow road off in fairfax county. Stringfellow was a dental assistants in alexandria, virginia, regularly provided stewart with intelligence. Cavalry again has the purpose of being a highly mobile combat force. One of the primary functions during the civil war is to provide scouting and reconnaissance. Many military commanders, both north and south, had a difficult time getting cavalrymen to do this routine riding around the countryside. Most preferred to do rating and take prisoners, anything but looking for rebel troops. To do raiding. Jeb stuart was better than most. In the fall of 1852, lee is planning to invade the north. Hes going to move into the norths backyard, bringing forward intervention. He has an army of approximately 60,000 men and hopes to attack and destroy harrisburg, pennsylvania. However, due to poor security, lees plan, known as a special order 191 is discovered by a Union Corporal in an abandoned confederate campsite, wrapped in 3 cigars. This is discovered in december 1862. We have us we have a picture of special order. This is lees Campaign Plan going out to his five core commanders. They tended to separate until they converge on the battlefield. This document is supposed to be going to general dh hill, and its dropped by a career dropped by eight career by a courier wrapped in three cigars. This order is given to mcclellan. Where this is controversial, at many people say, mcclellan with his good fortune said, this cannot be real, this has to be a deception. You dont leave your Operational Plan sitting out in the middle of nowhere. You can imagine what the courier was thinking at the same time. Dh hill had no idea his orders had not come through. He had already received a copy of the orders. Nobody knew that mcclellan had this. Mcclellan, some historians say, was very skeptical at first. Most recent sources say no, he saw this was the genuine article, and had the Operational Plan for the antietam campaign. He was able, if he would move quickly, to get his army together and deal a crushing blow to lees army. As we know, mcclellan is a very cautious commander. He would doddle for five days before he gets his army together at antietam. This is called, by one historian, and amazing intelligence coup, but also an intelligence coup that is eventually squandered, as mcclellan does not move fast enough. The interesting thing about this special order 191, before the battle of antietam, appeared in the new york herald. Several officers had leaked this intelligence coup to the press. The press went right ahead and wrote about it. This could turn out to be a double intelligence plan for the south, because the south was typically reading new york newspapers. They did not see this article in time to report back to lee, by the way, your plan is sitting on the front page. [laughter] the other failure in this is that mcclellan, while he did believe this was a genuine did anticipate that operational changes take place in any document. We know whenever a battle plan is made, the first time shots are fired, the plan goes out the door. If lees forces came up to sharpstown, maryland, the Operational Plan changed a few tweaks and mcclellan did not anticipate this. We can characterize the battle of antietam by intelligence on both sides. By intelligence on both sides. By poor intelligence. Pinkerton, for all of his missed estimates of enemy forces, is not the only source of intelligence that mcclellan was receiving at the time. Mcclellan was getting from signals officers, from his cavalry, and also from others. This was bypassing pinkerton, who was not as centralized. This was all going directly to mcclellan. Virginia was just another report to mcclellan. Virgin was just another report to . For the north, this comes downs to poor leadership that could have ended the war had the commanders moved far more aggressively. We want to mention that in the aftermath of antietam, there are consequences to fail intelligence. Lee will manage to retreat back to Northern Virginia with most of his army intact. Mcclellan, who had a reserve of 5000 men, and did not bother to use them 25,000 men and did not bother to use them, is going to be fathered by Abraham Lincoln. Pinkerton going out to his original business. Will continueaff to stay involved in intelligence for the rest of the war, working for the union army. Next episode we have about intelligence failure. Overse burnside who takes the Army Commander of the potomac. Hes not in a student collector he is not an astute collector of intelligence. He did not use local spies available to him. He did not have his people can go ws or deserters. His people can pow his p eople question pows or deserters. In result was a major december 1862. He was sacked january 1863. Intelligence historian preparationsdes for the campaign of fredericksburg is the list of things not done. We dont remember burnside as being a very astute commander. However, burnsides replacement, colonel joseph cooper, it was often remembered as being a mediocre general, is going to be the person who put into place the first allsource Intelligence Organization in the union army. Is going to hire and new york rather,iceman, lawyer, as a deputy proposed marshall as the army of the potomac in a february 1863. Sharp is charged with creating an Intelligence Service. He will be aided by john babcock, who had worked with pinkerton, now will work for sharp. Sharp is a workers and yale educated lawyer. Rutgers and yale educated when youre lawyer. Open source materials. Assembling of eventually 70 agents. Providing the first competence of intelligence, both strategic and tactical, for the army of the potomac. He provided indepth battle intelligence to the days before the chancellorsville campaign. Again, bringing together intelligence like we will see in the modern era. Here is sharp sitting with his officers. Sharp is a staff level direct report. He is on the military staff. In contrary to legend, hooker is very astute in intelligence, although prone to recording when there is too much noise. Sharp will collect cavalry, pows, people do collection and analysis. That makes his Intelligence Service not a function of command, but a staff function. s assessments of lees order of battle are going to be good prior to chancellorsville. To be within 2 of the actual strength of lees army. This is in order of the battle assessments. If we were to blow this up and read the handwriting, this is a complete listing of all the units and commanders and their strength in lees army of Northern Virginia prior to the battle of chancellorsville. This is the type of reporting that a commander can use. Something that sharp and his people said, this is something we can provide to the commander that is actionable intelligence. This is news they can use. However, hooker is going to fall into a major failure. That will forever tarnish his reputation, not only for his use of intelligence, but also his military acumen. Quite unfairly. During the battle of chancellorsville, in a second day, lee is going to break off Stonewall Jacksons troops, about 26,000, that are going to skirt around union lines and hit the Union Positions from the rear. Federal troops are going to be defending the opposite direction. They are just settling in for the night on the afternoon on may, 1863. Its 6 00 p. M. And it will be caught surprised by jacksons troops through the woods. While they are caught by surprise that evening, federal troops will rally the next day on the third of may. But it very badly shaken parker badly shaken hooker will order a full sail retreat wholesale retreat. Subordinates, one of the key things to remember about intelligence going up and down the chain hookers subordinates are actually watching Stonewall Jacksons redeployment take place. They are passing by their positions in eyesight. They are seeing this taking place throughout the afternoon. Subordinatesers are expecting intelligence to be coming down from the top to their commands. That youre not thinking, things are happening here, i should be reporting it to the chain. By the time that hooker realizes what is happening, its too late for struct to do anything about it. Too late for sharp to do anything about it. In the aftermath fof this, hooker is going to blame sharp and the bureau of intelligence for the failure at chancellorsville. We have this in capital letters its not unusual to blame failures on the Intelligence Service or political failures. Sharp, however, is going to push back in military circles within the army. He wont go public with this. Despite the dispute with hooker, hooker did not fire sharp and continued to demand to command the army. Sharp, for his part, continued to be a professional and provided hooker with the same level of intelligence as before. Hooker used it wisely. Nonetheless, lincoln will fire hooker as commander of the army 3, the potomac june, 185 replacing him with georgia gordon meade. Hooker did get an awful lot of information. Perhaps he received too much information for him to be able to make a wise decision. Contrary to legend, the battle of gettysburg, as we have often heard, was not an intelligence supplies with two armies bumping into each other. Hooker and lees new of each others movements. Local reporting, and also from the cavalry. Deserters and pows were also informing him of these northward advances into pennsylvania. Mead, indeed, had better intelligence of lee than lee had of the potomac. Nonetheless, lee will receive from a very mysterious spy, a man by the name of henry thomas harrison, who knew the general location of union forces, allowing him to concentrate the army of Northern Virginia in time to respond to the appearance of the union armies in a southern pennsylvania. But not to put his troops in a place or time of his own choosing. Ee,er harris reports to l giving him great information about yankee movements, he disappears and we have no other word of who he was. He just went out into history. Mead, on the other hand, was a master of intelligence. Perhaps the best since washington. He was able to analyze masses of intelligence reporting. On his own, determine the proper course of action the plymouth. The occupation of high ground in advance of lees arrival in gettysburg reflects meads excellent work. He knew what he was supposed to do and where he was supposed to do it. Mead had a nine page report from sharp on lees movements, including a complete order of battle in his army, the marching orders, and direction of the confederate armies. The Confederate Army, and this is a quote, is is under marching orders, and other lee, part of the country where they would have no railroad transportation. As battle is engaged, sharp in the military Information Bureau are still collecting intelligence to report to mead as the fighting is actually taking place. Sharp will continue to collect lees forces. It will be his analysis of what units have been engaged in the battle on the first and second of july that is going to give a production to mead that there is one more Division Left in lees army that has not yet been engaged. The100th Strength Division led by general. Division might be employed somewhere on the 30 day of battle. Sharp is going to take credit on the third day of battle. Sharp is going to take credit for this. Pickets charge takes place on the third day of battle, it relates to what sharp told mead he could expect. Miscalculated the strength of the union align. They launched a frontal infantry assault of 12,000 men and failed to break the union lines with heavy losses. Lee would later noted the mistake, but will also reported that he had less information on union forces at that time then at any other point during the war. He fought the battle of gettysburg without the benefit of any intelligence, especially with jeb stuarts poor scouting. Sharp continued to provide detailed reports for the remainder of the army of the potomac, including scouts for sheridan during his shenandoah campaign, where sheridan remarked that sharps guys cheerfully go wherever ordered to obtain information. Sharp s bureau of information provided information on troops, artillery, and any information wanted by u. S. Grant until the end of the war. Serving in grants headquarters as a member of his staff, sharp had even page. One of his greatest intelligence a college mens was the agreement of samuel roof, the superintendent of the Richmond Fredericksburg potomac railway, working under sharps orders. He would collect information on rebel supply and movement, and slow repairs to cracks and bridges. Roof was arrested on being a spy, but his cover was so good he was released for a lack of evidence. Sharp tightened security efforts, clearly showing the importance of intelligence in modern war. Within the month after the end of the civil war, in keeping what was becoming a very disturbing american tradition, the Intelligence Networks of both sides went into the history books as being forgotten for a generation until the next crisis later on in the century. I want to point out a couple books before we break for questions. As i suggest to my Intelligence Officers on what books to read, i tell them, read everything. Read the good books, read the bad books, read in the ugly books read as much as you possibly can. History has a wonderful way of self creating, or selfcorrecting. If there is a very bad history out there, historians will note it. There are a plethora of books on intelligence during the civil war. Two that i find most useful on a lot of Intelligence Officers bookshelves on the civil war the first from edwin official, who is a National Security Agency Officer for many years. This book came out in 1996. He unfortunately passed away 1999. It is a real myth busting book. I encourage you to take a look at that. Based on primary sources, he had access to George Sharps papers, that had been untouched since the civil war. Discovered them at the National Archives in 9059, spent the next 40 years writing his book. The next one is grants secret service, it came out a couple years ago about grants of intelligence. Then fsome free things. Military intelligence is available from the u. S. Army service, also Available Online and in pdf form at www. History. Army. Mil you can actually download an electronic copy. The other put out by the Central Intelligence agency, a small monograph put out by the office of public affairs. But its good and well researched. Its available on the cias public website, www. Cia. Gov. Just go on the search line and typing civil war. Small monograph on the small Country Visions of the africanamericans during the civil war. I want to thank you for your time and attention. I am available to take any questions that you might have. [applause] thank you. Their reach very few questions, because we were out of time. Just curious, what was the navy doing . They had a blockade around the south. Trying to prevent blockade runners coming in from Great Britain. And doing very well at it. Thank you for this good presentation. Two quick questions. One, i noticed all the images say unclassified. Is there anything from the civil war that is still classified . Nope. After the thing battle of manassas, the first one, my understanding is that some commanders in the Confederate Army wanted to go to washington. Based on the assessment of the intelligence, geoff davis decided otherwise. I wonder if you have any thoughts on that. Stuarts writing around of the union army about depriving lee of his eyes and ears influence the battle or not . Still controversial to this day. I dont think so. Lee had a good idea where it union forces were. Very rarely did lee not have a clue where union forces were. They mainly operated in Northern Virginia, and when they did, lee had a intelligence support network. Hey, he just went by my house. Its more common for northern intelligence to keep track of lee while he was in the north. Lee did not have the same problems. Not sure if his showing up earlier would have changed the tide of the war or battle. I am somewhat skeptical. Another question over here . Did you find any evidence that dr. Amiri elizabeth walker, was a union spy . Dr. Mary elizabeth walker. I do not know, sorry. I am told i am over my time. Whatquick question happened to her daughter . Large extended family. She had other children as well. Good question. Lee was surprised by the advance on petersburg. Was there any explanation for that . Other than the fact that grant is moving, hes not back in the old pattern of the army of the potomac withdrawal to get the next season. Grant came very quickly. There was no relent from the wilderness. It was one of right after the other. You very much for coming tonight. [applause] the civil war airs here every saturday at