During the American Civil War(1861-1865), battlefield intelligence was critical to strategic and logistical battle plans, just as it is today. I have been intrigued by the Civil War for some time, the story of spying, a story within a story, added a new layer to the history.
The allure of Civil War espionage first came to me as I was walking past an historic marker some years ago in downtown Wilmington, NC. The marker, placed in front of a two story home, read the name of a Confederate spy who frequently stayed at the residence during the war. Upon further research I found
that both Union and Confederate intelligence services spied on each other, using civilian as well as military personnel, some white, some black.
One of those who was black, Abraham Galloway(1837-1870), most certainly served as a chief intelligence agent while working with fugitive slaves in North Carolina. In 1863 he lead the recruitment of the African Brigade, which later became the core of the 35th,36th & 37th United States Colored Troops.
Mary Bowser, (1840-?) a Virginian, was actually a Union Army spy while working as a slave in a Confederate White House. As she put it, "...I knew my status would not only put me beyond suspicion, but below it". Bowser depended on her race, gender, and class to allow her to hide in plain sight. She has been recognized for her intelligence work by the CIA, and the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.*
Another example is North Carolina furniture designer and entrepreneur, Thomas Day. Because of Day's reputation as a free, independent business owner he could travel to most any city, under the guise of business, and covertly attend meetings of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and other abolitionist groups.
Of course, our most accomplished African American spy was, Harriet Tubman.Tubman made it to freedom in 1849 using the Underground Railroad, which she is mostly associated with. At the beginning of the Civil War she was a cook and nurse for the Union Army, and later became an armed scout and spy.
We should be proud of their bravery. How many of us today would be willing to make such life threatening sacrifices.
The allure of Civil War espionage first came to me as I was walking past an historic marker some years ago in downtown Wilmington, NC. The marker, placed in front of a two story home, read the name of a Confederate spy who frequently stayed at the residence during the war. Upon further research I found
that both Union and Confederate intelligence services spied on each other, using civilian as well as military personnel, some white, some black.
One of those who was black, Abraham Galloway(1837-1870), most certainly served as a chief intelligence agent while working with fugitive slaves in North Carolina. In 1863 he lead the recruitment of the African Brigade, which later became the core of the 35th,36th & 37th United States Colored Troops.
Mary Bowser, (1840-?) a Virginian, was actually a Union Army spy while working as a slave in a Confederate White House. As she put it, "...I knew my status would not only put me beyond suspicion, but below it". Bowser depended on her race, gender, and class to allow her to hide in plain sight. She has been recognized for her intelligence work by the CIA, and the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.*
Another example is North Carolina furniture designer and entrepreneur, Thomas Day. Because of Day's reputation as a free, independent business owner he could travel to most any city, under the guise of business, and covertly attend meetings of the American Anti-Slavery Society, and other abolitionist groups.
Of course, our most accomplished African American spy was, Harriet Tubman.Tubman made it to freedom in 1849 using the Underground Railroad, which she is mostly associated with. At the beginning of the Civil War she was a cook and nurse for the Union Army, and later became an armed scout and spy.
We should be proud of their bravery. How many of us today would be willing to make such life threatening sacrifices.
Now, if you think these African American spy stories began and ended here, you'd miss the point. There were others. Let's find them together.
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