Essay On Civil War Spies

Spies of the Civil War Spies played an important role during the American Civil War. What does it mean to be a spy? According to the dictionary it is a person who collects information secretly for the government or a group. It also means to secretly keep watch over people or people. Most spies collect information military, industrial, and political information. Some methods that modern spies use is the latest technology. The technology allows them to tap phone calls to communicate secretly. There was even female spies. Spies have been around for quite awhile spies even during in the American Civil War. Both the Union and the Confederacy used spies to obtain crucial information even though neither one of them had a formal military intelligence network at the beginning of the war. They both needed spies to collect information about the other side's military movement, number of spies, and what kind of condition the military was in. This would allow the generals to know when to attack or if they should retreat. Spying on the other side would allow them to get an advantage in the war. The spies needed a way to keep secretive and blend into the society. Sometimes they would dress like a farmer and some would hire slaves to collect the information. Believe it or not there was also female spies that would dress like men. Some of the most
Leading a network of African American women and men, she gave information on the Confederate operations to the Union general. She also assisted in the care and sometimes escape of some Union prisoners. Van Lew used invisible ink and coded messages to pass the information. She has been called "the most skilled, innovative, and successful" over all the Civil War spies. After the war, Van Lew served as postmaster of Richmond during the administration of U.S. president Ulysses S. Grant, one of the generals to whom she had once fed