Elizabeth Van Lew - Van Lew ran one of the Union's most effective spy rings out of her house near the Confederate capital city of Richmond, Virginia.Henson was finally captured by the Confederates, but managed to escape near the end of the war. Henson managed to get Confederate generals to confide in him, giving him information that helped General Ulysses Grant win several battles including the Battle of Vicksburg. Philip Henson - Henson worked as both a scout and a spy for the Union.As a spy she used all sorts of unique disguises, pretending to be all sorts of different people from an Irish woman to a black man. While serving in the army she volunteered to become a spy. She disguised herself as a man and entered the Union army. Sarah Edmonds - Sarah Edmonds was a master of disguise even before she became a spy for the Union.
Some of the most famous Union spymasters included Allan Pinkerton, Lafayette Baker, and George H. The Union had a distinct advantage in the war as they gained a significant amount of military intelligence from the enslaved and formerly enslaved.Īs the war continued, the lead generals of the North had a spymaster who would organize and gather the information from the spy network. The information wasn't communicated very well or passed on to the people who really needed it. Although they had a lot of spies, they were usually sent out by individual generals or leaders in the government. Spying was especially dangerous because they were usually executed if they were caught.Īt the start of the war, the Union didn't have a very organized spy network. Spies were treated differently than captured soldiers. It allowed generals to know when and where to attack, or if they should retreat. This type of information could make the difference between winning and losing a battle.
They told of troop movements, numbers of soldiers, and the conditions of the enemy army. Spies passed on all sorts of information regarding the armies of the enemy. This made it easy for both sides to recruit spies. There were people who lived in the North who wanted the South to win and people in the South who wanted the North to win. American Civil War Spies History > Civil WarĪs you might imagine, there were lots of spies during the Civil War.
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