Civil War Spies essays

Civil War Spies essays In the Civil War, spies helped turned many battles around by infiltrating the lines of control and getting vital information. As the war progressed, since both sides knew it was not an easy win, action was taken to improve the efforts of the war. One of the efforts being done was spying. As soon as the role of spying took over, this war became to be known as an information war. Many wondered how in the beginning the Southern had won the first Battle of the Bull Run in Manassas. It was because of the spying being done by the Confederacy. The development of spying trends began in the south. The Confederacy implemented a plan to the Secretary of State and Secretary of War and they approved it which then later brought a government spying agency known as the Signal Bureau (Markle 6). General T. J. Jackson was the first to deploy his own spy to gather information on the Unions (Markle 8). While the Unions thought it is an easy win by having more men, they were sadly mistaken. The spy instructed T. J. Jackson in getting more reinforcements and suggested a different route so they could attack by surprise in a disparate direction. When the battle was won by the Confederacy, it spawned a new evolution of how war was played. More spies were recruited and were instructed to gather more information. However, when the Unions learned of the souths tactics, they began to assemble one of their own group the Secret Service (Markle 6). The spies of the Secret Service were plenty but poorly trained and inexperienced. The Signal Bureau had more knowledge of spying in the beginning of the war but lacked spy volunteers. Although, those volunteers didnt spy for money, they did to prove their loyalty to their own states (Civil War Spies). Those that wanted to join in the Secret Service werent always admitted. The Secret Service had requirements to match your abilities. They would interview you by generals and doctors. First...