Most people thought that the Civil War was a man's war. It was the men who fought in the war and it was the men who defended their land. Women were to stay at home and take care of the house and kids. Those people who thought that could not of been more wrong. During the war there were 100 hundreds of women who seceretly enlisted as men. There were few who were chosen to become spies.
At the time the war started, neither the Confederate side nor the Union side had a formal military intellegence network. Governor John Letcher, a former congressman, used his knowledge of the city to set up a spy network for the Confederates in Richmond, Virginia. He called the agency Seceret Service Bureau. Soon, it would be Willima Norris who would head the agency. Through this agency, Emeline Pigott and Rose O'Neal Greenhow gained employement.
In 1851, Allan Pinkerton set up a spy organization in Chicago. He collected and gave his information to Union General George B. McClellan during the first months of the Civil War. It was soon after that President Abraham Lincoln summoned McClellan to Washington. When this happened, the general moved Pinkerton to set up the first Union espionage operation in Washington in mid-1861. The Union set up a military intellegence network, in June 1851, called the U.S. Seceret Service. Through this agency, Harriet Tubman and Mary Elizabeth Bower gained employment.
With these two new military informants set in place, spies started to blossom. More specifically, women spies. Women spies were able to catch men off-guard, seduce them, and have the men tell the women plans and secrets. Both sides relied on spies to obtain the information they need to direct their actions. Although sometimes extremely dangerous, spying gathers information that shapes how the generals are going to run their troops. Is the South going to start a war? Which way is the North headed? How many soliders does the Union have? All ths information is extremly valuable for both sides, which makes it a more dangerous job. Deception and supplying enemies with incorrect information are all parts of espionage.
These four women (out of many hundreds) risked their lives and the lives of their families to fight in the war. Why would one do that? The women felt like they had to prove that they were just as valuable as the men were during the war. They wanted to fight for their land and help win the war. And most importantly, they wanted to prove to everyone that women are just as good at doing things as men were. They were often successful and unsuspected, especially since society assumed that women's proper role was in the domestic, not public, place during the 1860s.
At the time the war started, neither the Confederate side nor the Union side had a formal military intellegence network. Governor John Letcher, a former congressman, used his knowledge of the city to set up a spy network for the Confederates in Richmond, Virginia. He called the agency Seceret Service Bureau. Soon, it would be Willima Norris who would head the agency. Through this agency, Emeline Pigott and Rose O'Neal Greenhow gained employement.
In 1851, Allan Pinkerton set up a spy organization in Chicago. He collected and gave his information to Union General George B. McClellan during the first months of the Civil War. It was soon after that President Abraham Lincoln summoned McClellan to Washington. When this happened, the general moved Pinkerton to set up the first Union espionage operation in Washington in mid-1861. The Union set up a military intellegence network, in June 1851, called the U.S. Seceret Service. Through this agency, Harriet Tubman and Mary Elizabeth Bower gained employment.
With these two new military informants set in place, spies started to blossom. More specifically, women spies. Women spies were able to catch men off-guard, seduce them, and have the men tell the women plans and secrets. Both sides relied on spies to obtain the information they need to direct their actions. Although sometimes extremely dangerous, spying gathers information that shapes how the generals are going to run their troops. Is the South going to start a war? Which way is the North headed? How many soliders does the Union have? All ths information is extremly valuable for both sides, which makes it a more dangerous job. Deception and supplying enemies with incorrect information are all parts of espionage.
These four women (out of many hundreds) risked their lives and the lives of their families to fight in the war. Why would one do that? The women felt like they had to prove that they were just as valuable as the men were during the war. They wanted to fight for their land and help win the war. And most importantly, they wanted to prove to everyone that women are just as good at doing things as men were. They were often successful and unsuspected, especially since society assumed that women's proper role was in the domestic, not public, place during the 1860s.