Preview

African American Contributions During the Civil War

Powerful Essays
Open Document
Open Document
4426 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
African American Contributions During the Civil War
Intelligence gathered during the Civil war came from many sources however we will look at on the African American role … African intelligence information was some times referred to as “Black Dispatches”, this was a term used by Union military men for intelligence on Confederate forces provided by Negroes. This source of information represented one of the most creative and productive types of intelligence information obtained and acted upon by Union forces throughout the Civil War. Black Dispatches resulted from frontline tactical debriefings of slaves--either runaways or those having just come under Union control. Many African Americans contributed, to tactical and strategic Union intelligence through behind-the-lines missions and agent-in-place operations. Two such Union agents functioned as long-term penetrations of Confederate President Jefferson Davis "White House" staff in Richmond, Virginia. Even such a prominent woman as Harriet Tubman, best known for her activities involving the "underground railroad," played a vital role in gathering Union intelligence. The value of the information that could be gathered, both covertly and overtly, by African Americans behind Confederate lines was clearly understood by almost all Union generals early in the war. Popular recognition of this type of intelligence was very apparent through a stream of articles and stories in the Northern press publications during the war. General Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, was very aware, and in May 1863 he said, "The chief source of information to the enemy is through our Negroes" Said Lee. Because of the culture of slavery in the Southern States, Negroes involved in general activities could easily move about without causing any suspicion. Furthermore, officials and officers tended to ignore their presence as personal servants when discussing war-related matters. After the war the intelligence contributions of African Americans


References: 4. Pinkerton, Allan. The Spy of the Rebellion. Chicago: A. G. Nettleton, 1883; p. 389. 5. Fishel, Edwin C 10. Waitt, Robert W. Thomas McNiven Papers, Richmond, Virginia. Unpublished. As quoted in Ryan, David D. A Yankee Spy in Richmond: The Civil War Diary of "Crazy Bet" Van Lew. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 1996; p. 12. 11. Taylor, M
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Allan Pinkerton's Black Dispatches
    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Allan Pinkerton's Black Dispatches

    Because black dispatches were able to gather valuable intelligence from their owners, the Union had a near constant source of information. During the civil war, African American’s who gathered information on the Confederates were called Black Dispatches. Black Dispatches varied from a free African American to a enslaved servant working in the house of wealthy planter. Since slavery was so common in the South, Black Dispatches were able to fulfill their duties unnoticed. The tasks of a Black Dispatch was to be placed into a desired location and gather significant information without being caught. Once the desired information was acquired, the dispatch would have to share the information with the north using several different techniques. Although…

    • 924 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Annotated Bibliography For Army At Home
    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Annotated Bibliography For Army At Home

    While historians have comprehensively investigated Southern women and middle-class Northern women during the Civil War, there has been relatively little research on the working-class, rural, or African American women in the North. In her book, Army at Home, Giesberg exposes the shortcomings of this traditional historiography. Through the examination of letters, petitions, and lawsuits Giesberg is able to capture the stories of these marginalized Northern women while providing readers with a thematic, rather than chronological, approach in…

    • 300 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Miskel's Farm
    • 3103 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Miskel's Farm

    The Battle at Miskel’s Farm placed the Confederate scout forces of John Singleton Mosbys’ Partisan Rangers against the Union forces of Major Charles F. Tagert on 31 March 1863, on a small farm in Loudon County, Virginia in a battle that would display the ferocious confidence and unwavering tenacity of Captain John Singleton Mosby who was never captured by the Union forces. This battle, won by Mosbys’ Rangers, highlights the Principles of Offense, Unity of Command, Security, and Surprise, and the Tenents of Initiative and Agility. Additionally present were the violations of the Battlefield Operating System of Intelligence and Command and Control. This victory cemented Captain John Mosby’s reliability as a confident and credible leader for the Confederates during the Civil War.…

    • 3103 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    To What Extent Were African-American Leader’s the Most Important Factor in Bringing About a Change in Civil Rights During the Period 1865-1970.
    • 3331 Words
    • 9 Pages

    To What Extent Were African-American Leader’s the Most Important Factor in Bringing About a Change in Civil Rights During the Period 1865-1970.

    At the start of the 20th century, Jim Crow laws still crippled the rights of the African American community and segregation was at an all-time high. Even occupations such as Federal employment were degraded through segregation. Consequently, small protests began; insignificant in the short term, but it truly laid the foundation for the civil rights movement to have a major impact throughout America. Despite the limits and obstacles in their path, men and women rose to new heights, disregarding the concept of white supremacy. Whilst they had to endure a life of hardship, being denied higher education and the vote, many would not allow themselves to remain ‘separate but equal’. This essay will explore the accomplishments of African-American leaders but focus on how they couldn’t have succeeded without the influence of other factors, such as the federal government, a view shared with Miles Mulin who stated that ‘… in combination with their own persistent efforts, only the concerted efforts of a muscular federal government guaranteed the most fundamental rights…’…

    • 3331 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Edward Pollard's 'The Lost Cause Regained'
    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Edward Pollard's 'The Lost Cause Regained'

    If Jefferson Davis was the ember, then it was Edward Pollard that provided the wind to start the firestorm in constructing this image of the South with his books The Lost Cause and The Lost Cause Regained. Pollard championed the idea of the South fighting for states’ rights, slavery was not cruel, and the South fought against great odds. Pollard, in his attempt to write history, stated “The Union was nothing more than convenience of the States, and had no mission apart from them.” Pollard saw the political division line between the North and South to be coincidental that this line separated slave holding states and non-slave holding states. Pollard paints the Confederate army as “ragged and poorly-equipped.” This was to contrast the Confederate…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Ap Us History Ia Paper
    • 2062 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Ap Us History Ia Paper

    The two sources selected for evaluation are the Negro’s Civil War and Freedom’s Soldiers. They are evaluated for their quotes, important documents, important people, and personal accounts. Word Count: 155…

    • 2062 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Black Confederate Contributions To The Emancipation Proclamation
    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Black Confederate Contributions To The Emancipation Proclamation

    The contribution Black Confederates made to the South is the real reason for the crafting of the Emancipation Proclamation. All-America should know about the Confederacy's integrated fighting Army.…

    • 690 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Women Spies of the Civil War
    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Women Spies of the Civil War

    Intelligence was a necessary, vital component to the strategic planning of the war. Its’ contribution shaped decisions and actions of commanders in both armies. Gathering intel consisted of scouting, cavalry reconnaissance, interrogations, visual observation, interception of enemy flag messages, and espionage. Jomini, a military writer favored by American officers stated, “How can any man decide what he should do himself if he is ignorant of what his enemy is about?” (Fishel 9). Who better to discover confidential orders from officers of the opposing side than women? Who would deduce that the flirtatious daughter of the plantation owner…

    • 1609 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Reconstruction Era of the United States and African American Community
    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Reconstruction Era of the United States and African American Community

    92. In 1865 an appointment was held between representatives of an African American community in Savannah, Georgia and Edwin Staunton, Secretary of War, and Major General Sherman concerning topics of the freedman in Georgia. Land was set aside, 40 acres, and a mule that could no longer be used by the Army to establish a community of their own.…

    • 817 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Civil War Spies
    • 2097 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Civil War Spies

    Male and female spies were essential sources of information during the Civil War. The best spies were people you would never suspect. Spies were brave, faceless and they knew the environment very well. Their presence was incredibly excepted. Whether they dressed as men and joined the army, posed as mindless slaves, or just kept their ears opens in collective circles, spies provided necessary information. It was even a woman spy who provided Union battle plans to Confederate Army, which allowed them to win the First Battle of Manassass (First Bull Run). Throughout history, men have been spies and the American Civil War was no exception. The finest spies are people you would never suspect. Spencer Kellogg Brown, George Curtis and Philip Henson were some of the most well known and finest spies. These spies all had a direct effect on the outcome of specific battles and therefore the outcome of the Civil War. Overall, spies were clearly vital in deciding the war.…

    • 2097 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of African American Women In The Revolutionary War
    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Role Of African American Women In The Revolutionary War

    The significance of knowing the experience of African American women during and after the war is imperative because this particular group of women played major roles during the colonial period. From spies, to fighting alongside other men, women were involved heavily, whether fighting as a patriots or Loyalists. A woman like Phillis Wheatley is recognized due to her heroic actions and sacrifice during the war. Phillis Wheatley is considered a hero because she is the first black author. She was a patriot and a symbol for abolitionists who wrote poems about patriotism, battles, and the magnitude of America. African Americans women unlike Caucasian women were enslaved before the start of the American Revolution. Forcing to work on farms every day and provide for their owner day in and day out, African American women did not see a way out of slavery until the start of the war. Promising their freedom and independence there was a wave of women as well as men that entered the war. These high numbers of African Americans that enlisted into battle started a wave of support for the American and the British. Not all women fought alongside of the men, in fact, there were women that chose to take care of their slave owner wives and some acted as…

    • 255 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Impact Of Reconstruction On African American Life
    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Impact Of Reconstruction On African American Life

    Majority of African American’s had many struggles, and obstacles that they faced. Political issues impacted their lives when Congress passed the thirteenth amendment, this affected many African Americans lives. Since numerous people were equal, social issues were impacted when children went to school while the adults had gone to work and earn money to pay bills, such as their houses. This affected economic issue because the government would earn money. Various lives were impacted during the Reconstruction of 1865-1877, including blacks and whites. During the Reconstruction of 1865-1877, African Americans lives were impacted by political, social and economic issues.…

    • 367 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    African Americans and the Civil War
    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages

    African Americans and the Civil War

    Slavery affected many of the political reasons that contributed to causing the Civil War in 1961. Most in the Northern states including President Lincoln were more concerned with preserving the Union rather than fighting for the freedom of all. On the other hand the South fought to preserve what they believed to be absolute state rights. However the overall goals of the war were altered significantly by the willingness of African Americans during war. This also later contributed to the new culture and politics that followed.…

    • 766 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Role Of Native Americans In The Civil War
    • 1575 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Role Of Native Americans In The Civil War

    Even if the Civil War is most commonly remembered as a war to end slavery in the South, many other ethnicities were afflicted by the Civil War and more specifically Native Americans. Native Americans played a very important role in the Civil War and could be found fighting with both the Union and Confederate armies. In fact, two of the most famous Native Americans that were fighting in the Civil war were Stand Watie and Ely S. Parker, and there stories are highlighting the problems and triumphs that Native Americans had to deal with during the Civil War. First, we will discover who were Stand Watie and Ely S. Parker, and with whom they fought during the Civil War. In addition, it will be discussed the way these two men experienced the war.…

    • 1575 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    African American War Conflicts
    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages

    African American War Conflicts

    These days we have become so accustomed to war that we don't even know how many wars are currently active. Do you know how many there are? As I write this paper there are 10 wars and 8 active conflicts. That said most of these conflicts are taking place in Africa. But why there? Well there are a few reasons, first there isn't a lot of education going around. Second there is a lot of poverty leading to unhappiness among the poor. But the third and most prominent reason is the muslim religion.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics