Description
Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War represents pathbreaking research on the rise of U.S. Army intelligence operations in the Midwest during the American Civil War and counters long-standing assumptions about Northern politics and society. At the beginning of the rebellion, state governors in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois cooperated with federal law enforcement officials in various attempts-all failed-to investigate reports of secret groups and individuals who opposed the Union war effort.
Starting in 1862, army commanders took it upon themselves to initiate investigations of antiwar sentiment in those states. By 1863, several of them had established intelligence operations staffed by hired civilian detectives and by soldiers detailed from their units to chase down deserters and draft dodgers, to maintain surveillance on suspected persons and groups, and to investigate organized resistance to the draft. By 1864, these spies had infiltrated secret organizations that, sometimes in collaboration with Confederate rebels, aimed to subvert the war effort.
Stephen E. Towne is the first to thoroughly explore the role and impact of Union spies against Confederate plots in the North. This new analysis invites historians to delve more deeply into the fabric of the Northern wartime experience and reinterpret the period based on broader archival evidence.
Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War represents pathbreaking research on the rise of U.S. Army intelligence operations in the Midwest during the American Civil War and counters long-standing assumptions about Northern politics and society.
About the Author
Stephen E. Towne is an associate university archivist at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He is the editor of A Fierce, Wild Joy: The Civil War Letters of Colonel Edward J. Wood, 48th Indiana Volunteer Infantry Regiment.
Reviews
"Built on impressive research, Stephen Towne's Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War reveals the very real danger posed by pro-Confederate Copperheads and other disloyal secret societies in the Old Northwest during the Civil War. In a fascinating and in-depth look at antiwar subversion in the Midwest, he painstakingly illustrates how the government, specifically the U.S. Army, monitored treasonous activities and prevented outbreaks of violence aimed at subverting the Union war effort and sowing political dissent against the Lincoln administration. Towne's study convincingly argues that Copperheads and other subversive factions were not merely impotent fringe groups but truly dangerous provocateurs whose threat to Northern internal security was more real than imagined."
"Towne ... has done extensive research in the National Archives, as well as in local archives, in order to shine a welcome light on a previously little-known, still imperfectly understood set of events. The book is dense with detail and evidence but generally accessibly written. The endnotes are a veritable treasure trove of citations and thoughtful reflection on the often fascinating and previously obscure sources." * American Historical Review *
"Towne has produced a well-researched monograph that provides a much-needed reexamination
of military intelligence during the Civil War in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois.... Surveillance and
Spies in the Civil War makes a significant contribution to home-front, political, and military
historiography and is therefore a valuable source for both nineteenth-century historians and
students in graduate-level courses."
"Stephen E. Towne's impressively researched study on Union army intelligence activities in the old Northwest-Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan-has one principal aim: to rescue anti-Lincoln conspiracies in the North from the historiographical grasp of Frank L. Klement, who dismissed them as 'excursion[s] into the world of make-believe.' ... Any historian conducting research on law, civil-military relations, and the rights of citizens during wartime will want to pay careful attention to Towne's work." * Journal of Southern History *
"Towne's narrative is a fascinating whodunit, with its vivid portrayal of Union commanders hiring questionable detectives in an effort to stymie the Knights of the Golden Circle, a loose collection of Confederate sympathizers in the Old Northwest. A valuable addition to any library seeking to upgrade its collection with a regional slant to the US Civil War. Summing Up: Highly recommended." * CHOICE *
"The great strength of Towne's work is his unwavering attention to the military perspective and records. The book gives us the fullest understanding to date of the varied means by which the army gathered information on civilians away from the front." * The Journal of the Civil War Era *
"Stephen E. Towne's Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War: Exposing Confederate Conspiracies in America's Heartland convincingly revises one long held view of anti-war dissent in the North and contains much of interest to today's intelligence officer. * Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 59, No. 4, December 2015 *
"A welcome addition to the relatively scarce literature on subversion and espionage ... Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War is a valuable book, certain to be of interest to scholars and general readers alike who seek to understand the history of government domestic surveillance in the United States." * H-Net December 2015 *
Book Information
ISBN 9780821421314
Author Stephen E. Towne
Format Hardback
Page Count 488
Imprint Ohio University Press
Publisher Ohio University Press
