Black Dispatches was a common term used among Union military men in the American Civil War for intelligence on Confederate forces provided by African Americans, who often were slaves aiding the Union forces. They knew the terrain and could move within many areas without being noticed; their information represented a prolific and productive category of intelligence obtained and acted on 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. Black Americans also contributed to tactical and strategic Union intelligence through behind-the-lines missions and agent-in-place operations. Two such Union agents functioned as part of as Confederate President Jefferson Davis's "White House" staff in Richmond, Virginia. Even such a prominent woman as Harriet Tubman, best known for her activities involving the Underground Railroad, played an important role in Union intelligence activities.
All the following groups, which aided the Union effort, were minor compared to the quality of intelligence provided by black slaves. There were Union sympathizers who were members of the following groups: Orders of the Heroes of America, the Peace and Constitutional Society, organized in Arkansas; and the Peace Society, which existed in Alabama, East Tennessee, Georgia, Mississippi, and perhaps even Florida that furnished the majority of intelligence that were verified by the network of northern spies that infiltrated the South.The Cleveland Leader, February 1877, Col. 5 Pg 3 and The Cincinnati Daily Enquirer, April 1877 Col. 2, Pg 6 These groups consisted of Catholic, Methodist, Quakers, Jewish and other religious groups with relatives in the north where they funnelled the intelligence.
The value of the information that could be obtained, both passively and actively, by black Americans behind Confederate lines was clearly understood by most Union generals from early in the war. A stream of articles and stories in the Northern press during the war highlighted the important role of southern African Americans. Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, was equally aware, and in May 1863 he said, "The chief source of information to the enemy is through our Negroes." Because of the culture of slavery in the South, Negroes involved in menial activities could move about without suspicion. Also, officials and officers tended to ignore their presence as personal servants when discussing war-related matters. Confederate General Patrick Cleburne explained the problem in a letter to Confederate high command, complaining "All along the lines slavery is comparatively valueless to us for labor, but of great and increasing worth to the enemy for information. It is an omnipresent spy system, pointing out our valuable men to the enemy, revealing our positions, purposes, and resources, and yet acting so safely and secretly that there is no means to guard against it. Even in the heart of our country, where our hold upon this secret espionage is firmest, it waits but the opening fire of the enemy's battle line to wake it, like a torpid serpent, into venomous activity."
After the war, however, the intelligence contributions of black Americans began to be lost to history. While racial prejudice probably played a part in this, as it did regarding the military contributions of black American Union military units, several other factors added to this lack of recognition. Historically, most successful spies do not want their identities made public. Even individuals who may have provided one-time pieces of useful intelligence usually prefer anonymity. This was particularly true in the emotional period after the Civil War, when many of these black Americans lived near people who had not given up their insurgency and were intent on imposing white supremacy on blacks.
Neither side had many official records related to their intelligence activities, having been reluctant to document them, for the above reasons of secrecy. Many records were purposely destroyed to protect those involved and still living. Before fleeing Richmond in 1865, the Confederate Secretary of War ordered the destruction of virtually all intelligence files, including counter-intelligence records regarding Union spies.
In Washington, the War Department turned over portions of its intelligence files to many of the participants involved. Most of these records were subsequently destroyed or lost. Thus, accounts by individuals of their parts in the war, or official papers focusing on larger subjects, such as military official correspondence, have become important sources of information on intelligence activities. Due to the lack of supporting documents, much of this information is difficult to substantiate or place in perspective and context.
George Scott George Scott, an escaped slave, provided information that helped lead to one of the first large-scale battles of the war. He furnished intelligence on Confederate fortifications and troop movements to Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, commander of Fort Monroe located at the mouth of the James River on the tip of the Virginia Peninsula. Shortly after the start of the war, Butler had issued orders that all "contraband" arriving in Union lines be brought to his headquarters for debriefing.
Scott had escaped from a plantation near Yorktown. While making his way toward Fort Monroe, he observed that Confederate forces had thrown up two fortifications between Yorktown and the fortress. Butler's officers were impressed with Scott's information but wanted to confirm it. Scott agreed to accompany a Union officer on several scouting trips behind Confederate lines to obtain more specific intelligence. On one of these missions, Scott barely avoided being wounded by a Confederate picket; the bullet went through his jacket.
Based on the intelligence gained from these missions, Butler determined that Confederate forces were planning an attack on Newport News, capture of which would isolate Fort Monroe from Union resupply. He ordered a preemptive attack on the Confederate position, but the military operation was poorly conducted and ended in a Union defeat.
John Scobell As the number of Union forces increased, requiring better organization, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was appointed as commander of the Army of the Potomac defending Washington. He brought with him as his chief of intelligence Allan Pinkerton, who had gained some renown running a Chicago detective agency. Pinkerton, often using the alias Major Allen or E. J. Allen, had responsibilities for collecting intelligence on the enemy and for counterintelligence activities against enemy agents. He gained most of his intelligence by conducting an extensive and well-organized debriefing program of people crossing over from Confederate lines. These informants included merchants with business ties on both sides, deserters from the Confederate Army, prisoners of war, civilians traveling to escape the fighting or for other personal business, and former slaves. While each group provided valuable information, Pinkerton soon discovered that the former slaves were the most willing to cooperate and often had the best knowledge of Confederate fortifications, camps, and supply points.
Pinkerton instructed his operatives to focus their efforts on debriefing former slaves. He also directed them to be on the lookout for former slaves who had some education or seemed particularly skilled in observing and remembering military details. Once these individuals were identified, they were sent to Pinkerton for further assessment and evaluation. From these black Americans, Pinkerton recruited a small number for intelligence collection missions behind Confederate lines.
John Scobell was recruited in the fall of 1861 and became the best-known of the Pinkerton black agents. As a slave in Mississippi, Scobell had been well educated by his owner, a Scotsman who subsequently freed him. He was quick-witted and an accomplished role player, which permitted him to function in several different identities on various missions, including food vendor, cook, or laborer. He often worked with other Pinkerton agents, sometimes playing the role of their servant while in the South. He worked with Timothy Webster, perhaps Pinkerton's best agent, on missions into Virginia and also with Mrs. Hattie Lawton, Pinkerton's best female operative.
Scobell is credited with providing valuable intelligence on Confederate order of battle, status of supplies, and troop morale and movements. Frequently, while the white Pinkerton agents elicited information from Confederate officials and officers, Scobell would seek out leaders in the black community and collect their information on local conditions, fortifications, and troop dispositions.
Scobell often used his membership in the "Legal League," a clandestine Negro organization in the South supporting freedom for slaves, to acquire local information. League members sometimes supported Scobell's collection activities by acting as couriers to carry his information to Union lines. On at least one occasion, as described by Pinkerton, Scobell protected the escape of Mrs. Lawton from pursuing Confederate agents. He worked for Pinkerton from late 1861 until the intelligence chief closed down his operations in November 1862, when McClellan was replaced by Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside.
According to Corey Recko, historians have not been able to discover proof that slave/spy John Scobell existed. He may have been a fictional character created by Allan Pinkerton for his book The Spy of the Rebellion.Recko, Corey, A Spy for the Union: The Life and Execution of Timothy Webster (McFarland & Co., 2013), p. 75.
Riverboat spy W. H. Ringgold was a free person of color who worked on a riverboat on the York River in Virginia. He had been "impressed" (coerced) into service as a result of having been in Fredericksburg at the time Virginia seceded from the Union. Ringgold spent six months on the river, helping move troops and supplies on the Virginia peninsula. When his ship was damaged by a storm, he and the other crewmen were permitted to travel to the North by way of Maryland's Eastern Shore. On reaching Baltimore, he sought out Union officials, who immediately sent him to Pinkerton in Washington.
In December 1861, Ringgold provided Pinkerton with detailed intelligence on Confederate defenses on the peninsula. This included locations of fortifications and artillery batteries, troop concentrations, and defenses on the York River. His information was the best McClellan received before the start of his Peninsula Campaign in March 1862. It was the basis for much of his strategic planning for the opening of that campaign.
Naval intelligence Black Americans provided equally valuable intelligence to the Union Navy. Mary Louvestre, a freed slave, worked in Norfolk as a housekeeper for an engineer who was involved in the refitting and transformation of the USS Merrimack into the Virginia, the first Confederate ironclad warship. Overhearing the engineer talking about the importance of his project, she recognized the danger this new type of ship represented to the Union navy blockading Norfolk. She stole a set of plans for the ship which the engineer had brought home and fled North. After a dangerous trip, she arrived in Washington, DC and arranged a meeting with officials at the Department of the Navy.