The Role Of Spies In The Civil War

Words: 534

Pages: 3

Open Document

"Spies played an important role in the civil war for both sides, gathering intelligence and scouting opposing troop movements and numbers" ("Civil War Spies"). The definition of a spy is a person employed by a government to obtain secret information or intelligence about another, usually hostile, country, especially with reference to military or naval affairs. Throughout the civil war, the act and idea of spying grew to incredible limits. The use of spies during the Civil War was greater than it had ever been before. Many women and men risked their lives as spies during the Civil War for what they believed was right. When the fighting was in their backyards, tearing families apart, countless people decided to fight for the cause. The role which women played in the Civil War was great because women had never …show more content…
Women made incredible spies because they were unexpected and could use different tactics than a male spy.
The South were leaders in the trend of using spies; with the creation of the Confederate Signal Corps set up the first covert intelligence operation for the confederates known as the Secret Service Bureau ("Spying in the Civil War"). A few of the Confederate spies includes the famous Belle Boyd, Rose O'Neal Greenhow, John Yates Beall, Henry Thomas Harrison and Antonia Ford Willard. Born Isabella Marie Boyd, Belle Boyd was a notorious spy who once ran onto a battlefield to inform Confederate Major General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson about Union troop dispositions. ("National Park Service"). Rose O'Neal Greenhow was the Civil War's most celebrated spy at the beginning of the war. "She is credited with alerting the rebels of enemy military operations just prior to the Battle of Manassas" ("Rose O'Neal Greenhow"). John Yates Beall carried out an elaborate plan to free

Women's Role In The Civil War

The Civil War started April 12th, 1861 and ended April 9th, 1865. During these 4 years both men and women went to work. Each and every person in the family had to step up and take on a role. Men mostly went off to battle, some were drafted and some chose to go off. Women's roles in the Civil War however varied from nurses, spies, some disguised as men and joined the fight, and lastly but certainly not least stayed home to care for the children and other responsibilities. Women's roles as nurses…

Words 1118 - Pages 5

What Role Did Women Play In The Civil War Essay

The Role of Women In the Civil War Typically, when one thinks of the Civil War, one thinks of the role played by men during that time period. History books reflect mainly on the men that fought and died in the war. While many may believe men were the only ones that contributed in the Civil War, that isn't actually the case. Women also had a large impact on the outcome of this war. During the war, women took on new roles to support their families. Women were generally viewed as the primary caretakers…

Words 1679 - Pages 7

Women's Role In The Civil War

expand their role in society. For example, the Civil War played a major part in the advancement of women’s roles. When the Civil War broke out, women rose up to serve next to men. With women partaking in the Civil War in roles such as spies and nurses, women transcended their stereotypes and their participation in the war lead to their newly found drive to fight for women’s suffrage in the following years. Before the Civil War, women were fighting a war of their own: a war for rights…

Words 1376 - Pages 6

Women's Rights In The 19th Century

granted in western countries...their occupational choices were also extremely limited” (“Women in the 19th Century…”). However, during the Civil War, women were able to play bigger roles and take more action instead of sitting around watching the men do all the work. By working as nurses and gaining information as spies, women greatly contributed to the Civil War as they risked their lives, trying to assist both sides: the Union and the Confederacy.…

Words 913 - Pages 4

Essay On Women In The Civil War

In the North and South that's were women were involved in the Civil War at. There was free women, slaves, rich and poor, married and single, all took a part in this great big conflict that consumed our nation. Women worked as nurses, raised money to help organize the U.S. Sanitary Commission, it provided supplies and worked to help improve health conditions for soldiers in camps. They escaped from slavery and helped other women and men to get out so they could be free, others hid and disguised themselves…

Words 1069 - Pages 5

Summary Of The Movie Glory

support was crucial because it made up 10% of the army. They could also serve as spies. Women, like Harriet Tubman, could be spies because they could flirt with men and get the plans from them. It also helped them secure their rights. African Americans took a step in the direction when they fought in the Civil War. In 1862 Congress passed a law that allowed African Americans to join the Union army. They helped out by being spies or guides because of their knowledge of the South. African American support…

Words 624 - Pages 3

Civil War Women Essay

During the Civil War the ideology of most roles and responsibilities of women changed drastically. Typical stereotypes of women were put to shame once the men responded to the call to go defend their beliefs. Both women in the north and south took on new jobs that previous generations would never imagine attempting. The absence of men in the household forced women to step up and seize the new opportunities available. The Civil War, or how many of the Unionists referred to it as "the Great Rebellion"…

Words 646 - Pages 3

Women In The Civil War

2013 Women in the civil war (Thesis) This is about women in the civil war and what roles they were doing in that time. Valeria Marin may/24/2013 Outline II. Introduction * What mean civil war * What roles in civil war for women * What about III. What roles had the black women * What…

Words 488 - Pages 2

Harriet Tubman DBQ

Rayvenn Warnock Ragusky DBQ Essay 7 March 2024. Between the end of the civil war Harriet Tubman worked as a caregiver, “she homed mostly poor elderly people.” (Document E). The “Dorchester County, Maryland. The year was 1822, or thereabouts. The event: little Araminta Ross was born into slavery.” (Background Essay). Harriet made a decision that changed her life when her master died, it was to run. Tubman traveled 675 miles from Bucktown, Dorchester to Philadelphia.” (Document A). The greatest achievement…

Words 626 - Pages 3

How Did Harriet Tubman Contribute To Abolitionism

abuse that was brought onto her turned her heart to escape, but she wasn’t the only one she wanted to smuggle out of the South. Harriet Tubman was a slave, and if she was ever seen by the wrong person, she would be killed. Harriet worked as a spy, in and out of war, and even though she faced setbacks and challenges, her bravery in the sense of life or death, proved to gain the support of many people. Harriet Tubman contributed to abolitionism by helping free slaves in the south. She did this despite…

Words 618 - Pages 3