Aspects of Slavery and Freedom Seeking in North Carolina Main Menu Creative Commons License Preface and Acknowledgements ArcOnline Maps and ArcStory Maps Additional Project Components Introduction Earth Wood Fire Water Wind Escaping Network to Freedom Underground Railroad Locations Maps and Additional Resources Resources Brian Robinson 351175f8b63e375b96b75c26edde5534c94e8162 Torren Gatson 9cd3f098d43ed240801c35d1d0fd0737b5602944 Rhonda Jones 4c7a2610c10c17f5b487bcebc8abbbf64c221aa6 Arwin Smallwood 329b2d587e93ceaac77a3b3e316b5ce377128ac0 Self-Publish
Black Spy Activity During the Civil War
1 media/Black Spy Activity during the Civl War_thumb.jpg 2021-11-12T18:00:15+00:00 Brian Robinson 351175f8b63e375b96b75c26edde5534c94e8162 3 1 Arwin Smallwood, (1997). (The Atlas of African-American History and Politics: From the Slave Trade to Modern Times). pp. 192. McGraw Hill. plain 2021-11-12T18:00:15+00:00 Brian Robinson 351175f8b63e375b96b75c26edde5534c94e8162This page is referenced by:
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Black Spy Activity during the Civil War (1861-1865)
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Just as they did during previous wars, slaves, free blacks, and maroons (runaway slaves) assisted both Union and Confederate Armies, as laborers, soldiers, guides, and spies. These spies were servants, field hands, skilled craftsmen, and unskilled laborers. They were male and female, slave and free, adults and children. They passed between the two armies and learned a great deal about both.
In northeastern North Carolina, which was occupied early in the war, the slaves of Bertie, Hertford, and neighboring counties provided information to occupying Union forces that were useful in tracking Con federate movements. They also gave in accurate or misleading information to enemy armies. Throughout the South, white civilian and military leaders openly discussed secret plans and strategies in front of the slaves and free blacks who served them, believing them to be ignorant and unable to comprehend what was being revealed. These blacks, however, often were fully aware of what was being discussed; and through the "grapevine," which kept slaves on neighboring plantations in formed, they passed this information to advancing troops. These slaves and servants also served as guides, leading Union troops through hostile territory, including swamps, forests, and un-mapped areas. It is difficult to calculate how important. African-American spies were to both armies, but based on the evidence, they made important contributions and significantly influenced the outcome of numerous battles fought during the war.
see example here: William Henry Singleton, a formerly enslaved man, recalls fighting for the Union, 1922
More on African Americans of North Carolina service during the Civil War
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Black Spy Activity during the Civil War (1861-1865)
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Just as they did during previous wars, slaves, free blacks, and maroons (runaway slaves) assisted both Union and Confederate Armies, as laborers, soldiers, guides, and spies. These spies were servants, field hands, skilled craftsmen, and unskilled laborers. They were male and female, slave and free, adults and children. They passed between the two armies and learned a great deal about both.
In northeastern North Carolina, which was occupied early in the war, the slaves of Bertie, Hertford, and neighboring counties provided information to occupying Union forces that were useful in tracking Con federate movements. They also gave in accurate or misleading information to enemy armies. Throughout the South, white civilian and military leaders openly discussed secret plans and strategies in front of the slaves and free blacks who served them, believing them to be ignorant and unable to comprehend what was being revealed. These blacks, however, often were fully aware of what was being discussed; and through the "grapevine," which kept slaves on neighboring plantations in formed, they passed this information to advancing troops. These slaves and servants also served as guides, leading Union troops through hostile territory, including swamps, forests, and un-mapped areas. It is difficult to calculate how important. African-American spies were to both armies, but based on the evidence, they made important contributions and significantly influenced the outcome of numerous battles fought during the war.
see example here: William Henry Singleton, a formerly enslaved man, recalls fighting for the Union, 1922
