Although not nearly as discussed as the battles and generals of the war, both the Union and the Confederacy engaged in robust programs of espionage during the US Civil War. These nineteenth century spies engaged in cloak and dagger activities worthy of 007, including a brazen attack on November 25, 1864 on the Union’s largest city.
The “Great Sedition Trial” uncovered shocking connections at the time with the German reich that we were fighting, and challenged the idea that the nation was of a single mind during the war. It also challenged exactly how far the national commitment to freedom of speech and opinion reached, especially in extraordinary times.