The New York Times has an article about Team 6, the elite group of Navy Seals sent into Abottabad to kill Bin Laden. Since we are celebrating the 500 year anniversary of the Civil War, let’s look at an earlier government funded group of clandestine badasses.
The Pinkerton detectives were the 2.0 version of the CIA. Allan Pinkerton and his spies used subterfuge, disguises, pistols, and boldfaced manipulation to gather information about the Confederate military and to ferret out Confederate allegiances in the Capital. They are Steve McQueen Cool [roughly one kajillion megawatts of cool]. The Pinkertons deserve a movie, or a docudrama, or a webcomic, or at least an old-timey radio show.
Allan Pinkerton
Que?
Scottish-Born Detective, Union Spy, Conductor on the Underground Railroad, Jesse James Pursuer, and Founder of the Secret Service.
A Scene, If You Please?
“I was compelled to keep pretty close to him, owing to the darkness of the night, and several times I was afraid that he would here the footsteps of the man who accompanied me—mine I was confident, would not be detected as, in my drenched stockings, I crept along as stealthily as a cat. Twice, I imagined that he turned around as though suspecting he was followed, but as he did not stop, I reassured myself and plodded on. I could not, however, disabuse my mind of the fear that I had been seen, I could not relax my vigilance, and I resolved to take my chances of discovery. I knew who my man was, at all events, and now I must ascertain where he was going” (The Spy of the Rebellion pp 198).
Tell Me More!
Here, Pinkerton and his men have been sitting in the rain outside the home of a Southern ex-pat Dame who was, reportedly, gathering intel for the Confederates. A traitorous Union captain shows up, and Pinkerton takes off his shoes so he can climb on top of his associates’ backs and to see into the window. Of course, the Captain is very ostentatiously explaining classified military strategies to the Dame, gesturing to maps and whatnot. The Captain leaves and Pinkerton follows him into the night, still shoeless and muddy from the rain, only to be arrested by said Captain. Allan Pinkerton, you are clearly not as stealthy as a cat!
Price Lewis and Samuel Bridgeman
Que?
Pinkerton Agents
A Scene, If You Please?
“Lewis wore a full beard, and this was trimmed in the most approved English fashion, and when fully equipped for his journey he presented the appearance of a thorough well-to-do Englishman, who might even be suspected of having “blue blood” in his veins. In order that he might the more fully sustain the new character he was about to assume, and to give an added dignity to his position, I concluded to send with him a member of my force who would act in the capacity of coachman, groom, and body servant, as occasion should demand. The man whom I selected for this role was a jolly, good-natured, and fearless Yankee named Samuel Bridgeman” (The Spy of the Rebellion 160).
Tell Me More!
Lewis and Bridgeman posed as a wealthy, landed British Lord touring the countryside (Lewis) and his trusty servant (Bridgeman). The performance gained them access to high ranking Confederate officers. In fact, they affect the proper English accents and mannerisms so well that they were habitually invited to dine with the Southern hoi-polloi. Lewis was sure to gift his hosts with cheap wine poured into fancy, expensive bottles. Consequently, the two men got a good inside look at Confederate movements.
John Scobell and Carrie Lawton
Que?
A ”remarkably gifted“ former slave and Pinkerton’s “best female spy.”
A Scene, If You Please?
“The race now became an exiting one; the pursuers having emptied their weapons, without doing any harm to the escaping pair [Scobell and Lawton], did not take time to reload, but urged their horses to their utmost speed. They soon discovered that their horses were no match for those of the fugitives, and their curses were loud enough to be heard by both Scobell and his companion” (The Spy of the Rebellion, 296)
Tell Me More!
Scobell and Lawson were in Richmond trying to ship some important documents to Carrie’s husband, Hugh. They become embroiled in an intense chase when some Confederate soldiers outed them as spies. The chase ends dramatically, with Scobell skidding off his horse, taking a last stand, and shooting two of the pursuers in the head. Luckily, a patrol of Union soldiers was camped right around the corner, and both Scobell and Lawson survived their ordeal.
Timothy Webster
Que?
Perhaps Pinkerton’s most successful operative, he befriends garrulous and high-ranking members of the confederate army, escapes from prison, clocks a man who accuses him of being a spy (which, obviously, he is), and just barely avoids a shootout with a Union mob. In my mind, he is the nonfiction Mal Reynolds, complete with wicked farm boy charm.
A Scene, If You Please?
“Gentlemen, you can talk about hanging me, and perhaps there are enough of you to do it, but, by God, the first one that attempts to put his hands upon me is a dead man!” (The Spy of the Rebellion,106).
Tell Me More!
Webster is so good at pretending to be a Southern sympathizer that he is almost lynched by angry Union loyalists. He is only rescued by the lucky appearance of Pinkerton, who has a difficult time convincing the people that Webster is one of them.
But Webster was, nonetheless, doomed to hang a few years later. Price Lewis gives him up to the Confederacy in order to save his own skin. Civil War spies rarely came to a clean end, I’m thinking.
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