Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War

“Built on impressive research, Stephen Towne’s Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War reveals the very real danger posed by pro-Confederate Copperheads and other disloyal secret societies in the Old Northwest during the Civil War. In a fascinating and in-depth look at antiwar subversion in the Midwest, he painstakingly illustrates how the government, specifically the U.S. Army, monitored treasonous activities and prevented outbreaks of violence aimed at subverting the Union war effort and sowing political dissent against the Lincoln administration. Towne’s study convincingly argues that Copperheads and other subversive factions were not merely impotent fringe groups but truly dangerous provocateurs whose threat to Northern internal security was more real than imagined.”

“Towne … has done extensive research in the National Archives, as well as in local archives, in order to shine a welcome light on a previously little-known, still imperfectly understood set of events. The book is dense with detail and evidence but generally accessibly written. The endnotes are a veritable treasure trove of citations and thoughtful reflection on the often fascinating and previously obscure sources.” ~American Historical Review

“Towne has produced a well-researched monograph that provides a much-needed reexamination

of military intelligence during the Civil War in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois…. Surveillance and

Spies in the Civil War makes a significant contribution to home-front, political, and military

historiography and is therefore a valuable source for both nineteenth-century historians and

students in graduate-level courses.”

~Ohio History

“Stephen E. Towne’s impressively researched study on Union army intelligence activities in the old Northwest—Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan—has one principal aim: to rescue anti-Lincoln conspiracies in the North from the historiographical grasp of Frank L. Klement, who dismissed them as ‘excursion[s] into the world of make-believe.’ … Any historian conducting research on law, civil-military relations, and the rights of citizens during wartime will want to pay careful attention to Towne’s work.” ~Journal of Southern History

“Towne’s narrative is a fascinating whodunit, with its vivid portrayal of Union commanders hiring questionable detectives in an effort to stymie the Knights of the Golden Circle, a loose collection of Confederate sympathizers in the Old Northwest. A valuable addition to any library seeking to upgrade its collection with a regional slant to the US Civil War. Summing Up: Highly recommended.” ~CHOICE

“The great strength of Towne’s work is his unwavering attention to the military perspective and records. The book gives us the fullest understanding to date of the varied means by which the army gathered information on civilians away from the front.” ~The Journal of the Civil War Era

“Stephen E. Towne’s Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War: Exposing Confederate Conspiracies in America’s Heartland convincingly revises one long held view of anti-war dissent in the North and contains much of interest to today’s intelligence officer. ~Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 59, No. 4, December 2015

“A welcome addition to the relatively scarce literature on subversion and espionage … Surveillance and Spies in the Civil War is a valuable book, certain to be of interest to scholars and general readers alike who seek to understand the history of government domestic surveillance in the United States.” ~H-Net December 2015