Civil War-dated ALS signed “W. T. Sherman, Maj. Gen. Comd'g,” three pages on two adjoining sheets, 7.75 x 10, Head-Quarters Military Division of the Mississippi letterhead, April 6, 1864. Handwritten letter to Col. Joseph Holt, Judge Advocate General of the United States Army, insisting that commanders in the field have the authority to carry out executions where necessary, and that “I expect to execute a good many Spies and Guerillas under that Law without bothering the President…We all know that it is very hard for the President to hang Spies even after conviction, when a troop of friends follows the sentences with earnest and ex parte appeals. Spies and Guerillas, murderers under the assumed title of Confederate Soldiers and deserters…should be hung quick, of course after a Record trial: for the number of escapes made…during the long time between trial and reference have made this Class of Men bold & dangerous. Our own scouts and detachments have so little faith in the punishment of known desperados that a habit is growing of ‘losing prisoners in the Swamp,’ the meaning of which you know…I believe that the veriest demon should have a hearing & trial, but punishment should be prompt & speedy, or it loses all efficacy.” In fine condition.
As a brigadier general in Missouri, Ulysses S. Grant was ordered by Maj. Gen. John C. Fremont to start an intelligence organization. Grant came to understand the power of intelligence and later made Brig. Gen. Grenville M. Dodge the head of his intelligence operations that covered an area from Mississippi to Georgia and included as many as one hundred secret agents.
Per the American Battlefield Trust: ‘During the American Civil War, both the Union and the Confederate governments relied on espionage during wartime. Both citizens and soldiers participated in providing information, including military and political details and secrets. If caught, the spy faced punishments such as jail or death by hanging. Although most spies were civilians and met jail time, many were court-marshaled and faced death. Soldiers like Sam Davis and citizens like Timothy Webster died for their cause and were seen as heroes for their respective sides.’
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