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Portrait of Jefferson Davis

Spying in the Civil War

Portrait of Jefferson Davis

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Photo Galleries (4)

  • Civil War: Confederate Leaders
    Civil War: Confederate Leaders

    13 Photos

    View images of Confederate leaders from the Civil War, like Robert E Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and learn more about the roles they played protecting the southern states.

    (13 Photos)
  • Civil War: Union Military Leaders
    Civil War: Union Military Leaders

    13 Photos

    View images of Union leaders from the Civil War, like Abraham Linoln and Ulysses S. Grant, and learn more about the roles they played in this bloody engagment.

    (13 Photos)
  • Faces of the Civil War
    Faces of the Civil War

    28 Photos

    The Library of Congress recently acquired a rare collection of nearly 700 Civil War-era ambrotype and tintype photographs, donated by the Liljenquist family.

    (28 Photos)
  • Civil War: Artifacts
    Civil War: Artifacts

    9 Photos

    Explore Civil War artifacts, from medical kits and personal hygiene items, to carbines and currency.

    (9 Photos)

Videos (18)

  • Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
    Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad

    Video Clip (3:07)

    Born a slave, Harriett Tubman became a famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds of slaves to freedom.

    Video Clip (3:07)
  • The Plot to Kill Jefferson Davis
    The Plot to Kill Jefferson Davis

    Video Clip (3:38)

    Union leaders hatch a conspiracy to assassinate Confederate President Jefferson Davis in an attempt to bring and end to the Civil War.

    Video Clip (3:38)
  • Confederate Bomb Plot
    Confederate Bomb Plot

    Video Clip (3:39)

    Confederate agents plot to bomb the White House with Lincoln and his cabinet inside to destabilize the Union's leadership during the Civil War.

    Video Clip (3:39)
  • Civil War in One Word
    Civil War in One Word

    Video Clip (1:13)

    If you had just one word to describe the Civil War, what would it be?

    Video Clip (1:13)
  • Civil War Counter-Terrorism
    Civil War Counter-Terrorism

    Video Clip (3:26)

    Federal Agent Felix Stidger infiltrated a Confederate terrorist organization called The Sons of Liberty and revealed terror plots against strategic Union targets.

    Video Clip (3:26)
  • America and the Civil War
    America and the Civil War

    Video Clip (4:04)

    Discover how the bloodiest war in American history transformed the face of the nation.

    Video Clip (4:04)
  • John Wilkes Booth Wanted Poster
    John Wilkes Booth Wanted Poster

    Video Clip (2:38)

    Five days after Abraham Lincoln was fatally shot, authorities distributed posters promising a large reward for the capture of his assassin: John Wilkes Booth.

    Video Clip (2:38)
  • Civil War Biological Warfare
    Civil War Biological Warfare

    Video Clip (3:56)

    Confederate agents experiment with an early version of bio-warfare, attempting to spread yellow fever throughout Northern cities.

    Video Clip (3:56)
  • Tragedy on the Sultana
    Tragedy on the Sultana

    Video Clip (3:40)

    The passenger ship Sultana exploded on the Mississippi River killing over 1,800 civilians and solfiers returning from the battlefield after the Civil War. Though the war had officially ended, was this tragedy the work of Confederate agents?

    Video Clip (3:40)
  • Civil War Sketchbook
    Civil War Sketchbook

    Video Clip (2:35)

    Confederate topographical engineer Jedidiah Hotchkiss' sketchbook -- created with meticulous detail while on horseback -- helps Gen. Stonewall Jackson to master terrain during the Civil War.

    Video Clip (2:35)
  • Impact of the Civil War
    Impact of the Civil War

    Video Clip (3:27)

    The Civil War was a long and gruesome conflict that claimed more than 620,000 lives and had lasting effects on military and civilian survivors.

    Video Clip (3:27)
  • Legacy of the Civil War
    Legacy of the Civil War

    Video Clip (1:22)

    One hundred and fifty years after it began, the Civil War is still an important component of our national character.

    Video Clip (1:22)
  • First Battle of Bull Run
    First Battle of Bull Run

    Video Clip (2:08)

    The first major land battle of the Civil War, near Manassas, Virginia is a decisive Confederate victory, ending hopes of a quick end to the conflict.

    Video Clip (2:08)
  • The Assassination of Lincoln
    The Assassination of Lincoln

    Video Clip (2:06)

    John Wilkes Booth had unobstructed access to President Lincoln on the night of his assassination at Ford's Theater.

    Video Clip (2:06)
  • Behind the Assassin
    Behind the Assassin

    Video Clip (1:23)

    A closer look at why John Wilkes Booth assassinated President Abraham Lincoln.

    Video Clip (1:23)
  • The Motives of John Wilkes Booth
    The Motives of John Wilkes Booth

    Video Clip (3:49)

    historians speculate that John Wilkes Booth was aided in his plot against Lincoln, but the evidence suggests otherwise.

    Video Clip (3:49)
  • The Final Days of John Wilkes Booth
    The Final Days of John Wilkes Booth

    Video Clip (2:59)

    After a 12-day manhunt, Union soldiers catch up to presidential assassin John Wilkes Booth and his accomplice David Herold.

    Video Clip (2:59)
  • On the Trail of John Wilkes Booth
    On the Trail of John Wilkes Booth

    Video Clip (2:11)

    Did John Wilkes Booth really die 12 days after assassinating Abraham Lincoln, or did he secretly escape with Confederate aid?

    Video Clip (2:11)

Interactives (2)

Read More about Spying in the Civil War

Both the Union and the Confederacy benefited from spying operations during the Civil War.

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