Includes bibliographical references (pages 249-262) and index.
Contents:
Introduction: news as an intelligence subsidy -- The role of actionable intelligence on the road to Fort Sumter -- Historical context: Buchanan, Lincoln, and the quandary of Southern revolution -- Varieties of information and intelligence during the secession crisis -- Osint from Secessia : actionable information from Southern and border state newspapers -- An ad hoc secret service : news reporters mobilize in the North -- News reporting as actionable information: how Unionist authorities used information from the press -- Conclusion: news and the roots of intelligence-gathering organizations -- Historiographical essay.
Summary:
"This book reveals the evidence of secessionist conspiracy that appeared in American newspapers from the end of the 1860 presidential campaign to just before the first major battle of the American Civil War. It tells the story of the Yankee reporters who risked their lives by going undercover in hostile places that became the Confederate States of America. By observing the secession movement and sending reports for publication in Northern newspapers, they armed the Union with intelligence about the enemy that civil and military leaders used to inform their decisions in order to contain damage and answer the movement to break the Union apart and establish a separate slavery-based nation in the South"-- Provided by publisher.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.