The Scouts:
Couriers, Raiders, and Spies

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From left: John S. Mosby; J.E.B. Stuart rides with his cavalry; Colonel John Mosby and his rangers

Military cavalry or scouts, such as Thomas Nelson Conrad and Benjamin Franklin Stringfellow, were often at the heart of Confederate espionage efforts. At the time, there were few distinctions between the uniformed cavalry conducting reconnaissance and spies involved with espionage behind Union lines. Scouts were generally skilled horsemen who were experienced in operating in enemy territory and adept at collecting useful intelligence and surveilling Union Army movements. They also established relationships with local informants, who shared what they knew of Union troops in the vicinity as well as copies of highly valued Northern newspapers.

These scouts included the cavalry raiders serving under Colonel John S. Mosby, as well as those of Major General J.E.B. Stuart, the famed cavalry commander from the Army of Northern Virginia. Beyond reconnaissance, some Confederate scouts were tasked with more hazardous missions, such as establishing their own spy networks, or seizing enemy weapons and supplies.

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From left: John S. Mosby; J.E.B. Stuart rides with his cavalry; Colonel John Mosby and his rangers

Another of these notable figures was Sergeant George D. Shadburne of the Army of Northern Virginia, who led an elite cavalry unit known as the Iron Scouts. From a swampy base concealed along the Blackwater River near Richmond, Virginia, the Iron Scouts conducted frequent raids against Union forces later in the war, infiltrating their camps, stealing supplies, sabotaging lines of communication, and collecting intelligence. Shadburne himself rarely wore a uniform and, on occasion, disguised himself as a woman.

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From left: Union cavalry sentinel; Confederate pickets

One of Shadburne’s most notable feats came in September 1864, during the Union Army siege of Petersburg, Virginia, when Union troops had cut off Confederate supply routes and sharply diminished available provisions for the Confederate forces. Following a reconnaissance mission, Shadburne reported that 3,000 cattle were being held on a farm behind Union lines, guarded by just 120 soldiers. Shadburne joined Confederate cavalry commander Lieutenant General Wade Hampton in leading what would become known as the “Beefsteak Raid,” where they succeeded in capturing almost 2,500 head of cattle. That yielded enough meat to feed local Confederate forces for weeks. President Lincoln reportedly called the raid “the slickest piece of cattle-stealing” he had ever heard of, and when General Ulysses S. Grant was asked how soon he would take Petersburg from Confederate General Robert E. Lee, he is said to have quipped, “Never, if our armies continue to supply him with beef cattle.”

After the war, Shadburne wrote at length about his exploits, practiced law in San Francisco, and died in 1921.

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From left: Wade Hampton; Beefsteak Raid, 1864