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.
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.