Jefferson Davis' Slave Spied for the Union?

Thanks bro, interesting read. I think the subject is interesting but this article is poorly written. I do not think that this;

In late 1861, Jackson fled across enemy lines and was immediately debriefed by Union soldiers.

meets the criteria for a spy. Informant, but not spy.

Jackson wasn't the only spy. There were hundreds of them. In some cases, the slaves made it to the North, only to return to the South to risk being hanged.

Those folks that went back.. they were spys. Send information while in service..spy. Debrief after escape..informant.

"cnc66 wrote:

Thanks bro, interesting read. I think the subject is interesting but this article is poorly written. I do not think that this;

meets the criteria for a spy. Informant, but not spy.

Those folks that went back.. they were spys. Send information while in service..spy. Debrief after escape..informant.

Come on Marty you know they have to give the most spectacular sounding story possible to get people not interested in history to read these things. :wink2:

"sking29 wrote:

A rather interesting read from CNN especially for Civil War buffs.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/02/20/spy.slaves/index.html

I agree its interesting but not very accurate as for as Davis is conserned. A much better story would have been the woman who worked the spy network in SC and went down and brought back those 800. That to me would have been a much better story, if true, and much more lifting to the young in search of their history. But no they throw out the name Jeff Davis while leaving the real meat of a story buried. Just my 2 cents.:wink2:

Taken from the pages of Harper's Weekly in 1862:

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/leefoundation/civil-war/1862/june/jefferson-davis-coachman.htm

Jackson represents Davis, in whose service he remained several months

Jackson is a man of thirty years of age. He is or was owned in Richmond, but was hired out by the year by his owner. For some years he was a messenger in one of the courts; he drove a hack for a couple of years, and latterly, as we said, he drove the rebel President. He has a wife and three children, all slaves, in Richmond. It is a misdemeanor at law in Virginia to teach William Jackson's children to read.

It seems to me that both the author and CNN need to revise their facts. About the only thing they got right was the mans drawing.:lol::wink2: