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Major General George H. Sharpe and The Creation of American Military Intelligence in the Civil War

Major General George H. Sharpe and The Creation of American Military Intelligence in the Civil War

by Peter G. Tsouras

Imprint: Casemate

592 Pages, 6 x 9 in, 16 pages of b/w illustrations

Hardcover
9781612006475
October 2018
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$34.95

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9781612006482
October 2018

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The vital role of the military all-source intelligence in the eastern theater of operations during the U.S. Civil War is told through the biography of its creator, George H. Sharpe. Renowned historian Peter Tsouras contends that this creation under Sharpe’s leadership was the combat multiplier that ultimately allowed the Union to be victorious.

Sharpe is celebrated as one of the most remarkable Americans of the 19th century. He built an intelligence organization (The Bureau of Military Information – BMI) from a standing start beginning in February 1863. He was the first man in military history to create a professional all-source intelligence operation, defined by the U.S. Army as “the intelligence products, organizations, and activities that incorporates all sources of information, in the production of intelligence.” By early 1863, in the two and half months before the Chancellorsville Campaign, Sharpe had conducted a breath-taking Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield (IPB) effort. His reports identified every brigade and its location in Lee’s army, provided an accurate order-of-battle down to the regiment level and a complete analysis of the railroad. The eventual failure of the campaign was outside of the control of Sharpe, who had assembled a staff of 30-50 scouts and support personnel to run the military intelligence operation of the Army of the Potomac. He later supported Grant’s Armies Operating Against Richmond (AOAR) during the Siege of Petersburg, where the BMI played a fundamental role in the victory.

His career did not end in 1865. Sharpe crossed paths with almost everyone prominent in America after the Civil War. He became one of the most powerful Republican politicians in New York State, had close friendships with Presidents Grant and Arthur, and was a champion of African-American Civil rights.

With the discovery of the day-by-day journal of John C. Babcock, Sharpe’s civilian deputy and order-of-battle analyst in late 1963, and the unpublished Hooker papers, the military correspondence of Joseph Hooker during his time as a commander of the Army of the Potomac, Tsouras has discovered a unique window into the flow of intelligence reporting which gives a new perspective in the study of military operations in the U.S. Civil War.

“The author is to be commended for documenting the life of George H. Sharpe, and his special talent for producing actionable intelligence that had a direct effect on the outcome of the Civil War.” ~Civil War News

"Anyone looking to study the network that gave sinew and joints to the muscle of the U.S. military during the Civil War will find a vast assortment of source material woven together into a magnificent tapestry by the hand of Mr. Tsouras." ~Journal of Military History

"Peter Tsouras's exhaustive research to piece together an account of Sharpe's wartime career should prompt historians to examine other important military-intelligence operations in the Civil War." ~Michigan War Studies Review

"...the book provides some important information on the contributions of Sharpe and his Bureau of Military Information, as well as background on the protagonist’s other activities." ~Gettysburg Magazine

"Peter Tsouras' work on George H. Sharpe, intelligence-officer extraordinaire of the Army of the Potomac, resurrects the career of perhaps the Civil War's most consequential staff officer. [...] Using a staggering number of official and unofficial sources, the author reconstructs the career of each prominent BMI member in greater detail than any previous historian. As a result, readers get to know these men and appreciate their tremendous effect in shaping the storied battles of the Army of the Potomac." ~The Civil War Monitor

“There are scouts and spies, daring escapes, codebreakers, even order-of-battle analysts, and brief profiles of many men and women who had some role in gathering, organizing, and synthesizing reams of information that Sharpe used to help his commanders – Joe Hooker, then George G. Meade, and finally U.S. Grant – make better decisions, assuming they accepted his analysis. An outstanding work for anyone interested in the Civil War or the craft of intelligence.” ~The NYMAS Review

“Spanning beyond just his role in the Civil War, and taken in-part from the journal of Sharpe’s analyst John C. Babcock, this biography also details Sharpe’s time in politics—including his friendships with Presidents Grant and Arthur and his support of African-American Civil Rights.” ~The Archive

“This volume, then, is an absolute treasure trove of much previously overlooked historical and operational information on what can rightly be described as the birth of American military intelligence and psychological operations.” ~Military History Magazine

"This book is a must-read for anyone interested in the “story behind the story” of Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, the Overland Campaign, and the other great battles of the Eastern Theater of the Civil War from 1863 onward." ~York Daily Record

"Peter Tsouras’ well researched volume is an excellent development of the largely untold story of America’s first intelligence service...an important resource in understanding the second half of the eastern campaign of the Civil War and will likely appeal to those currently involved in intelligence gathering, analysis, and dissemination efforts." ~Parameters

"Tsouras has done a masterful job of rooting out and examining thousands of pages of previously unexamined material. High recommended." ~Military History Monthly

"Tsouras’ considerable research also brings to light numerous lost or forgotten stories of Civil War intelligence that otherwise might have remained hidden in the US Archives and Library of Congress...required reading for those interested in learning about intelligence during the American Civil War." ~Studies in Intelligence