Intelligence in the Army of the Potomac: 1861-1863

Abstract

This paper examines the intelligence capabilities in the Army of the Potomac under the command of General McClellan in 1861 and ends in 1863 while the army is under the command of General Meade. Several innovations in intelligence took place during this time period most notably under McClelland and Hooker. McClellan developed the army's first professional spy network under the leadership of Alan Pinkerton. General Hooker took this a step further and organized the army's first all source analysis organization in the form of the Bureau of Military Information (BMI). The innovations in the field of intelligence that were developed during this time period were keys to improving the overall professionalism of the Union Army. However, these improvements were not often translated into successes on the battlefield. The greatest tactical success of the period, General Meade at Gettysburg, took place without any further improvements to the intelligence system that General Hooker established.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2011
Accession Number
ADA600448

Entities

People

  • Thomas A. Browne

Organizations

  • Marine Corps University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Battlefields
  • Battles
  • Civil War
  • Combat Operations
  • Command And Control
  • Contracts
  • Information Operations
  • Intelligence Analysis
  • Intelligence Collection
  • Intelligence Cycle
  • Marine Corps
  • Military Operations
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • Organizational Structure
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.