Speaker 1: Welcome to Spycraft, a podcast that tells gripping life and
death spy stories and the amazing devices and operations that
made them possible. Now, let's get started.
Speaker 2: Were there spies during the era of the wild West?
The Wild West area, which roughly spanned the mid nineteenth
centuries or early twentieth centuries, was this time of lawlessness, conflict,
and rapid expansion in the western regions of the US. Now,
the concept of traditional espionage may have been as prevalent
as it is in today's world, but there were instances
of intelligence gathering and covert activities. So let's take a
look at some of the examples of spies and espionage
activities in the wild West. First, we look at the
Pinkerton Detective Agency, which is founded by Alan Pinkerton in
eighteen fifty. He played a significant role in gathering intelligence
and conducting investigations during the Wild West era. The agency
was known for its detective work and providing security services,
but they were also involved in tracking down outlaws, gathering information,
and infiltrating criminal organizations. Their work often involved undercover ops
and surveillance. Number two, we look at the Union and
Confederate spies during the American Civil War, spies from both
the Union and Confederate armies operated in the Wild West.
They gathered information about enemy troop movements, supply routes, and
other critical intelligence. One example was James wild Bill Hiccock,
who worked as a Union scout and spy, and John
slide Out, a confident, a Confederate diplomat who sought to
gain support from French authorities in the West. Three, we
look at the Native American Scouts that played a crucial
role in intelligence gathering for the US Army during conflicts
with the Native American tribes. Many tribes of their own
methods of covert information exchange, which were utilized by the
US Army. Scouts such as a patche leader Geronimo and
Lakota Sioux chief Red Cloud, provided intelligence and many enemy movements, ambushes,
and tribal alliances. Well how about the outlaws. Well, outlaws
and bandits also engage in covert activities. They gathered information
on law enforcement activities or rival gangs. They often operated
in secretive networks and use informants to gain insights into
their adversaries plans. However, it's important to note that activities
were primarily focused on criminal pursuits rather than traditional espionage.
Another unlikely group you might not think of much about
is castle were cattle wrestlers. Cattle rustling was a common
crime in the Wild West, and rival groups often engaged
in stealing or illegally branding livestock. In some instances, cattle
rustlers would infiltrate each other's groups or pose as legitimate
cowboys to gather information about herds and their owners. You
can see a lot of the information was actually to
gather intel, usually on the opposing side, and that's where
we see this espionage work really coming into But if
we look at more specifics, it becomes complicated again because
it depends. But John Slidell is one that comes to mind.
He was most known for his diplomatic efforts on behalf
of the Confederacy during the Civil War. Some of his
espionage escapades, including eighteen sixty one, Shortly after the start
of the Civil War, Slidell was dispatched as a Confederate
diplomat to Europe. His mission was to secure diplomatic recognition
and support for the Confederacy. As part of his mission,
Slidel sought to gather intelligence on the Union's efforts to
prevent Confederate trade and garner information about Union military activities.
While in Europe, he established a network of Confederate agents
and spies who operated covertly to obtain valuable information. One
of the most famous espionage endeavors of his took place
in France, where he established contact with a French naval
officer named Armand de Montmarine, who sympathized with the Confederate cause.
Moult Marine shared valuable intelligence on the Union blockade and
provided slide L with detailed information about Union naval operations
and strategies. In the gathered intelligence, slide L drafted reports
and dispatched them back to the Confederacy. These reports were
instrumental in enabling the Confederate government to understand the Union's
actions and adjuster strategies. Accordingly, slide L's espionage activities, though,
were not without risk. Union spies were actively monitoring his movements,
aware of his diplomatic mission and suspected involvement in gathering intelligence.
On his return journey to the Confederacy, Slydell attempted to
slip past Union authorities, but he was captured by the
USS san Jacinto, commanded by Charles Wilkes. This was known
as the Trent Affair. Sparked an international diplomatic crisis between
the US and Britain and slide l was traveling on
the British mailship the RMS Trent. The British government deranded
the release of slide Down and his fellow Confederate diplomat
James Mason, as they considered the capture violation of the
neutral rights. Ultimately, to avoid an international conflict, President Lincoln
released Slydel and Mason