Saturday, June 29, 2013

November 18, 1862---A Confederate Spy In Maryland



NOVEMBER 18, 1862:        

Information is crucial in the war and Southern sympathizers are to be prevented as much as possible from being able to send correspondence to the Confederacy. Maryland is a border state and many try to obtain positions like postmaster in an effort to help the Confederate cause. In Surrattsville, Maryland, 18-year-old John Surratt Jr. holds the postmaster job and learns to his relief that he is not on the list to be dismissed for disloyalty. Given that his father had passed away in August, this is also a relief to his mother Mary as they need all the income they can bring in so debts could be paid off. The Surratts are profoundly secessionist, and they will become infamous in the closing days of the war.


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