Spies, Slaves, and Secrets of the Civil War: September 21
Award-winning author Robert Hilliard has written on sports, history and the outdoors for over three decades. Rob has worked as a reporter for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and written for other outlets including Upland Almanac, Pennsylvania Wildlife and Pittsburgh History Magazine.
"Spies, Slaves, and Secrets of the Civil War" explores the chaotic dawn of American wartime espionage, detailing how both the Union and the Confederacy lacked formal intelligence networks at the conflict's outbreak.
Central to his talk is the remarkable true story of John Scobell, an enslaved man who gained his freedom only to boldly return to the South as a Union spy under Allan Pinkerton's operative network, highlighting how escaped slaves formed a vital, clandestine intelligence network that risked everything to gather and relay critical information, helping shape Union strategy and influence the course of the Civil War.
Join us Monday, September 21 at 7:00.
