Intelligence Operation at Harpers Ferry (9 MAY 1861)

Photo By Erin Thompson | View of Harpers Ferry after Confederate troops were forced out in June 1861. Union spy Kirk Mason reported in early May that the Confederates were planning to blow up one of the railroad bridges.  

UNITED STATES

05.03.2024

Story by Erin Thompson 

U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence

by Erin E. Thompson, USAICoE Staff Historian

INTELLIGENCE OPERATION AT HARPERS FERRY
On 9 May 1861, Union spy Kirk Mason performed the first of three intelligence missions at Harpers Ferry. His activities are believed to be some of the first military reconnaissance operations of the American Civil War.

In April 1861, Brig. Gen. Joseph K. F. Mansfield became commander of the new Department of Washington. Mansfield, like many others during the war, relied primarily on personal informant networks for intelligence. His priority lay in producing accurate maps of the area around Washington, D.C., though his informants also engaged in counterespionage operations, such as locating covert arms dealers and uncovering secessionist sects within Washington. When Allan Pinkerton’s spy network began operating around the same time, it significantly hindered Mansfield’s operations. Nevertheless, he retained a small number of personal spies for gathering local intelligence.

Confederate forces in Virginia had taken control of the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in April 1861, setting fire to the building and destroying more than 15,000 weapons. On 28 April, Col. Thomas J. Jackson (of later “Stonewall” fame) took control of Harpers Ferry. The Union government had a vested interest in the activity there, as it was a major port on the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and controlled the busy Baltimore and Ohio Railroad. The closeness of Union and Rebel territory across the narrow Potomac made it an especially dangerous area for spies.

On 9 May 1861, Kirk R. Mason, an infantryman from New York, received word from the U.S. State Department to report to General Mansfield’s headquarters. Upon arrival, Mason was ordered to Harpers Ferry “for the purpose of obtaining information for the government.” Mason spent the next week gathering intelligence on the buildup of enemy troops under Colonel Jackson. On 16 May, he delivered an account of his operations to General Mansfield, Col. Alexander Hamilton (grandson of the Founding Father of the same name), President Abraham Lincoln, and Secretary of War Simon Cameron. His statement included:

"(1st) The Evidences of Treason I discovered at Frederick, Maryland; (2) The number and position of the batteries established by the Enemy, both on the Maryland and Virginia side of the Potomac and near Harper’s Ferry, and the range and strength (number and caliber of the guns) of the said Batteries; (3) The efforts making by the Enemy to obstruct the Rail Road and the passage of troops on the Maryland side of the Potomac; (4) the number of Cavalry under the command of Capt. Ashby; (5) The extent of the Rebel pickets as then established; (6) The number and position of the Infantry and horse Artillery of the Rebels, and the States from which the different Regiments came; (7) The preparations made by the Rebels to blow up and destroy the R. R. Bridge across the Potomac at Harper’s Ferry; (8) The state of the Fortifications on the Maryland heights, and the number of Troops stationed there, also the number and size of the Cannon, etc etc."

Mason also supplied two maps with illustrations of his observations of Harpers Ferry. His time on the border was marked by suspicions of spying, and he was unlawfully arrested, searched, and imprisoned. He performed two more scouting operations in areas around Harpers Ferry for the Union, believed to be some of the first purely military intelligence operations of the war. He continued to sporadically gather intelligence for the Union while serving with the 30th New York Infantry Regiment. Little else is known about Mason’s career save for his arrest in late 1864 for “recruiting in the District of Colombia,” a newly instituted and short-lived law at the time. He was pardoned in 1865 by President Andrew Johnson after serving ten months of his one-year sentence.


New issues of This Week in MI History are published each week. To report story errors, ask questions, or be added to our distribution list, please contact: [e-mail].

• Date Taken: 05.03.2024
• Date Posted: 05.03.2024 17:35
• Story ID: 470305
• Location: US