Key Figures
There were many key figures who used things such as reconnaissance, spying, screening and scouting prior to the Battle of Prairie Grove along with during and after it. Key figures such as the major leaders on both sides such as Brigade General James G. Blunt (Union side)[1]and Major General Thomas C. Hindman (Confederate side). However, there were also many other figures such as Brigadier General Francis J Herron[2], Colonel John M Richardson[3], and Brigadier General James Fleming Fagan[4] who mention the use of intelligence gathering or espionage within reports or the enemy's use of it. Aside from individual men whole cavalries were also used to do important espionage tactics such as screening for the advancement of the enemy's infantry and artillery[5]. For example, the Missouri Fourteenth cavalry which was sent on a reconnaissance mission and the Third Wisconsin cavalry who were sent along with the Fourteenth Missouri[6].
Footnotes
1. "Report of Maj. Gen. James G. Blunt". December 20th, 1862.The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XXII, Part 1, pgs. 71-77. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924077699704&view=1up&seq=94&q1=Blunt.
2. "Report of Brig. Gen. Francis J. Herron". December 12, 1862. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XXII, Part 1, pgs.102-105. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt id=coo.31924077699704&view=1up&seq=122&q1=reconnaissance.
3. "Report of Col. John M. Richardson". December 15th, 1862. The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Series I, Volume XXII, Part 1, pgs.86-88. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt id=coo.31924077699704&view=1up&seq=106&q1=reconnaissance.
4.“Report of Brig, Gen. James F. Fagan”, December 9th, 1862, Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Part 1, Volume 4, No. 4, pgs. 63-69. https://d2l.msu.edu/d2l/le/content/1807091/viewContent/14867271/View.
5.“Report of Col. M. LaRue Harrison”, December 1th, 1862, Supplement to the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, Part 1, Volume 4, No. 4, pgs. 29-33. https://d2l.msu.edu/d2l/le/content/1807091/viewContent/14867271/View.
6. Shea L, William. Fields of Blood: The Prairie Grove Campaign (The University of North Carolina Press), pg.409.
By: Kristen Gilchrist