Bureau of Military Information

The Bureau of Military Information (BMI) was the first formal and organized American intelligence agency, active during the American Civil War.

Allan Pinkerton was contracted by Federal and a number of state and local governments to solve cases such as train robberies. In early 1861, Pinkerton assumed responsibility for Abraham Lincoln's safety, including gaining wind of an alleged assassination attempt.

Shortly after the start of the Civil War, Pinkerton was contacted by George B. McClellan (a friend and former client) to provide intelligence for the Department of the Ohio.

Colonel Charles Pomeroy Stone also utilized a number of detectives. Starting in 1862, General Winfield Scott hired Lafayette C. Baker to provide him services similar to those Pinkerton provided McClellan. Lincoln hired William A. Lloyd to infiltrate the Confederacy and report directly to him at the cost of $200 a month plus expenses.

In all cases, the detectives and spies in question were civilians, despite the fact they reported to military heads and served in wartime (Pinkerton, however, created an alias that was a Union Army major). They also reported directly to and were paid at the leisure of their superiors, not to any military or government agency, and in fact, Pinkerton and Baker's organizations actively competed against one another, to the point of arresting each other's agents to maintain an upper hand. After the war, both Pinkerton and Baker claimed to have held the position of "Chief of the United States Secret Service." However, none of the above are considered to be a true intelligence agency.

On January 26, 1863, Major General Joseph Hooker was given command of the Army of the Potomac. One of his first orders was for his deputy provost marshal, Colonel George H. Sharpe, to establish an intelligence unit. Sharpe, a New Yorker and an attorney before the war, was assisted by John C. Babcock, a civilian and former employee of Pinkerton. On February 11, 1863, they established the Bureau of Military Information.

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