Henry Thomas Harrison (April 23, 1832 – October 28, 1923), often known simply as "Harrison", was a

spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...

for

Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

James Longstreet James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was one of the foremost Confederate generals of the American Civil War and the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Horse". He served under Lee as a corps ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He is best known for the information he gave Longstreet and General Robert E. Lee in the Gettysburg Campaign, which resulted in Lee converging on

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania Gettysburg (; non-locally ) is a borough and the county seat of Adams County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The Battle of Gettysburg (1863) and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address are named for this town. Gettysburg is home to th ...

, thus causing the

Battle of Gettysburg The Battle of Gettysburg () was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, by Union and Confederate forces during the American Civil War. In the battle, Union Major General George Meade's Army of the Po ...

in July 1863.

Early life and early Confederate States Army service

Harrison was born in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...

, on April 23, 1832. He was an actor who did not get many large parts due to his small stature. He did not go to any school. At the start of the Civil War in 1861, at age 29, Harrison joined the Mississippi State Militia as a private.

Career as a Confederate spy

In November 1861, Harrison was discharged from the militia and eventually became a spy for

CSA CSA may refer to: Arts and media * Canadian Screen Awards, annual awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television * Commission on Superhuman Activities, a fictional American government agency in Marvel Comics * Crime Syndicate of Amer ...

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

James Seddon James Alexander Seddon (July 13, 1815 – August 19, 1880) was an American lawyer and politician who served two terms as a Representative in the U.S. Congress, as a member of the Democratic Party. He was appointed Confederate States Secretar ...

. In April 1863, Harrison met Lieutenant General

of the Confederate

Army of Northern Virginia The Army of Northern Virginia was the primary military force of the Confederate States of America in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was also the primary command structure of the Department of Northern Virginia. It was most oft ...

during the Battle of Suffolk. From that point on, Harrison provided information for Longstreet, which usually proved to be reliable. Also, to maintain the loyalty of his prized spy, Longstreet frequently paid Harrison in U.S. gold coins and/or greenbacks, which were significantly more valuable than Confederate currency. On the night of June 28, 1863, Harrison accurately reported to Longstreet that the Union Army had moved into

Frederick, Maryland Frederick is a city in and the county seat of Frederick County, Maryland. It is part of the Baltimore–Washington Metropolitan Area. Frederick has long been an important crossroads, located at the intersection of a major north–south Native ...

, and was moving northward, as well as the fact that Major General

Joseph Hooker Joseph Hooker (November 13, 1814 – October 31, 1879) was an American Civil War general for the Union, chiefly remembered for his decisive defeat by Confederate General Robert E. Lee at the Battle of Chancellorsville in 1863. Hooker had serv ...

had been replaced as commander of the United States

Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confedera ...

by Major General

George Meade George Gordon Meade (December 31, 1815 – November 6, 1872) was a United States Army officer and civil engineer best known for decisively defeating Confederate States Army, Confederate Full General (CSA), General Robert E. Lee at the Battle ...

. Longstreet passed this information on to General Robert E. Lee, the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia. Lee had never heard of Harrison before and refused to see him when he arrived compliments of Longstreet. However, Longstreet's chief of staff,

Moxley Sorrel Gilbert Moxley Sorrel (February 23, 1838 – August 10, 1901) was a staff officer and Brigadier General in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States. Early life Sorrel was born in Savannah, Georgia, the son of one of the wealthiest men in ...

, confirmed that Harrison "always brought true information." In the end, Harrison's information was plausible enough for Lee to halt his entire army. As a result of Harrison's information, Lee told all of his troops to concentrate in the vicinity of

Cashtown, Pennsylvania Cashtown is a census-designated place in Franklin Township, Adams County, Pennsylvania. The community was part of the Cashtown-McKnightstown CDP, until it was split into two separate CDPs for the 2010 census. As of 2010, the population of Cas ...

, eight miles from Gettysburg, thereby triggering the events that led to the

. Lee said after hearing the news from Harrison, "A battle thus became, in a measure, unavoidable." After Gettysburg, Harrison operated mostly in the North, gathering intelligence while living in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with his newly wed wife, Laura Broders; none of his future intelligence ever matched the importance of his discovery in the days before the

Post war

After the war, Harrison took his wife and two daughters to Mexico, hoping that the youngest would find better health in the warmer climate due to her asthma. But in 1866, facing marital difficulties, Harrison left Mexico to prospect for gold in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. For the period of 1867 to 1892, his exact whereabouts remain unknown. His wife, Laura Broders, along with Harrison's family, hired detectives and searched for him. Eventually, it was assumed that he was dead and she later remarried George Washington Riston, who raised Harrison's children. Far from being dead, Harrison moved to

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in 1893. In 1901, Harrison got a job in Cincinnati as a detective for the Municipal Reform League. In 1912, he moved to

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a list of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Licking River (Kentucky), Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, ...

, and applied for a Confederate pension. On October 28, 1923, Harrison died in Covington at the age of 91. He is buried at Highland Cemetery in

Fort Mitchell, Kentucky Fort Mitchell is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,702 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Cincinnati metropolitan area. History Fort Mitchell was the site of one of seven Civil War fortifi ...

In popular culture

Harrison was a major character in

Michael Shaara Michael Shaara (June 23, 1928 – May 5, 1988) was an American author of science fiction, sports fiction, and historical fiction. He was born to an Italian immigrant father (the family name was originally spelled Sciarra, which in Italian is pron ...

's 1974 historical novel ''

The Killer Angels ''The Killer Angels'' is a 1974 historical novel by Michael Shaara that was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1975. The book depicts the three days of the Battle of Gettysburg during the American Civil War, and the days leading up to it ...

'', and was played by

Cooper Huckabee Thomas Cooper Huckabee (born May 8, 1951) is an American film and television actor who appeared in ''The Funhouse'', ''Urban Cowboy'', and as Harrison in the 1993 film '' Gettysburg'', among other roles. Career Huckabee played Buzz, one of the ...

in the film version '' Gettysburg''. Huckabee also portrays Harrison in the director's cut of '' Gods and Generals'', with scenes depicting him in off-stage conversation with

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

References

Bibliography

* Hall, James O. "A Modern Hunt for Fabled Agent: The Spy Harrison." Civil War Times Illustrated. Vol. 24, No. 10 (1986): 18-25.
Longstreet's Scout Henry Thomas Harrison
- Archived from the original, with sources * Flagel, Thomas R., and Allers Jr., Ken. ''The History Buff's Guide to Gettysburg'', Cumberland House Publishing Inc., 2006, . * Shaara, Michael. ''

'', The Random House Publishing Group, 1974, . {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Henry Thomas American Civil War spies 1832 births 1923 deaths Battle of Gettysburg