Nubian Zulu ::: OmegaAlpha

Roots the next generation: will they watch

2007-12-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

Whipping of Kunta Kinte in Roots

2007-12-02T12:45:00.001-08:00

I am christian

2007-11-28T16:55:00.000-08:00

I am a Christian

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I 'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

By Maya Angelou

From the thougts of Lisa Jimenez

2006-09-30T20:12:00.000-07:00

LET GO OF THE THINGS THAT KEEP YOU FROM YOUR ULTIMATE GOOD
by Lisa Jimenez, M.Ed.

"It's an offer I can't refuse," I told Randy during one of the Mastermind Conference Calls. I was just offered a principal position at a local Christian pre-school and had all these wonderful visions of what it would be like...

I pictured the students, learning and growing under my direction. I saw myself giving a smile and a hug to each one as they walked into class every morning. I heard the teachers sharing their ideas with me on how we could make our school better. I felt the parents patting me on the back and shaking my hand in congratulations to a job well done...

My thoughts were interrupted with Randy's voice over the other end of the phone. "This isn't what you're supposed to be doing," he lamented. "You are a professional speaker." I replied with the strong argument that this might just be the time for me to get back to my first career, which was teaching, and use my degree in school leadership. I began sharing my vision of being a principal with him. It was a waste of breath. Randy wasn't buying it. When I told him I could do both, he went through an exhausting explanation of how I was just getting seduced by the dark side of a regular paycheck. After a couple of hours (actually it was only a few minutes), it was someone else's turn, and I closed with the promise to think more about it before making a decision.

That weekend, I was giving a presentation for the National Speakers Association on how to build their speaking businesses.

Something strange, almost Super Natural, happened at that convention. First, when I walked into the hotel, I noticed that there were two conventions being held that weekend. One was for the Speakers Association and the other for the Principals Association! .
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Through out my entire stay, my conversations were either with a speaker or a principal. The principals I talked with brought back memories of why I left teaching. I remembered the bureaucracy involved in the educational system. I was reminded of the mounds of paperwork and long work hours. (I guess I forgot that part.) It seemed that every time I talked with a principal they would ask me how they, too, could get into professional speaking.

The other altering experience occurred during my presentation. In the middle of my talk, a lady raised her hand with a question. "What do you do when you are torn between two careers?" she asked. "Do you think I can be successful in the speaking business if I'm working on another career?" Her question shocked me. (To this day, I think Randy must have set her up!) But what surprised me even more was my response to her. It was as though God was speaking to her through me and at the same time directing the answer - with great precision - right to my heart.

"You can't serve two masters," I replied. "One will always suck the energy from the other." The next thing I knew I was telling my audience about the principal opportunity and how I was coming to realize a liberating truth: I need to have the courage to let go of things that keep me from my ultimate good.

What about you?

How committed are you to your business? If you were to rate your commitment level on a scale of 1 -10 what number would you give yourself? And, are you happy with that number?

If not, then why not? What is keeping you from really jumping in with both feet and dedicating yourself to building your business?

What's stopping you from giving it all you've got and building the kick-butt organization you know you want?!

For the rest of the speech I spent time in deep confession, as both teacher and student talked about a tough subject. It's called pruning. Just like the gardener who must cut away dead, unproductive parts of a plant, we need to cut away bad habits, dead-end activities, negative people, and even tempting opportunities that keep us from our ultimate good.

These dead "leaves" in our lives block the "sun" from coming in and nourishing our true destiny.

Do you, like me, need more sun to reach your business? Then cut away some dead leaves like disorganization, procrastination, and even tempting opportunities that keep you from your ultimate good.

Do you, like me, need more sun to reach your key relationships? Then cut away some dead leaves like TV watching or a critical tongue.

Do you, like me, need more sun to reach your physical health? Then cut away some dead leaves like sleeping in too late or laziness.

Do you, like me, need more sun to reach your attitude? Then cut away some dead leaves like negative people and negative thinking.

Let's be honest, pruning, or cutting away, hurts! It wasn't easy for me to decline that principal position. It may not be easy for you to cut out your bad habits, negative thinking, critical tongue, or any of the other dead leaves that are blocking the sun from your success.

But when you have the courage to cut away parts of your life that drain precious time and energy from what's truly important, you liberate yourself by making room for abundance!

"Have the courage to let go of the things that keep you from your ultimate good."

I will not be experiencing what it's like to be a principal of a school. However, I'm having an outrageous time experiencing great success in my speaking career. I am truly amazed at the rapid success I've experienced since I've made the effort to get rid of those things that were holding me back. The bottom line, my friend, is all it takes to make it BIG in your business is all you've got. Give it all you've got today!

Richest blessings,

Lisa Jimenez M.Ed.
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To order Lisa's best-selling 'Conquer Fear! Ending Procrastination and Self Sabotage to Achieve What You Really Want' package, click here or call 800-929-0434.

thoughts

2006-09-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

FAITH

"You can do very little with faith, but you can do nothing without it." -- Samuel Butler

"Material success may result in the accumulation of possessions; but only spiritual success will enable you to enjoy them." -- Nido Qubein

"Fear of failure and fear of the unknown are always defeated by faith. Having faith in yourself, in the process of change, and in the new direction that change sets will reveal your own inner core of steel." -- Georgette Mosbacher

"The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today; Let us move forward with strong and active faith." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt

OPENNESS

If all hearts were open and all desires known--as they would be if people showed their souls--how many gapings, sighings, clenched fists, knotted brows, broad grins, and red eyes should we see in the market-place!

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)
Novelist and poet

A broken heart is an open heart.

Gretel Ehrlich

Questions

2006-09-10T16:51:00.000-07:00

What brings me to this moment in time? This is a question that I hope to have an answer to soon-so much so that I have that answer in its given time, hoping that it is not too late for me to understand its purpose. Far as I can remember I have ideas that come and go, thoughts that fleet away like the last visible cloud before the sun; is in total submurgence on the other end of the earth.

This brings me to the realization that I may not be jotting down my ideas, I am not putting fourth the effort of focus. Pen to paper, it is that simple, yet do I have the dicipline to apply this method that the greatest of thinkers have over the years. What is it that is holding me back? Why am I not taking part in the tradition of recording my thoughts and ideas, that make so many; of fellow humanity great and powerful? We I tell you this, I must begin today, If you are like me you must begin today.

Bottom line, time is fleeting, but it is so eternal for the soul. Nothing can stop what you manifest, ideas have a strong hold in memory. Nothing can stop them. Also let me add that, you need to plan, and have back up detour prepared for all possible occurances.

"Every boxer has a plan till he gets hit"
-Tyson (quoted in the motion picture Annapolis)

What?

2006-09-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

See truth in eyes of those beholding
In the body of those provoking...Against dishonesty
no longer coping
what is wrong with the world?
The mouth is the lie...
The tongue is a broken arrow
Misdirected
Heart and soul
No demon can dissect it!

Stature is only a presence
That tears the spirit out of its essence.

J.B.Pointstate©

2006-08-27T14:00:00.000-07:00

Tyra Banks gets felt up by some Lucky Doctor!

Tired Black Man

2006-08-13T16:14:00.000-07:00

A quick lesson in why a black man should never take his new white girlfriend with him to his ex-wife's house when he goes to pick-up his daughter. HIGH DRAMA!

No...Iff you truly watch this. It is a lesson in why...A lesson towards the reason a Black man makes the choices that he makes. A lesson in think twice before you open you mouth. A lesson in do not let the opinions of your friends drive your action. A lesson that needs to be leanred, in in the name of thei unknow actor, Balance is needed, not drama. Watch this....I respect this piece of work.

Then Check out the site....
<li><a href="http://www.Screentimeproductions.com/">acreen Time</a></li>

2006-07-21T23:47:00.000-07:00

Israel Bombs Beirut Killing Dozens of Civilians

2006-07-21T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hezbollah Takes BBC Into Wasteland of Southern Beruit

My world is burning
I cry for long moments Days are made up of them. No the day is taken by them. Wars in places I have never seen. I can only presume the pain.

I assume there is gain...
Of some sort for their to be so much war.

From Africa to America in between is a nightmare, Gods son has a broken dream.

Perhaps it is the pinnacle, and we are seeing the change.
Across a range of distruction, misfunction, and vast consumption of all that was, all that is, and all theat will be.

That oil is filthy!

2006-07-21T23:39:00.000-07:00

Avant feat. Nicole - Lie About Us

2006-07-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

Bilal ft Jadakiss & Dr. Dre Fast Lane

2006-07-15T20:59:00.000-07:00

Who's the master?

Who is the master......

There is one place that you have not looked. It is there only there that you will find the master.

Facts...........!

2006-07-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

The Civil War: Black American Contributions to Union Intelligence

Following is some reading that I have found that may interest you. I can not take cridit for the writing nore can I take credit for the research done to comprise this piece. Take a look at it, take it in, and breath it out.

Thank you,

J.B. POINT

P. K. Rose
P. K. Rose is in the Directorate of Operations.

"Black Dispatches" was a common term used among Union military men for intelligence on Confederate forces provided by Negroes. This source of information represented the single most prolific and productive category of intelligence obtained and acted on by Union forces throughout the Civil War. In 1862, Frederick Douglass wrote:

The true history of this war will show that the loyal army found no friends at the South so faithful, active, and daring in their efforts to sustain the government as the Negroes-. Negroes have repeatedly threaded their way through the lines of the rebels exposing themselves to bullets to convey important information to the loyal army of the Potomac. 1

Black Dispatches resulted from frontline tactical debriefings of slaves--either runaways or those having just come under Union control. Black Americans also contributed, however, to tactical and strategic Union intelligence through behind-the-lines missions and agent-in-place operations. Two such Union agents functioned as long-term penetrations of Confederate President Jefferson Davis's "White House" staff in Richmond, Virginia. Even such a prominent woman as Harriet Tubman, best known for her activities involving the "underground railroad," played an important role in Union intelligence activities.

The value of the information that could be obtained, both passively and actively, by black Americans behind Confederate lines was clearly understood by most Union generals early in the war. Popular recognition of this was also apparent through a stream of articles and stories in the Northern press during the war. Gen. Robert E. Lee, commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia, was equally aware, and in May 1863 he said, "The chief source of information to the enemy is through our Negroes." 2 Because of the culture of slavery in the South, Negroes involved in menial activities could move about without suspicion. Also, officials and officers tended to ignore their presence as personal servants when discussing war-related matters.

After the war, however, the intelligence contributions of black Americans became obscure. While racial prejudice probably played a part in this, as it did regarding the military contributions of black American Union military units, several other factors added to this lack of recognition. Historically, most successful spies do not want their identities made public. Even individuals who may have provided one-time pieces of useful intelligence usually prefer anonymity. This was particularly true in the emotional period after the Civil War, when many of these black Americans lived near people still loyal to the South.

Simple lack of official records of intelligence activities on both sides was another factor. Many of these records were purposely destroyed to protect those involved and still living. One of the last acts of the Confederate secretary of war before fleeing Richmond in 1865 was to destroy virtually all intelligence files, including counterintelligence records regarding Union spies.

In Washington, the War Department turned over portions of its intelligence files to many of the participants involved. Most of these records were subsequently destroyed or lost. Thus, accounts by individuals of their parts in the war or official papers focusing on larger subjects, such as military official correspondence, have become important sources of information on intelligence activities. Much of this information is difficult to substantiate or place in perspective and context due to the lack of supporting documents.

Twenty-four books were published after the war by self-proclaimed spies or counterspies-19 by men and five by women. Seventeen of these books came from the Union side and seven from the Confederate side. None were written by black Americans. Nevertheless, research of existing records does permit the identification of nine black Americans whose intelligence contributions to the Union cause were significant.

One of the first large-scale Civil War battles was the result of information provided by George Scott, a runaway slave. He furnished intelligence on Confederate fortifications and troop movements to Gen. Benjamin F. Butler, commander of Fort Monroe located at the mouth of the James River on the tip of the Virginia peninsula. Shortly after the start of the war, Butler had issued orders that all "contraband" 3 arriving in Union lines be brought to his headquarters for debriefing.

Scott had escaped from a plantation near Yorktown. While making his way toward Fort Monroe, he observed that Confederate forces had thrown up two fortifications between Yorktown and the fortress. Butler's officers were impressed with Scott's information but wanted to confirm it. Scott agreed to accompany a Union officer on several scouting trips behind Confederate lines to obtain more specific intelligence. On one of these missions, Scott barely missed being wounded by a Confederate picket; the bullet went through his jacket.

Based on the intelligence gained from these missions, Butler determined that Confederate forces were planning an attack on Newport News, capture of which would isolate Fort Monroe from Union resupply. He ordered a preemptive attack on the Confederate position, 4 but the military operation was poorly conducted and ended in a Union defeat. Although the intelligence was solid, the military tactics were not.
One of Pinkerton's Operatives

As Union forces grew and better organization was required, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was given command of the Army of the Potomac defending Washington. He brought with him as his chief of intelligence Allan Pinkerton, who had gained some fame running a Chicago detective agency. Pinkerton, often using the alias Major Allen or E. J. Allen, had responsibilities for collecting intelligence on the enemy and for counterintelligence activities against enemy agents. Most of the intelligence he collected resulted from an extensive and well-organized debriefing program of people crossing over from Confederate lines. These informants included merchants with business ties on both sides, deserters from the Confederate Army, prisoners of war, civilians traveling to escape the fighting or for other personal business, and former slaves. While each group provided valuable information, Pinkerton soon discovered that the former slaves were the most willing to cooperate and often had the best knowledge of Confederate fortifications, camps, and supply points.

Pinkerton instructed his operatives to focus their efforts on debriefing former slaves. He also directed them to be on the lookout for former slaves who had some education or seemed particularly skilled in observing and remembering military details. Once these individuals were identified, they were sent to Pinkerton for further assessment and evaluation. From these black Americans, Pinkerton recruited a small number for intelligence collection missions behind Confederate lines.

The best known of these Pinkerton agents was John Scobell, recruited in the fall of 1861. Scobell had been a slave in Mississippi but had been well educated by his owner, a Scotsman who subsequently freed him. He was quick-witted and an accomplished role player, which permitted him to function in several different identities on various missions, including food vendor, cook, or laborer. He often worked with other Pinkerton agents, sometimes playing the role of their servant while in the South. He worked with Timothy Webster, perhaps Pinkerton's best agent, on missions into Virginia and also with Mrs. Carrie Lawton, Pinkerton's best female operative.

Scobell is credited with providing valuable intelligence on Confederate order of battle, status of supplies, and troop morale and movements. Frequently, while the white Pinkerton agents elicited information from Confederate officials and officers, Scobell would seek out leaders in the black community and collect their information on local conditions, fortifications, and troop dispositions.

Scobell often used his membership in the "Legal League," a clandestine Negro organization in the South supporting freedom for slaves, to acquire local information. League members sometimes supported Scobell's collection activities by acting as couriers to carry his information to Union lines. On at least one occasion, as described by Pinkerton, Scobell protected the escape of Mrs. Lawton from pursuing Confederate agents. 5 He worked for Pinkerton from late 1861 until the intelligence chief closed down his operations in November 1862, when McClellan was replaced by Gen. Ambrose E. Burnside.
A Riverboat Spy

While Scobell was roaming behind enemy lines between Washington and Richmond, another black American, W. H. Ringgold, was working on a riverboat on the York River in Virginia. He had been "impressed" (coerced) into service as a result of having been in Fredericksburg at the time Virginia seceded from the Union. Ringgold spent six months on the river, helping move troops and supplies on the Virginia peninsula. When his ship was damaged by a storm, he and the other crewmen were permitted to travel back North by way of Maryland's Eastern Shore. On reaching Baltimore, he sought out Union officials, who immediately sent him to Pinkerton in Washington.

In December 1861, Ringgold provided Pinkerton with detailed intelligence on Confederate defenses on the peninsula. This included locations of fortifications and artillery batteries, troop concentrations, and defenses on the York River. His information was the best McClellan received before the start of his peninsula campaign in March 1862; it was also the basis for much of his strategic planning for the opening of that campaign. 6
Naval Intelligence

Equally valuable intelligence was provided to the Union navy by black Americans. Two examples of strategic importance occurred during the late 1861-early 1862 period. Mary Touvestre, a freed slave, worked in Norfolk as a housekeeper for an engineer who was involved in the refitting and transformation of the USS Merrimac into the Virginia, the first Confederate ironclad warship. Overhearing the engineer talking about the importance of his project, she recognized the danger this new type of ship represented to the Union navy blockading Norfolk. She stole a set of plans for the ship that the engineer had brought home to work on and fled North. After a dangerous trip, she arrived in Washington and arranged a meeting with officials at the Department of the Navy.

The stolen plans and Touvestre's verbal report of the status of the ship's construction convinced the officials of the need to speed up construction of the Union's own ironclad, the Monitor. The Virginia, however, was able to destroy two Union frigates, the Congress and the Cumberland, and run another, the Minnesota, to ground before the Union ironclad's arrival. If the intelligence from Touvestre had not been obtained, the Virginia could have had several more unchallenged weeks to destroy Union ships blockading Hampton Roads and quite possibly open the port of Norfolk to urgently needed supplies from Europe.
Robert Smalls' Achievements

A second piece of important naval intelligence concerned the strategic Confederate port of Charleston, South Carolina, one of a few ports in the south with railroad lines capable of speedy transportation of supplies to Richmond and other key Confederate manufacturing and supply centers. In March 1862, a free black American, Robert Smalls, rowed out to a Union warship that was part of a large fleet assembled to attack the seacoast town of Fernandina, Florida. He reported that Confederate troops were preparing to evacuate the town as well as Amelia Island, which guarded the approach to Fernandina. Smalls, a harbor pilot, had observed Confederate preparations to destroy the town's harbor facilities during the withdrawal.

Smalls understood the importance of keeping the Fernandina harbor operable as a logistics facility and base for Union operations against Charleston. Based on the intelligence he provided, Union forces attacked Fernandina and routed the enemy's rear guard before the Confederates could sabotage the harbor. The intelligence provided by Smalls was considered so significant that the Secretary of the Department of the Navy described it in detail to President Lincoln in the Secretary's annual report. 7

While this information was Smalls' greatest intelligence contribution to the Union, he subsequently provided another gift to the Navy. On the night of 12 May 1862, he, family members, and other black American crewmen of the Planter, a cargo steamer turned into an armed coastal patrol ship, sailed out of Charleston harbor after the captain and two mates had gone home. In the dark, Smalls pretended to be the captain and, from his previous experiences, was able to provide all the correct countersigns to challenges from the various harbor fortifications. Upon reaching ships forming the Union blockade, he surrendered the Planter to them. Later that month he and his fellow crewmen received payment from the US Government for half the appraised value of the ship as a reward.

When Pinkerton left his position as chief of intelligence for the Army of the Potomac in November 1862, he took all his intelligence files on the Confederacy with him (because he had been a private contractor, the files belonged to him). This left Union forces without centralized Confederate order-of-battle information, and the one remaining intelligence officer in the Army of the Potomac had to travel to the War Department in Washington to re-create this information from records of previous battles.
Bureau of Military Information and Charlie Wright

When Gen. Joseph Hooker took command of the Army of the Potomac on 27 January 1863, he immediately saw the need for an effective centralized intelligence system. On 11 February, Col. George H. Sharpe, an attorney and an officer of New York state volunteers, accepted the post of head of the Army's intelligence service. Under Sharpe, with direction from Hooker, the Bureau of Military Information (BMI) was created. Its sole focus was collection of intelligence on the enemy; it had no counterintelligence responsibilities. It soon developed into the first "all-source intelligence" organization in US history. Sharpe obtained, collated, analyzed, and provided reports based on scouting, spying behind enemy lines, interrogations, cavalry reconnaissance, balloon observation, Signal Corps observation, flag signal and telegraph intercepts, captured Confederate documents and mail, southern newspapers, and intelligence reporting from subordinate military units. This structured approach, which ended with the Confederate surrender, was not re-institutionalized until 1947, when the CIA was created.

Sharpe's BMI was well established when Charlie Wright, a young black man, arrived at Union lines from Culpeper, Virginia, in June 1863. While being debriefed, his extensive knowledge of units in Lee's army became apparent. He had an excellent memory for details. On 12 June, Capt. John McEntee, an officer from the BMI who had deployed with Union cavalry forces just after the battle of Brandy Station, telegraphed Sharpe the following:

A contraband captured last Tuesday states that he had been living at Culpeper C. H. for some time past. Saw Ewells Corps passing through that place destined for the Valley and Maryland. That Ewells Corps has passed the day previous to the fight and that Longstreet was them coming up. 8

Shortly thereafter, McEntee also reported that Wright was well acquainted with these two corps and that he believed Wright's information was reliable. Wright identified more than a dozen separate Confederate regiments from both Ewell's Corps and Longstreet's Corps. The key intelligence Wright provided was that these troops had passed through Culpeper bound for Maryland.

Thanks to the Bureau's records and all-source information, Sharpe was able to confirm Wright's descriptions of the various Confederate units. This confirmation convinced General Hooker of Wright's assertion that Lee's army was moving into Maryland. Hooker ordered his army to shadow the Confederate forces' movements while traveling on the eastern side of the Blue Ridge Mountains out of view of Lee's troops.

This movement by the Union Army shielded Washington from Lee's forces and eventually forced the battle at Gettysburg. For several decades after the war, Union cavalry reconnaissance was given credit for identifying Lee's movement in the valley toward Maryland. But historical records now make it clear that Wright's intelligence was the key factor in convincing Hooker to move his forces. 9

While many reasons can be cited for Lee's defeat at Gettysburg, there can be no doubt that the ground held by the Union forces played a significant role in the victory. This was Charlie Wright's contribution. He had provided the intelligence that eventually enabled Union forces to get to Gettysburg first and seize the best ground.
Agents in Place

Because both sides were poorly prepared for the war, notwithstanding the many years of political buildup to the actual fighting, there apparently were few intelligence agents who had been specifically placed in the enemy's institutions. In-place agents have the strategic advantage of providing the plans and intentions of an enemy rather than reporting on how and when they are carried out. Although the Confederacy did not create its civilian and military power structure until just before the war began, the Union did have several such agents in the Confederate capital by the first year of the war. Two were black Americans employed by Confederate President Jefferson Davis in his official residence.

William A. Jackson was a slave hired out by the year to President Davis as a coachman. His first documented report was on 3 May 1862, when he crossed into Union lines near Fredericksburg, Virginia. As a servant in the Davis household, he was able to observe and overhear the Confederate President's discussions with his military leadership. While no record remains of the specific intelligence he produced, it apparently was valuable enough to cause General McDowell to telegraph it immediately to the War Department in Washington. 10

The second agent, Mary Elizabeth Bowser, was part of a Union spy ring known as "the Richmond underground," directed by Elizabeth Van Lew, whose family was well respected and well connected socially in Richmond. While not hiding her Union loyalties, Van Lew affected behavior that made her appear harmless and eccentric to Confederate authorities. After the war, she traveled to Washington and obtained all the official records from the War Department related to her activities and destroyed them. Thus, details on Bowser's specific activities are sparse.

Bowser had been a slave of the Van Lew family, but Van Lew freed her and sent her North to be educated. When Van Lew decided to establish a spy ring in Richmond shortly before the fighting began, she asked Bowser to return and work with her for the Union. Van Lew obtained a position for Bowser as a servant in the Confederate "White House" through the recommendation of a "friend" who provided supplies to that household.

Bowser pretended to be uneducated but hardworking and, after working part-time at several functions, was hired as a regular employee. Her access provided her with opportunities to overhear valuable information. As a black servant, Bowser was almost certainly ignored by the President's guests. Her reporting focused on conversations she overheard between Confederate officials at the President's residence and on documents she was able to read while working around the house. She and Van Lew, often dressed as a country farmwife, would meet at isolated locations on the outskirts of Richmond to exchange information.

Another Union spy, Thomas McNiven, noted that Bowser had a photographic memory and could report every word of the documents she saw at the "White House." 11 In recognition of her intelligence contributions, Bowser was inducted into the US Army Intelligence Hall of Fame at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, on 30 June 1995.
Tubman's Triumphs

Harriet Tubman, another black woman involved in intelligence collection for the Union, is much more famous for her activities with the underground railroad. Her intelligence activities, however, are well documented in many books written about her exploits. Tubman, often referred to by her contemporaries as "Moses," is best known for the numerous trips she made into the south to free relatives and friends and bring them to safety. Her last trip took place in 1860. With the advent of the fighting, she spent the early years of the war assisting with the care and feeding of the massive numbers of slaves who had fled to Union-controlled areas.

By the spring of 1863, Union officials had found a more dramatic and active role for Tubman to play. The Union forces in South Carolina badly needed information about Confederate forces opposing them. Intelligence on the strength of enemy units, location of encampments, and designs of fortifications was almost nil. All these requirements could be met by short-term spying trips behind enemy lines, and it fell to Tubman to organize and lead these expeditions.

Tubman selected a few former slaves knowledgeable about the areas to be visited and established her spy organization. Often disguised as a field hand or poor farm wife, she led several spy missions herself, while directing others from Union lines. She reported her intelligence to Col. James Montgomery, a Union officer commanding the Second South Carolina Volunteers, a black unit involved in guerrilla warfare activities.

The tactical intelligence Tubman provided to Union forces during the war was frequent, abundant, and used effectively in military operations. For example, her part in a June 1863 Union raid up the Combahee River in South Carolina is well documented. Tubman had conducted spy missions into the area, identified enemy supply areas, and reported weaknesses in Confederate troop deployments.

In late May, Gen. David Hunter, commander of all Union forces in the area, asked Tubman to personally guide a raiding party up the river. On the evening of 2 June, Tubman led Montgomery and 150 of his men up the river past Confederate picket lines. In a swift raid, taking the Confederates by surprise, the Union forces destroyed several million dollars worth of Confederate supplies and brought back more than 800 slaves and thousands of dollars in enemy property. 12 By this action alone, Tubman's contribution to the Union cause was significant. When Tubman died in 1913, she was honored with a full military funeral as a mark of respect for her activities during the war.
A Signal Achievement

No discussion of intelligence activities by black Americans during the Civil War would be complete without mention of a popular story about a black couple who provided intelligence on Confederate troop movements to the Union during the fighting around Fredericksburg, Virginia in 1863. The original account evidently appeared in a newspaper or magazine article written by a Union officer who claimed to have been a witness to the events. No official records have documented this story, and the claims about the value of the intelligence produced are questionable. But there is probably some factual basis for the tale.

The story involved a runaway slave named Dabney, who crossed into Union lines with his wife and found employment in General Hooker's headquarters camp. It became apparent that Dabney knew the geography of the area very well, and, though he had little education, was clever. He quickly developed an interest in the Union flag-signal system, and he learned all he could about it.

After several weeks, Dabney's wife asked permission to return to Confederate lines as a personal servant to a Southern woman returning to her home. A few days after his wife's departure, Dabney began reporting Confederate movements to members of Hooker's staff. His reports soon proved accurate, and he was questioned as to the source of his intelligence.

Dabney explained that he and his wife had worked out a signaling system based on the laundry that she hung out to dry at her mistress's house, which was observable from Hooker's headquarters. As the wife observed Confederate troop movements, she would hang the laundry in a particular sequence to signal Dabney of the activity. For example, a white shirt represented Gen. A. P. Hill, a pair of pants hung upside down represented the direction west, and so forth. This system produced useful intelligence on Confederate movements until Hooker moved his headquarters.

While such a signaling system could produce simple messages such as "Hill-north-three regiments," the value of the information would not be great. Union cavalry pickets and Signal Corps observers would have provided similar intelligence. But the fact that this story is repeated in numerous articles and books makes it a part of the legend of intelligence activities during the war.

No one will ever know if the course of the Civil War would have been changed if General Lee had seized the better ground at Gettysburg or if the Virginia had broken the Union blockade at Hampton Roads. And it remains uncertain what information or the plans and intentions of the Confederate leadership Bowser and Jackson passed to the Union. Even so, this does not diminish the courage, dedication, and personal commitment which these individuals demonstrated by their actions. Like successful spies throughout history, they did their jobs quietly and effectively--and then faded away.

NOTES

1. Markle, Donald E. Spies and Spymasters of the Civil War. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1995; pp. 64-65

2. U. S. War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office; 1880-1901, Vol. 25, Part 2, p. 826 (Lee to Critcher, 22 May 1863)

3. The term "contraband" was used by Union officers to refer to slaves who had come under their control. These slaves continued to be the legal "property" of their Confederate owners until 1 January 1863, when the Emancipation Proclamation became law.

4. Quarles, Benjamin. The Negro in the Civil War. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1953; pp. 78-79.

5. Pinkerton, Allan. The Spy of the Rebellion. Chicago: A. G. Nettleton, 1883; p. 389.

6. Fishel, Edwin C. The Secret War for the Union. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1996; pp. 117-118 and pp. 136-137.

7. Quarles.pp. 91-92

8. Bureau of Military Information Files. Washington, DC: National Archives, Record Group 393, entry 3980.

9. Fishel, p. 440.

10. Quarles, p. 81.

11. Waitt, Robert W. Thomas McNiven Papers, Richmond, Virginia. Unpublished. As quoted in Ryan, David D. A Yankee Spy in Richmond: The Civil War Diary of "Crazy Bet" Van Lew. Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania: Stackpole Books, 1996; p. 12.

12. Taylor, M. W. Harriet Tubman, New York: Chelsea House Publishers, 1991; p. 87.

New way!

2006-07-12T21:03:00.000-07:00

Life is a long lesson in humility.
James M. Barrie

This is something that I have to come to terms with. I may have an ego, but I can honestly say that I am not a person that will take something from someone out of jealousy or envy. I do not have that sin to bear, I am a man and where I stand is in respect for my fellow man.

I may not get along with everyone, I may not trust everyone if anyone. However I am one to learn that life bring a roller coaster of a ride, you can either enjoy it or let the fear of the speed at which it moves and the aggression at which it drops breed fright in your heart and souls. In saying that I plan on to live everyday as it is my first and that I will give to the world as much as I can. ME!

I love God and I love Life, I am living and for life!

Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing those you hold well.
Josh Billings

We should not be afraid to give it back...

2006-07-10T21:01:00.000-07:00

We should not lie to them any longer. We should open our hearts and minds to understand that they are human and give them back what is rightfully their own. They have created so much to begin our civilization and we have learned so much from them. What would the capacity of there nature wield for the future of humanity if we let them breath and grow again.

Give back Egypt, give back Africa.

2006-07-08T20:53:00.000-07:00

Spoken Warrior

When you seek truth you shall find truth. Look in the wrong places you may just as well be searching for lies.

2006-07-08T19:53:00.000-07:00

God's Look: A Spoken Word Piece

poetic beauty

2006-07-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

To watch this lady in action was inspiration for this post alone.

2006-07-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

spoken word

This is something that need to have more of a spotlight. Just listen if you feel romotely close to what you think humanity is.

just passing through the net

2006-07-07T18:45:00.000-07:00

Apparently this coffee shop has a new way to draw business and reinvent the meaning full service!

Mid-eastern War Child

2006-07-04T09:59:00.000-07:00

I do not need to say it louder than it is already. Our soldiers need to come home, they are going to need more help than they can ever offer to the Middle eastern region. Now it is not every soldier, but incidents that happen in the nature of Disrespect for the female is leading to a point of destruction in the minds of our American soldiers, they are getting bad press for the few that has been tainted by the insanity that overcome a man that has not been designed to be in a war.

Recently as I have been reading the

NY times

, a soldier has Allegedly committed and atrocity of great magnitude. In the form of Rape and Murder, of the victim along with the family. It has not been discussed as to what led to this, but I have formulated my own opinion as to what led to this. We have a case of desert fever, and war inflicted mental wounds. Or is it a case of a guy that was in this state of mind before enlistment.

At this point and time soldiers are on edge, they are under pressure, they are subconsciously unforgiving of or leadership. I am saying this, because if you look at record of the majority of all wars. At the time of war the soldiers claim there pride, responsibility, and salute the cause they are fighting for. However; once it is all done and over with, you find pain, anger, and misguided lives of those who were not able to fight off the demons left within once it is all over. So what we see here is not new, and will always be a part of war history. There is not one war that has ever been fought, that something of this nature has not taken place.

For the records you need to do your research, you need to look beyond the modern day war, and events that has taken place. You need to be aware of the patterns that has been erupting in wars, in migrating to a country that is not your own(discovery-for your country**). This is a stress related release of a persons personality. We have soldiers of both sexes committing these acts, and are going to be punished for it. However, you must look at it for what it is; simply put, these soldiers are acting out. Crying for help, to live a normal life, half of them feel a sense of useless duty but have to fight to survive. I am not saying what they are doing is right, but what I am saying is there crimes are not there own.

**I will touch on this subject soon. Columbus discovering the united states, one of the greatest misconceptions. Yes he has discovered the land of the free gain, but not for humanity but for his country! People already populated this land!

Just comedy

2006-07-04T09:30:00.000-07:00

Browsing the internet; I came across this Comic. How funny can it be that there is a writer out in the comic world who has collaborated with the artist to come up with this strip. Do I find it funny ?Yes! Do I find it a shock? No!

It is quite interesting that these thoughts come to mind even in the hearts of those who supply us with a relief of comedy to our world events. For me It allows me to realize that although we find levity in the cruel events of our modern day life.

politics as usual!

Now you may think I wrote this to make a point, no that was not my mission. I only wanted to state that I have come across this. You formulate your own thoughts.

HA HAH!