It is reported in a book by Ken Dagler-Black Dispatches-that slaves spied for the Union during the war. William Jackson was a house servant and coachman for Jefferson Davis who provided information about "battle plans and movements" of southern forces. Southern states at the time banned the teaching of reading and writing to slaves thus forcing the slaves to depend more on their memory and oral reporting to remember what was said in their presence. Davis is reported to have regarded Jackson as "a piece of furniture-not human" and discussed war stategy while Jackson was in the room. Dagler reports that historical evidence includes a letter written by a Union general to General Irvin McDowell that mentions a spy who was "Jeff Davis coachman". The book also notes that another slave-Robert Smalls-was a pilot for the Charleston, SC harbor and he was able to provide the Union with info on "fortifications of the harbor". Dagler reports that there is no other mention of William Jackson after the war; he "disappeared from history".
(Source: "Slave in Jefferson Davis' home gave Union key secrets" by Barbara Starr and Bill Mears. On CNN.com/US February 23, 2009).
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