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Civil War author Tom Ryan at Milton Historical Society Sept. 28

September 20, 2017

Author Tom Ryan will discuss and sign copies of his book, "Spies, Scouts, and Secrets in the Gettysburg Campaign: How the Critical Role of Intelligence Impacted the Outcome of Lee's Invasion of the North, June-July 1863," at 7 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 28, at the Milton Historical Society.

As intelligence experts have long asserted, "Information in regard to the enemy is the indispensable basis of all military plans." Despite the thousands of books and articles written about Gettysburg, Ryan's groundbreaking "Spies, Scouts, and Secrets” is the first to offer a unique and incisive comparative study of intelligence operations during what many consider the war's decisive campaign.

Based upon years of research, the author evaluates how Gen. Robert E. Lee used intelligence resources, including cavalry, civilians, newspapers and spies to gather information about Union activities during his invasion of the North in June and July 1863, and how this intelligence influenced Lee's decisions. Simultaneously, Ryan explores the effectiveness of the Union Army of the Potomac's intelligence and counterintelligence operations. Both Maj. Gens. Joe Hooker and George G. Meade relied upon cavalry, the Signal Corps, and an intelligence staff known as the Bureau of Military Information that employed innovative concepts to gather, collate and report vital information from a variety of sources.

The result is an eye-opening, day-by-day analysis of how and why the respective army commanders implemented their strategy and tactics, with an evaluation of their respective performance as they engaged in a battle of wits to learn the enemy's location, strength and intentions.

Ryan is the former president of the Central Delaware Civil War Round Table, and a longtime member of the Gettysburg Foundation and the Civil War Trust. He has published more than 125 articles and book reviews on Civil War subjects, many dealing with intelligence operations, and writes a biweekly column called Civil War Profiles for Coastal Point, a Delaware newspaper. He is the author of "Essays on Delaware during the Civil War: A Political, Military and Social Perspective" (2012). Ryan served three years in the U.S. Army and more than three decades with the U.S. Department of Defense in various intelligence operations-related capacities.

Now retired, he and his wife live in Bethany Beach.

For more information, go to www.historicmilton.org/events/events-calender/284.html.

 

Editor’s note: The headline of this article has been corrected.

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