Oftentimes, the outcome of a war is determined not out on the open battlefields, but in the shadows. Espionage has played an important role in virtually every great military conflict in history and the American Civil War was no exception. As the Union forces desperately fought to give their forces an edge, they found help in some of the unlikeliest of places.
Source: Mary Bowser: The Slave Who Helped Bring Down The Confederacy