Spies, Slaves, and Secrets

Author Robert Hilliard will present a 50-minute slide presentation where you'll learn more about the similarities between the US at the outbreak of the Civil War and the Iron Curtain in Europe during the Cold War. Hilliard will touch on Civil War spy technology, as well as some of the well-known – or perhaps, notorious – spies for both the North and South. The discussion also highlights the role of escaped slaves in providing military intelligence to the Union army, and how some African Americans were recruited as undercover spies who bravely undertook covert missions in the Confederacy.

Bestselling author Robert Hilliard has written on sports, history, and the outdoors for over three decades. In 2012 his first book, A Season on the Allegheny, was published. It quickly hit the Top 10 in two Amazon categories and has since garnered national attention. Rob's first novel, In Freedom's Shadow, is based on the true story of slave John Scobell, who escaped the Confederacy during the Civil War, only to return to the South as a Union spy. In Freedom's Shadow was published in November 2023 and within a week became a #1 Bestseller in multiple Amazon categories.