Tag: Babcock (John C.)

Wikipedia says: John C. Babcock (September 6, 1836 – November 20, 1908) was a founding father of American amateur rowing and an important member of the secret service for the Union Army during the Civil War. Initially, Babcock volunteered for the Sturgis Rifles as an enlisted soldier in 1861, but he soon was offered a civilian position to be a principal scout for the Army of the Potomac. Babcock became a skilled interrogator of captured Confederates. In 1862, Babcock worked as a Confederate order-of-battle expert with the Topographical Department under Allan Pinkerton and made maps for General George B. McClellan. In one of his reports, Babcock’s estimate of enemy forces was off by less than one percent. Early in 1863, Babcock joined the Bureau of Military Information under Colonel George H. Sharpe to gather intelligence. While in this secret service, Babcock provided detailed maps for aeronaut Thaddeus S. C. Lowe, who made frequent flights to obtain tactical intelligence. In 1863, Babcock discovered Robert E. Lee’s forward movement, which helped end the Battle of Gettysburg. At the Battle of Appomattox Court House in 1865, Babcock found General Lee under an apple tree and facilitated the surrender of the Confederate States Army. Even though he was a civilian, Babcock was unofficially called “Captain Babcock” and then later “Colonel Babcock.”