Existing comment:
Allan Pinkerton, 1819-1884:
In the late summer of 1861, private detective Allan Pinkerton was recruited by General George B. McClellan to organize a secret service for his new Army of the Potomac. One of Pinkerton's primary duties was to use his operatives to try to discern the strength of the opposing Confederate forces. Under the best of circumstances, this was never a precise science. Pinkerton routinely overestimated the enemy's size and strength, which only fueled McClellan's natural tendency to be overly cautious in waging war. This image of Pinkerton (left), posing for the camera with President Lincoln and General John A. McClernand, was taken in 1862 near the Antietam battlefield shortly after the battle. |