Longstreet Harrison the Spy

[gentlemanrob]

Henry Thomas Harrison:​

Born: April 23, 1832
Birth Place: Nashville Tennessee

Father: Henry Hargrove Harrison 1804 – 1871
Mother: Rebecca Pearson 1808 – 1871
Wife: Laura "Lorinda" Broders 1841 – 1917
(Buried: Mount Zion Cemetery Washington D.C.)
Children:
Mary Irene Harrison Beattle 1866 – 1960
(Buried: Saint James Cemetery Falls Church Virginia)
Elizabeth "Bessie" Harrison Kagay 1864 – 1945
(Buried: Oakridge Cemetery Effingham Illinois)

Education:
Not Known

Occupation before War:
Actor in Mississippi who only got small roles due to height

Civil War Career:
1861: Served as Private in 12th​ Mississippi Infantry Regiment
Spy for Confederate Secretary of War James A. Seddon
Spy for Confederate Lt. General James Longstreet
1861 – 1865: Spy for the Confederate Army

Occupation after War:
1865 – 1866: Lived in Mexico

Gold Prospector in Montana Territory
1901 – 1911: Detective for Cincinnati Ohio Municipal League
1912: Moved to Kentucky and Applied for Confederate Pension


Died: October 28, 1923
Place of Death: Covington Kentucky
Age at time of Death: 91 years old
Burial Place: Highland Cemetery Fort Mitchell Kentucky

 

[Josie Wales]

Great info..where did you find this ? I always wondered about the accuracy of movie portrayal.

 

[Mary Les]

I did too. Since I own the movie!

 

[JerseyBart]

An interesting and mysterious Civil War participant.

I use the movie line, "I'm gooooood at this business," everytime I do something well and it gets noticed. My daughter now does it as well.

 

[Mary Les]

Can I steal your "line"?

 

[JerseyBart]

Can I steal your "line"?

You may steal what I have already stolen.

 

[Mary Les]

I thought the same thing

 

[Pollaco]

I haven't seen the movie but there is an interesting book on the subject by James O. Hall "The Spy Harrison". Hall is the one who identifies Harrison as Henry Thomas Harrison one of the original Mississippi Scouts. Another historian,James Bakeless, has him identified as James Harrison the Richmond actor.

 

[Pete Longstreet]

Great information! I remember when I first watched the movie Gettysburg for the first time back in 2000, my history teacher said he thought Harrison was a fictional character.

 

[Pollaco]

His most effective and famous coup came after a spying spree in Washington where he learned of Joseph Hooker being replaced with George Meade. He also discovered that the Army crossed the Potomac and was moving northward. These were two of the things Harrison reported back to his chief, James Longstreet,near Chambersburg, Pennsylvannia on June 28, 1863.

 

[Pete Longstreet]

The first time Longstreet met Harrison was in Suffolk. Harrison entered his tent with a letter from Seddon, recommending him as trustworthy.

 

[Josh The Lighthouse Guy]

Did Harrison ever do any noteworthy intelligence gathering after the Gettysburg Campaign?

 

[Pollaco]

It appears he was paid off in the fall of 1863 and was no longer used because he was a security risk due to heavy drinking. But he was sought out by Longstreet while the general was operating in Tennessee. But Harrison could not be located. It was thought he went to Mexico after the war and did some work for Maximilion then just disappeared until 1900. After surfacing briefly he vanished again.

 

[Pete Longstreet]

It appears he was paid off in the fall of 1863 and was no longer used because he was a security risk due to heavy drinking. But he was sought out by Longstreet while the general was operating in Tennessee. But Harrison could not be located. It was thought he went to Mexico after the war and did some work for Maximilion then just disappeared until 1900. After surfacing briefly he vanished again.

Well said. Longstreet regretted letting him go... because it was hard to find reliable spies.

 

[Pollaco]

From what I've read on Harrison , he first met Longstreet during the Battle of Suffolk when he used a letter from Secretary of War James Seddon as an "introduction" of sorts. Longstreet paid in gold and greenbacks to retain Harrison's loyalty. Lee refused to see him but Longstreet's chief of staff , Mosley Sorrel, vouched for him. I don't know if Lee ever actually saw him but He did use Harrison's information that the Union Army was moving north. This was the beginning of the Gettysburg Campaign.