水手博物馆。
There was no formal naval intelligence system established during the American Civil War. While a few examples exist of Northern sympathizers, free Blacks, like Mary Louvestre of Portsmouth, sent messages to various Union commanders about the Confederate ironclad construction effort. These links were unofficial and were generally between one Union officer and an individual. The Union nor the Confederacy needed to rely on such clandestine methods since Northern and Southern newspapers provided ample information, usually in a boastful manner. Each antagonist simply needed to obtain a copy ofThe New York Timesor移动寄存器to gather all they needed to know about ironclad development.
联盟情报能够获得有关的宝贵知识CSS的建设和即将攻击弗吉尼亚。这些信息似乎在汉普顿道路上来回流动。1861年10月6日，约翰·埃利斯·伍尔少将（John Ellis Wool）少将驻扎在门罗堡（Fort Monroe）担任弗吉尼亚联盟部长，写信给中尉温菲尔德·斯科特（Winfield Scott）：
