I am a descendant of Brigadier General William T. Spicely, the Civil War general Peter has found. Gen. Spicely was born near Chapel Hill, NC, in what later became the Confederacy; there is also another Spicely from Dinwiddie who fought on the side of the South. Brother against brother indeed?
We are aware of an African-American family from South Carolina that also bears the name. This suggests that the Carolina or Virginia Spicelys were probably slave owners at one time, as many slaves ended up taking their masters' names. This may also be one possible explanation for the African Spiceleys that Peter encountered: perhaps that one branch of the family repatriated to Africa?
I am still looking for any information on the origins of the surname. It seems to have been a very small clan.