Stephanie Bearce - The Civil War. Spies, Secret Missions, and Hidden Facts from the Civil War

Copyright 2015 Prufrock Press Inc.

Edited by Lacy Compton

Cover and layout design by Raquel Trevino

Background cover image courtesy of the Missouri Division of Tourism

ISBN-13: 978-1-61821-252-8

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Plot Against Lincoln

Railroad baron Samuel Felton knew a terrible secretone that could change the course of history. Felton had learned of a secret plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln before he could be sworn in as President of the United States of America.

As the president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad, Samuel Felton had informants working for him to warn him about possible train robberies. But one informant brought news of a scheme to use the railroad to kill the president-elect. Abraham Lincoln was traveling by train from his home in Springfield, IL, to his inauguration in Washington. Along the way, Lincoln would make stops and speak at several cities. It was the perfect chance for Southern rebels to get rid of the man they hated. All they would have to do was blow up a bridge as Lincolns train crossed over. It would be the end of a president who wanted to keep the states united, and it would throw the country into chaos.

There was only one man Samuel Felton could turn to for help. He sent an urgent letter to Allan Pinkerton, the head of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. Allan Pinkerton was already a famous name in America. His detective agency had solved numerous bank robberies, train robberies, and murders. He had worked with Samuel Felton to catch train robbers and had also worked with Lincoln when he was a lawyer in Illinois. He was trusted by both men.

Pinkerton was working late in his Chicago office when a delivery boy handed him Feltons letter. The wording was mysterious and vague. Felton couldnt risk anyone reading his letter. But Pinkerton trusted his friend, and when he read the words, I believe this matter to be extremely grave, not just for PW&B (railroad) but for the country as well, Pinkerton sent a three-word telegram back to Philadelphia: COMING AT ONCE.

In a private meeting, Felton told Pinkerton about the rumors that were circulating and that they seemed to center on Baltimore, MD. Baltimore was known to be an area especially sympathetic to Southern citizens who wanted their states to leave the United States. These citizens wanted individual states to decide their own laws, including laws about slavery.

Felton asked Pinkerton if he could find out the truth and protect president-elect Lincoln. Pinkerton agreed to take the job and immediately sent four of his best operatives.

Agent Timothy Webster arrived alone in a small town just north of Baltimore. He was dressed in the fine clothes of a Southern gentleman and had the assignment of infiltrating one of the secret militias of the area. He was to report back every detail of the militias plans.

Harry Davies was sent to the city of Baltimore disguised as a sophisticated Frenchman who was sympathetic to the views of the Southern slave holders. He was a detective who could speak multiple languages and was a master of disguise.

That same day, agent Kate Warne was dressed in hoop skirts and a fine lace bonnet and introduced as a Southern belle visiting the beautiful city of Baltimore. She checked into a fancy hotel and began spying at every high-class party in the city.

Detective Allan Pinkerton disappeared from his Chicago office for a few days, but reappeared in Baltimore disguised as a man named Hutchinson. He rented a brand new office and waited for the reports to come in.

They were worse than Pinkerton had expected. A few nights after the agents had begun their assignments, Timothy Webster reported in to the Baltimore office. Pinkerton listened while Webster told about the plan he had overheard. On February 23, when Mr. Lincoln was passing through Maryland, members of a secret militia would attempt to assassinate him.

Pinkerton wanted more details. Webster told him that the headquarters for the planning of the assassination was a militia in Baltimore. The other militias were to wait for a telegraph signal after Lincoln was killed. Once they had received the signal, they were to attack by blowing up bridges and railroads and cutting telegraph lines. Webster finished his report and left immediately. He wanted to get back before sunrise so no one would suspect him of spying. Pinkerton told him to keep in close contact and to try to join the militia if he could. Then, Pinkerton sent the information to his other agents.

THE PRIVATE EYE

Allan Pinkerton started one of the first legitimate private detective agencies in America. His company logo the All Seeing Eyeultimately influenced the phrase private eye.

A few days later, Harry Davis was invited to join a secret militia in Baltimore. He snuck away to consult with Pinkerton and ask his advice. Davies knew that if he joined the militia he would have to swear an allegiance to the South and he did not want to be known as a traitor.

Pinkerton assured him that working undercover to save the president would not be considered treason, and Davies agreed to take the oath. It was a lucky thing he did, because the very night Davies took the oath, the leader of the militia explained their glorious plan for setting the South free from the rule of the Union. They would send eight assassins from their militia to kill the president-elect. With eight men ready to shoot, one of them would surely succeed.

The plan was to wait for Lincoln to get off the train in Baltimore and board a carriage to the hotel. That would be the point where the president would be most vulnerable. Once the plan was explained, all of the men in the militia lined up to pull a slip of paper from a jar. If the paper had a red dot, that man was to be one of the assassins.