"In a thrilling detective story of conspiracy, treachery and assassination, Michael J. Kline suggests how close the Baltimore plotters came to achieving their goal, and reveals how Lincoln and a few guards outwitted them. Meticulously researched and written with verve, "The Baltimore Plot" takes readers aboard Lincoln's inaugural train for a perilous and unforgettable journey." â??James L. Swanson, author of the Edgar Award-winning New York Times bestseller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
On February 11, 1861, the "Lincoln Special" - Abraham Lincoln's private trainâ??began its journey from Springfield, Illinois, to the City of Washington, carrying the president-elect to his inauguration as the sixteenth president of the United States. Considered a "sectional candidate" by the South, and winning the election without the popular vote, Lincoln was so despised that seven states immediately seceded from the Union. Over the next twelve days, Lincoln would speak at numerous stops, including Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Albany, New York, and Philadelphia, expressing his desire to maintain the Union. But as Lincoln made his way east, America's first private detective, Allan Pinkerton, and a separate undercover operation by New York City detectives, uncovered startling evidence of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln during his next-to-last stop in Baltimore. Long a site of civil unrestâ??even Robert E. Lee's father, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, was nearly beaten to death in its streetsâ??Baltimore provided the perfect environment for a strike. The largest city of a border state with secessionist sympathies, Baltimore had been infiltrated by paramilitary groups bent on killing Lincoln, the "Black Republican." The death of the president-elect would, it was supposed, throw the nation into chaos and allow the South to establish a new nation and claim Washington as its capital. Warned in time, Lincoln outfoxed the alleged conspirators by slipping through Baltimore undetected, but at a steep price. Ridiculed by the press for "cowardice" and the fact that no conspirators were charged, Lincoln would never hide from the public again. Four years later, when he sat unprotected in the balcony of Ford's Theatre, the string of conspiracies against his life finally succeeded. One of the great presidential mysteries and long a source of fascination among Lincoln scholars, the Baltimore Plot has never been fully investigated until now. In The Baltimore Plot: The First Conspiracy to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln, Michael J. Kline turns his legal expertise to evaluating primary sources in order to discover the extent of the conspiracy and culpability of the many suspects surrounding the case. Full of memorable characters, including Kate Warne, the first female undercover agent, and intriguing plot twists, the story is written as an unfolding criminal proceeding in which the author allows the reader to determine whether there was a true plot to kill Lincoln and if the perpetrators could have been brought to… (más)
Michael J. Kline presents evidence that the "Baltimore Plot", a somewhat doubtful conspiracy to murder Lincoln as he passed through Baltimore on his way to Washington was in fact real. He has obviously pored over a mountain of information in creating this heavily documented work. I found it very convincing. Even apart from this issue, it is a very detailed, and usually very readable account of the state of affairs in the nation prepared for the changeover from Buchanan to Lincoln, when the future status of Virginia and Maryland vis á vis the union was still in doubt.
Kline gives a very detailed account of Lincoln's very circuitous route to Washington. He brings to life a number of the lesser players such as Senator Wigfall, the Pinkerton agents, the vacillating Governor Hicks of Maryland, and many others. Portraits of many of them are included in the text.
Baltimore, here better described by its nickname of "Mobtown", is not portrayed in any flattering light. Kline does not seem to be at all sympathetic to the cause of the Confederacy, which is fine by me, but may upset a few readers. I wonder how this was received in Atlanta, where he lives.
A book that should be of great interest to Civil War buffs and fans of Lincoln. ( )
Many years ago, my grandfather, Wesley Seitz Watson, gave me his most cherished possession, Carl Sandburg's Abraham Lincoln: The War Years, which eventually started me on this journey. This book is in loving memory of him.
"In a thrilling detective story of conspiracy, treachery and assassination, Michael J. Kline suggests how close the Baltimore plotters came to achieving their goal, and reveals how Lincoln and a few guards outwitted them. Meticulously researched and written with verve, "The Baltimore Plot" takes readers aboard Lincoln's inaugural train for a perilous and unforgettable journey." â??James L. Swanson, author of the Edgar Award-winning New York Times bestseller Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer
On February 11, 1861, the "Lincoln Special" - Abraham Lincoln's private trainâ??began its journey from Springfield, Illinois, to the City of Washington, carrying the president-elect to his inauguration as the sixteenth president of the United States. Considered a "sectional candidate" by the South, and winning the election without the popular vote, Lincoln was so despised that seven states immediately seceded from the Union. Over the next twelve days, Lincoln would speak at numerous stops, including Indianapolis, Columbus, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Albany, New York, and Philadelphia, expressing his desire to maintain the Union. But as Lincoln made his way east, America's first private detective, Allan Pinkerton, and a separate undercover operation by New York City detectives, uncovered startling evidence of a conspiracy to assassinate Lincoln during his next-to-last stop in Baltimore. Long a site of civil unrestâ??even Robert E. Lee's father, Henry "Light Horse Harry" Lee, was nearly beaten to death in its streetsâ??Baltimore provided the perfect environment for a strike. The largest city of a border state with secessionist sympathies, Baltimore had been infiltrated by paramilitary groups bent on killing Lincoln, the "Black Republican." The death of the president-elect would, it was supposed, throw the nation into chaos and allow the South to establish a new nation and claim Washington as its capital. Warned in time, Lincoln outfoxed the alleged conspirators by slipping through Baltimore undetected, but at a steep price. Ridiculed by the press for "cowardice" and the fact that no conspirators were charged, Lincoln would never hide from the public again. Four years later, when he sat unprotected in the balcony of Ford's Theatre, the string of conspiracies against his life finally succeeded. One of the great presidential mysteries and long a source of fascination among Lincoln scholars, the Baltimore Plot has never been fully investigated until now. In The Baltimore Plot: The First Conspiracy to Assassinate Abraham Lincoln, Michael J. Kline turns his legal expertise to evaluating primary sources in order to discover the extent of the conspiracy and culpability of the many suspects surrounding the case. Full of memorable characters, including Kate Warne, the first female undercover agent, and intriguing plot twists, the story is written as an unfolding criminal proceeding in which the author allows the reader to determine whether there was a true plot to kill Lincoln and if the perpetrators could have been brought to
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Kline gives a very detailed account of Lincoln's very circuitous route to Washington. He brings to life a number of the lesser players such as Senator Wigfall, the Pinkerton agents, the vacillating Governor Hicks of Maryland, and many others. Portraits of many of them are included in the text.
Baltimore, here better described by its nickname of "Mobtown", is not portrayed in any flattering light. Kline does not seem to be at all sympathetic to the cause of the Confederacy, which is fine by me, but may upset a few readers. I wonder how this was received in Atlanta, where he lives.
A book that should be of great interest to Civil War buffs and fans of Lincoln. (