Booth's Confederate Connections

by Sandy Prindle

Overview

Circumstances point to Judah Benjamin giving an order for Lincoln's assassination to his Canadian couriers John Surratt and Sarah Slater, putting John Wilkes Booth as plan B. The author argues that Benjamin was the real culprit in this plot. The director of Surratt House Museum assisted with the author's research.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455624737
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	03/20/2019
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Author and Civil War scholar Sandy Prindle contends that the full story behind Lincoln's assassination may be more complicated and much more nefarious. With new research and rigorous scholarship, Prindle investigates the alleged Confederate conspiracy behind the assassination and gives a comprehensive analysis of the people, motives, and events leading to Lincoln's last night at Ford's Theatre.

Table of Contents

Foreword 7

Preface 11

Acknowledgments 15

Chapter 1 Justification 19

Chapter 2 Building the Intelligence Road 27

Chapter 3 The Canadian Connections 31

Chapter 4 Black Flag Warfare Turned Serious 49

Chapter 5 Booth Arrives in the Story 55

Chapter 6 A Plot Develops 64

Chapter 7 A Plan Comes Together 75

Chapter 8 The Drama Begins 86

Chapter 9 The Alibi 102

Chapter 10 The Final Days 107

Chapter 11 The Great Tragedy 119

Chapter 12 The Pursuit of Justice 133

Chapter 13 The Trial of the Century 157

Chapter 14 The Final Hours 181

Chapter 15 After the Executions 190

Chapter 16 Off the Hook 202

Chapter 17 A Story Revised 218

Notes 227

Index 235

Editorial Reviews

★ 2019-05-23
This thorough appraisal of President Abraham Lincoln's assassination addresses the theory that John Wilkes Booth was part of a multifaceted conspiracy directed by Confederate Secretary of State Judah Benjamin.

Prindle (Revolution II, 2012, etc.) begins with the 1864 Dahlgren affair. After a failed Union raid on Richmond, Southerners published documents found on Union Army Lt. Col. Ulric Dahlgren's corpse that mentioned a plan to destroy the city and kill Confederate President Jefferson Davis and his Cabinet. Prindle sets aside the enduring debate over their authenticity but asserts that Benjamin, who directed the Confederate Secret Service, believed them to be genuine. Prindle argues that Confederates were involved in a plot to kidnap Lincoln, spirit him to Richmond, and ransom many prisoners, which then led to retributive schemes to decapitate the Union government. Through 17 brisk chapters, the author sketches the Confederate officials, undercover operatives, and civilians who advanced the conspiracy. He tracks clandestine activities from Virginia to Maryland to Canada, connecting dots while adding detailed context. Prindle effectively captures the complexity and chaos of the war's final months: Battlefield losses mounted, Lincoln won reelection, Confederate desperation grew, and after Richmond fell, a kidnapping plot became untenable. Booth found his own plot competing with another to blow up a portion of the White House during a Cabinet session. Prindle identifies the only official who could have authorized either plan, other than Davis himself: Benjamin, who escaped to England with a fortune from the Confederate treasury. Prindle, an author of three novels, displays fluent storytelling, rendering familiar history as a page-turner. His abundant endnotes and synthesis of obscure details ably reflect his 30-year avocation of studying and lecturing about the Civil War as an independent scholar. A retired justice of the peace, Prindle's granular accounting of the military tribunal, the executions of the conspirators, and the legal aftermath showcases his full skill set and typifies his discerning approach. Throughout, he gives competing views their due and carefully supports his own. Prindle's conclusion relies on an "unbroken chain of circumstantial evidence," as he admits, but readers need not be wholly persuaded to find it worthwhile reading.

A strong argument that deserves a spot in every Civil War buff's library.

Kirkus Reviews