The Dark Intrigue The True Story of a Civil War Conspiracy

by Van Der Linden, Frank

• ISBN13: 9781555916107
• ISBN10: 1555916104
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-11-01
• Publisher: Fulcrum Publishing
• More Book Details

Summary

The Dark Intrigue tells for the first time the incredible story of how leaders of an American political party, during the Civil War, conferred cordially with enemy agents in a foreign country in a scheme to oust the president of the United States and enforce peace without victory.

Most Northerners initially supported Abraham Lincoln's war against the Southern Confederacy to save the Union. But later, many turned against it when the death toll soared above a half million. Hoping to recapture the White House as a "peace party," leading Democrats met with Confederate agents in the summer of 1864 and discussed ways to end the war-not win it. Lincoln charged that one Confederate agent, C. C. Clay, had convinced the Democrats to orchestrate an armistice. This intriguing book reveals letters from Clay that confirm Lincoln's suspicions. A fascinating read, The Dark Intrigue brings an important piece of Civil War history to light.

 

Table of Contents

Preface	p. ix
"McClellan for President"	p. 1
Barlow Commands the Boom	p. 7
Stanton Smears McClellan	p. 11
McClellan's Fateful Letter	p. 19
"Little Mac Is Back!"	p. 26
"Plenty of Rotten Old Democrats"	p. 33
Separate Peace Urged on the Northwest	p. 38
Arbitrary Arrests	p. 41
Democrats' Intrigue with British for Peace	p. 47
"Treason Is Everywhere"	p. 53
"Don't Care a Damn"	p. 59
Lincoln Exiles Vallandigham	p. 66
"The Great Dead Rabbit"	p. 72
Bloody Chaos in New York	p. 80
Antiwar Feeling Rises	p. 86
Dahlgren's Fatal Raid	p. 94
Confederates' Intrigue in Canada	p. 99
Federal Spies Find Disloyalty in the North	p. 107
Gold Gamblers and Shoddy Rich	p. 112
Vallandigham Returns	p. 117
Jubal Early's Raid Spurs Calls for "Mac"	p. 122
Sanders, Rebel Agent, Woos Democrats	p. 127
A Machiavellian Scheme	p. 138
Lincoln Scents the Dark Intrigue	p. 145
A Spy Exposes Plot for Revolt	p. 151
Lincoln Fears Defeat	p. 158
Peace Democrats Oppose McClellan	p. 166
Mint Juleps and Sherry Cobblers	p. 173
"This Damned War Must Be Stopped!"	p. 179
Democrats Promise Armistice	p. 187
Seward Proves the Dark Intrigue	p. 196
Pendleton and Belmont Assailed	p. 205
Hood Moves North	p. 213
"Treason" Trials in Indiana	p. 217
Illinois Democrat Takes Rebel Gold	p. 226
Rebels Betrayed in Chicago	p. 234
New York in the Balance	p. 240
Lincoln's Great Victory	p. 245
The Last Nail in Slavery's Coffin	p. 252
Aftermath	p. 257
Abbreviations	p. 263
Notes	p. 265
Bibliography	p. 295
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