A Vast and Fiendish Plot:. Clint Johnson
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The Experts Praise
“A VAST AND FIENDISH PLOT”
“The fascinating, exhaustively researched saga ranges from battlefields to backrooms as Johnson recounts the tale of an intrepid band of Confederate agents. In prose that travels at breakneck speed, we meet a colorful cast of swashbucklers, knaves, and conspirators. A rousing good read.”
—Fergus M. Bordewich, author of Bound for Canaan: The Underground Railroad and the War for the Soul of America
“The history of the Confederate attempt to take the war to New York City with a behind-the-lines attack is a remarkable story overlooked by many students of the Civil War…. ‘A Vast and Fiendish Plot’ is sure to keep the reader’s interest.”
—Rod Gragg, author of Confederate Goliath: The Battle of Fort Fisher
“Fresh, insightful analysis of an amazing turn of events that nearly set New York City ablaze during the Civil War. Readers will be enthralled by the fast-paced narrative and clear writing that transport them into a dangerous and murky world.”
—David J. Eicher, author of The Longest Night
“A fresh and intriguing addition to Civil War literature. Johnson shows how Southerners sought to take revenge on a ‘sister city’ they felt betrayed them after the outbreak of hostilities in 1861.”
—Brion McClanahan, author of The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Founding Fathers
“Johnson opens up a new chapter in the annals of Civil War history, as he shines much-needed light on a serious Confederate threat that played out in New York in November of 1864. A must-have for everyone’s Civil War bookshelf.”
—Marc Leepson, author of Saving Monticello, Flag and Desperate Engagement
“Clint Johnson meticulously details a long-neglected chapter of Civil War history. His well-researched volume yields a vivid, fast-paced account of the intruging Confederate attempt to cause mayhem, confusion, and destruction. Johnson weaves a fascinating story that is sure to captivate readers.”
—Daniel W. Barefoot, author of Spirits of ’76: Ghost Stories of the American Revolution
“The attack of the Confederate secret service on New York City in November 1864 has never received this detailed a treatment. The book covers the planning, attack and aftermath in a very readable, informative manner.”
—James Durney, reviewer for The Order of Civil War Obsessively Compulsed blog
ALSO BY CLINT JOHNSON
Pursuit: The Chase, Capture, Persecution & Surprising Release of Confederate President Jefferson Davis
The Politically Incorrect Guide to the South (and Why It Will Rise Again)
Colonial America and the American Revolution: The 25 Best Sites
The 25 Best Civil War Sites
In the Footsteps of Robert E. Lee
In the Footsteps of Stonewall Jackson
In the Footsteps of J.E.B. Stuart
Touring Virginia’s and West Virginia’s Civil War Sites
Touring the Carolinas’ Civil War Sites
Civil War Blunders
Bull’s-eyes and Misfires: 50 People Whose Obscure Efforts Shaped the American Civil War
New York Herald on November 26, 1864
“A vast and fiendish plot to burn down our Empire City gave rise to the most profound excitement among all classes of our citizens.”
“A VAST AND FIENDISH PLOT”
THE CONFEDERATE ATTACK ON NEW YORK CITY
CLINT JOHNSON
CITADEL PRESS
Kensington Publishing Corp.
The schoolteachers in Arcadia, Florida, taught and inspired me to love and write history. Some are gone. Some are still here. All helped me get to where I am. That’s what teachers are supposed to do.
I apologize to them for still dangling my participles, not knowing what a gerund is, and never figuring out how to diagram a sentence.
Contents
Introduction
Prologue: "A Born Gentleman to the Tips of His Fingers"
PART I. The South's Secessionist Sister City
Chapter 1. "Decayed Is Here"
Chapter 2. "A Traffic in Enslaved Africans"
Chapter 3. "A Great Distribution Point for Cotton"
Chapter 4. "Money Is Plenty, Business Is Brisk"
Chapter 5. "The Meetings of These Madmen"
Chapter 6. "The City of New York Belongs to the South"
Chapter 7. "That Which Comes Easy Goes Easy"
PART II. The South Seethes
Chapter 8. "How Sad Is This Life"
Chapter 9. "A Fire in the Rear Will Be Opened"
Chapter 10. "State Governments Will Be Seized"
Chapter 11. "The People Have Lost All Confidence in Lincoln"
PART III. The Plan
Chapter 12. "Organize Only in ‘the Territory of the Enemy'"
Chapter 13. "New York Is Worth Twenty Richmonds"
Chapter 14. "Set Fire to Cities on Election Day"
Chapter 15. "Rebel Agents in Canada"
PART IV. Burn New York
Chapter 16. "Something Dead in That Valise"
Chapter 17. "Do the Greatest Damage in the Business District"
Chapter 18. "It Blazed Up Instantly"
Chapter 19. "A Vast and Fiendish Plot"
PART V. The Aftermath
Chapter 20. "If Convicted, They Will Be Executed"
Chapter 21. "Trust to Luck"
Chapter 22. "A Terror for Our Citizens"
Chapter 23. "They Sacrificed Everything"
Epilogue: What Happened to the Principal Characters
Acknowledgments
Source Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index
Introduction
Researching history is great fun for the writer when he puts down on paper facts that may surprise readers. That is the way it was writing “A Vast and Fiendish Plot”: The Confederate Attack on New York City.
To understand why the city became a target of eight Confederate officers in November 1864, one must understand that New York City was not always the socially liberal place we know in the twenty-first century.
In the seventeenth century New York City was one of the first colonies to accept Africans as slaves at the same time that Jamestown, Virginia, was treating Africans as indentured servants who would one day be free.
In