Notes & Queries

Notes & Queries EDITED BY BOYD B. STUTLER 517 Main Street Charleston, West Virginia this department is UESIGNED as an open forum for researchers into Civil War themes and readers of Civil War History. It is open for questions on and discussions of phases of the war and its personnel; also, we welcome notes on newly discovered, little known, sidelights of the war. Contributions are invited; address Notes and Queries Editor. QUERIES No. 47—Confederate Plot to Capture Washington: In April of 1861 the Federal Government in Washington was shaken into near chaos by rumors and reports of a Confederate plot for the attack and capture of the city. It is well known that both the White House and Capitol were provisioned for a siege, and garrisoned with troops as a result of rumors, and that General Scott did his best to safeguard the city and the Government buildings. The plan, as presently surmised, was concocted by the top secession leaders in Maryland and Virginia. As it is now understood, Virginia militia were to capture both Harpers Ferry Armory and Arsenal and the Norfolk Navy Yard intact, arm themselves, and march immediately on Washington from both the south and west. Secessionists in Baltimore were to tear up railroad tracks and telegraph lines, and mob any troops that might arrive from the north. Control of Harpers Ferry would also control the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and thus prevent any reinforcements from getting through from the west. 437 438BOYD B. STUTLER In essence, the plan called for a complete isolation of Washington, with special arson squads organized to set fires and add to the confusion. The plot may have called for the actual secession of Virginia and Maryland, or it may have been arranged merely to capitalize on secession. The failure of Maryland to secede may have been partially responsible for the failure of the plan. This ambitious plan, as yet unverified by documentary evidence, was mentioned in detail in contemporary accounts and is, of course, very strongly borne out by the chain of succeeding events. It is thoroughly possible, however, that the so-called plot was a complete fabrication to justify the confusion and fear in Washington, and to explain the various events which seemed to fit into the pattern. Query: Has anyone any knowledge of published or unpublished materials which might tend to either substantiate or disprove the existence of this assumed plot as a premeditated and planned series of events, with the capture of Washington as the ultimate end? Donald B. Webster, Jr. No. 48—Sandford Conover—Charles A. Dunham—Forger: Sandford Conover, a notorious individual under an assumed name, in 1865-1866 organized a "School for Perjury" at the National Hotel in Washington for the designed purpose of producing a mass output of perjured testimony to implicate Jefferson Davis in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. He was subsequently tried for perjury in February, 1867, convicted and sentenced to ten years in the Albany Penitentiary. He was pardoned February 11, 1869, by President Andrew Johnson and released on February 15th. This Sandford Conover was a curious and mysterious person, whose real name is alleged to be Charles A. Dunham. Special interest in the man and his career was developed when it was discovered that he was the author of the two celebrated "kidnap or assassinate" articles which appeared on the front pages of the New York Tribune, March 19 and April 23, 1864. These articles, accepted as true and accurate reflection of Confederate desires, implied that: (1) the Richmond authorities wanted Lincoln kidnaped; (2) wanted him killed if the "capture" seemed likely to be abortive; (3) wanted some "unofficial" private individual or group to undertake the enterprise, and (4), that a large sum of money was available to reimburse the successful aspirant and to serve as a fund for a reward. These implications were supported by the "Cullom to Wellford" letter published in the second article. This letter, I have established, was a forgery by Sandford Conover, but inserted into a genuine envelope which had passed through the Confederate mails. The unsuspecting editor of Notes ?- Queries439 the Tribune (probably Sidney H. Gay) was thereby led to vouch for this...