Mr. Lincoln's Master Spy: Lafayette Baker (review)

270CIVIL WAR history then from the perspective of the Asiatic command he conceived of American strategic domination of the Pacific with footholds in Formosa, Okinawa, and the Bonins to control the great-circle approach to China. Here is a significant connection between the Manifest Destiny of the 1840's and the insular imperialism of the 1890's. But Perry was an imperialist with a difference, Morison contends, in that he eschewed forcible annexation and big colonies. Even so, it might be argued, great empires had a way of mushrooming out of small beginnings, and the distinction would have been lost on the Okinawans. Defense of his "hero" leads Morison into several curious distinctions. He sees the commodore reaching his greatest achievement, the opening of Japan, through diplomacy rather than military force. Undeniably, as Morison shows, Perry conducted negotiations with prudence and finesse; he shrewdly calculated how much he could realistically expect and the necessary mixture of pomp, civility, and menace to attain it. Nevertheless, his best argument was his squadron in the bay. He practiced diplomacy, ii you will, but at the cannon's mouth. And why rationalize it by evoking a Japanese reputation for treacherous surprise attacks? One wonders what rules would have applied if the situation had been reversed and a Japanese Perry had marched ashore at San Francisco. This is a book of substance and value, even though "Old Bruin" does not fit the heroic mold either as sea-dog or peacemaker. A career that touched all parts of the navy, all squadrons, all seas gave Morison a chance to write what approaches a history of the United States Navy in the first half of the nineteenth century, and, like the sea, Morison is never dull. Waldo H. Heinrichs, Jr. University of Illinois Mr. Lincoln's Master Spy. Lafayette Baker. By Arthur Orrmont. (New York: Juhan Messner, 1966. Pp. 191. $3.50.) Of all the colorful figures of the Civil War, one of the most important and little known men is soldier, spy, and Secret Service creator Lafayette Baker. His life as master spy for the Union equals if not surpasses his much heralded modern counterpart in today's era of girls, gadgets, and gimmicks. Learning of troop movements behind rebel lines, duping Jefferson Davis into giving him a pass to see Richmond's defenses, Baker proved invaluable in breaking up frauds, arresting traitors, literally saving the capítol at one point, and, in his most famous achievement, finding the man who shot Lincoln. To all this Arthur Orrmont brings a lively, entertaining, and breezy style in Mr. Lincoln's Master Spy. Unfortunately, Mr. Orrmont brings little else to his slim volume. Indeed his highly subjective, over-simplified, and sometimes careless narrative will lead the reader into believing Baker was a combination of Socrates, Christ, and Laurence Olivier. Baker was a complex and controversial man, book reviews271 and the nature of his work precluded leaving all the information around for history. To many Baker was a conniving charlatan, a Svengali out for personal power who lied so often that to this day his words must be taken very carefully. Orrmont questions nothing. The author's attempt to show him as Lincoln's right arm as opposed to the popular view of Baker as an effective, excellent spy and Secret Service chief who yet was unscrupulous and not above being bribed is commendable. But without any documentation or critical insight into justifying his thesis Orrmont does not prove his case. Leaving his San Francisco Vigilante Committee to offer his services as a spy in Washington, Baker soon proved himself to General Winfield Scott and Secretary of State William H. Seward. Baker became Chief of the War Department Detective Bureau under Edwin Stanton and later Provost Marshal. In this capacity he came in contact with, and alienated, people from all walks of life right up to the highest echelons of government . With no precedents or advisors to guide him it is amazing how his effectiveness soared. In a period when civil war forced the abrogation of civil liberties, however , Baker was the era's most zealous advocate of clapping political prisoners into the Old Capitol Prison. Instead of trying...