Stealing lincolns body book

Continental system, peninsular war, invasion of russia, book of mormon, 1815, 1812, 1810, utah. Abraham lincolns coffin has been moved 17 times, mostly due to numerous reconstructions of the lincoln tomb and fears for the safety of the presidents remains. After the assassination of abraham lincoln by john wilkes booth, lincoln s body was carried by an honor guard to the white house on saturday april 15, 1865. Stealing lincolns body by thomas j craughwell alibris. Grave robber terrence mullen one of the men who tried to steal president abraham lincolns body. This rousing story of con men, federal agents, and ordinary springfield citizens underscores that truth really is. Stealing lincolns body various actor, history director rated. On the night of the 1876 presidential election, a gang of counterfeiters attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of abraham lincoln and hold it for ransom. The desecration of the burial site prompted a new, more secure, burial vault to be constructed. With jon austin, kent courtney, tom dwyer, matthew gooley. Hughes was arrested by secret service agents and indicted for passing five counterfeit bills. This documentary from the history channel chronicles the bizarre history of president lincolns body which was moved, stolen, and disturbed several times following his burial in 1866, until it was finally moved to a steel and concrete reinforced tomb several years later. Another excellent source is the 2007 publication by thomas j. In this podcast, brian mchale takes the lead in talking about a not very well known chapter of american history.

New book details plot to steal abraham lincolns body. The first time was in 1890, when the custodian of the tomb wrote his own book, and most recently in 1990, with bonnie stahlman speers book, the great abraham lincoln hijack. On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters attempted to steal the entombed body of abraham lincoln and hold it for ransom. Thomas craughwell in a summary of his book stealing lincolns body tells of the second more infamous attempt. We discussed abraham lincolns son, but even after his death curious twists of fate followed the slain president. Also, see craughwells article entitled a plot to steal lincolns body in the july 2, 2007, edition of u. The hub in the book lincolns grave robbers what extra security was added at the lincoln monument after the first attempt to steal the body was discovered.

December 21, 1865, september 19, 1871, october 9, 1874, april 14, 1887, and september 26, 1901. Craughwell has documented this sad story in his wonderful book stealing lincolns body published by belknap press. In a wellresearched and beautifully written book, he takes readers through the intriguing irish underworld of counterfeiting that led to the plot to hold lincoln s body for ransom. At least 15,000 books have been written about abraham lincoln, the 16th president of the united states. The book is 250 pages with index, bibliography, notes, and bw photos. Discussion questions for stealing lincolns body by thomas j. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to protecting the. On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of abraham lincoln. In 1876, eleven years after lincolns assassination, a band of chicago counterfeiters hatched a plot to steal his body and hold it for ransom they wanted. Buy a cheap copy of stealing lincoln s body book by thomas j. A plot to steal the mortal remains of abraham lincoln was set in motion in 1876 by a chicago businessman named james big jim kennally as a way to preserve his profit margin his business was counterfeiting.

The attempt to steal lincolns body has been covered before. Stealing lincolns body documentary by victorian vault. Craughwell overall, this book was very interesting and informative. By don radebaugh when fleetwood lindley died in 1963, he would officially go down in history as the last person to have looked upon the face of abraham lincoln, albeit the viewing came.

Another in our series of posts about how strange doings seemed to follow the lincoln family. Inside the catacomb are the original crypts of the lincolns. Thus, it is a bit surprising that two books on the 1876 attempt to steal lincolns body and hold it for ransom have appeared in the last ten years. Download stealing lincoln s body or read stealing lincoln s body online books in pdf, epub and mobi format. While the field of lincoln studies appears to have been exhaustively mined, thomas craughwell has found a gold nugget in the bizarre story of stealing lincoln s body. Craughwell returns to this bizarre, and largely forgotten, event with the first book to place the grave robbery in historical context. Buy a cheap copy of stealing lincolns body book by thomas j. Stealing lincolns body is a fascinating thriller, and it provides a macabre footnote to american history, but the real strength lies in the way the contextthe dynamic but turbulent society of america in the immediate aftermath of the civil waris so skillfully described. This caused the custodian to spend his whole life protecting lincoln s body. I have dozens of newspaper articles and book references published on this topic and every one of them repeatedly mentions john mcginn. Stealing lincolns body was a book that was about a group of men out of chicago that attempted to steal president lincoln s body from his grave sight. In 1876, abraham lincolns body lay within an aboveground white marble sarcophagus in a handsome tomb on the grounds of springfield, ill. James srodes washington times 05272007 this is a terrific read. Thomas craughwell talked about his book stealing lincolns body, published by belknap press.

On april 19, a funeral service was held and then the coffin, attended by large crowds, was transported in a procession. Craughwell, reveals an historic crime involving the stealing of a deceased president. In the book lincolns grave robbers what was the name of the chicago bar where kennally organized the second attempt to steal lincolns body. Funeral services and lyings in state were held in washington, d. Click download or read online button to get stealing lincoln s body book now. But craughwells book shows there still is a hunger for anything to do with lincoln. Stealing lincolns body was a book that was about a group of men out of chicago that attempted to steal president lincolns body from his grave sight. In 1830, an attempt was made to steal the skull from the remains of george washington, which resided in a tomb at mount vernon.

Attempted theft of george washingtons skull wikipedia. At times though the informative portions were a little much. I found myself referring to the notes on many ocassions just to see where the material had come from. What was the one most interesting thing that you learned. Instead, the thief mistakenly removed the skull from the remains of one of judge bushrod washington s inlaws.

Craughwells stealing lincolns body on the web site, bob bender, senior editor of simon and schuster, notes that abraham lincoln has been a bestselling subject, probably since the month after he died. He had jumped bail and was being sought by every policeman in. Craughwell this rousing story of hapless con men, intrepid federal agents, and ordinary springfield citizens who honored their native son by keeping a valuable, burdensome secret for decades offers a riveting glimpse into late nineteenth century america, and underscores that truth really is sometimes stranger. Grave robber john hughes one of the men who tried to steal president abraham lincolns body. Thomas craughwells stealing lincolns body abounds with information about the amazingly goofball plot and about such things as the transformation of the secret service into being the presidential body guard. Stealing lincolns body tells a fascinating and littleknown story about abraham lincoln, the nations 16th president and the subject of countless biographies and documentaries. May contain limited notes, underlining or highlighting that does affect the text. He is one of the pinkerton detectives mentioned who guarded lincolns body that night and in fact is the person who physically arrested mullins. Edition discs price new from used from dvd may 26, 2009 please retry. The book, stealing lincolns body, written by thomas j. For more on this story check out the book stealing lincolns body, by thomas j craughwell, or the corresponding documentary. Includes program for lincoln society event where author was a guest speaker and signed the book.

The secret service was created under the department of the treasury in 1865 and mainly dealt with counterfeiters. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. In 1870 a group of counterfeiters in illinois ran up on. Craughwell is the author of stealing lincolns body harvard university press, 2007. If so, what information in the book was new to you. More specifically, parts of the book go on and on about side topics such as the history of the following topics in the us. Lincolns white marble sarcophagus is seen in the foreground. Craughwell stealing lincolns body 1st edition 1st printing hardcover new york belknap press 2007 very good in a very good dust jacket.

Left to right are the coffins of eddie and mary todd lincoln, an empty vault and tads coffin. He described the attempted theft of president abraham. Thomas craughwell exhumes a fascinating and bizarre lincoln tale that you didnt hear in school. Spine creases, wear to binding and pages from reading.

Book depository books with free delivery worldwide. Craughwell details a littleknown plot to steal the 16th presidents remains from his tomb in springfield, ill. After the april 14, 1865 assassination of abraham lincoln, 16th president of the united states, a threeweek series of events mourned his death and memorialized his life. If you wish to learn about the man who led the north during the american civil war and issued the emancipation proclamation in 1862 then you are not going to be restricted by choice. He lay in state in the east room of the white house which was open to the public on tuesday, april 18. Originally courtesy of the abraham lincoln presidential library. This rousing story of hapless con men, intrepid federal agents, and ordinary. Press button download or read online below and wait 20 seconds. Did this book alter your opinion of any of the historical figures who appear in it. Accessories such as cd, codes, toys, may not be included. The book starts out in the 1600s explaining how the united states develops its monetary system along with counterfeiting. On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang. On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of chicago attempted to steal the entombed embalmed body of abraham lincoln and hold it for ransom.