The Dahlgren Affair: Terror and Conspiracy in the Civil WarMarch 5, 1864, was the day on which the Civil War changed to what the Richmond Examiner called "a war of extermination, of indiscriminate slaughter and plunder." It changed because of a few sheets of paper found on a muddy trail outside Richmond. Their legacy was a new and terrible style of warfare. In a daring but failed cavalry raid to free thousands of Union prisoners, the Union commander-twenty-one-year-old Ulric Dahlgren-was killed; on his body were found orders purportedly instructing his men to find and execute Jefferson Davis and the rest of the Confederate cabinet. There was an immediate outpouring of horrified, indignant rage throughout the South, and after the Union disclaimed any knowledge of the papers or the order they contained, Jefferson Davis authorized the use of terrorism against civilians in the North in the form of guerrilla raids, bank robberies, arson, and sabotage. This compelling narrative is the first full-length analysis of the link between Dahlgren's failed raid and the Confederate campaign of terror. "[A] wonderfully vivid portrait of Confederate attempts to stir up rebellion in the North during the war's waning days. . . . Schultz handles all of this melodramatic material with vigor and clarity, a first-rate addition to the bulging shelves of Civil War Studies."-Kirkus Reviews |
Contents
Acknowledgments | 11 |
MANY ARE DEAD AND GONE | 15 |
IT IS A PERILOUS TIME | 24 |
IT IS A GREAT PLAN | 33 |
THE TIME TO STRIKE | 48 |
WHOLESALE MISERY AND DEATH | 57 |
THE CHANCES ARE PRETTY HAZARDOUS | 68 |
THE PALACE OF PLEASURE | 83 |
WE ARE GOING ON | 117 |
THE CHASE WAS A NIGHTMARE | 127 |
RETURN THEIR FIRE | 136 |
LIKE A PARCEL OF OLD WOMEN | 144 |
ULRIC THE HUN | 152 |
AN EXPRESSION OF AGONY | 171 |
FULL AND BITTER TEARS | 190 |
A VERY RISKY VENTURE | 213 |
HOW LITTLE WE KNOW WHO WILL GO NEXT | 91 |
DONT KNOW YET WHERE WE ARE TO GO | 101 |
A DARKNESS THAT COULD BE FELT | 108 |
WHO WROTE THE DAHLGREN | 239 |
AFTERMATH | 258 |
Other editions - View all
The Dahlgren Affair: Terror and Conspiracy in the Civil War Duane P. Schultz No preview available - 1998 |
Common terms and phrases
Admiral Dahlgren army attack Beall Benjamin Butler camp captured Castleman cavalry Civil civilian Colonel Dahlgren command Confederacy Copperhead Copperhead leaders Custer DAHLGREN AFFAIR Dahlgren papers Dahlgren's body Dahlgren's death diary Elizabeth Van Lew enemy escape expedition February 29 Federal fight fire Fitzhugh Lee force friends George Gordon Meade Grenfell guard Headley headquarters Hines Hines's horses Hugh Judson Kilpatrick hundred Jefferson Davis John Dahlgren John Hunt John Hunt Morgan Johnson's Island Kentucky killed Kilpatrick knew later letter Libby Prison Lincoln March Martin Meade Meade's miles military Morgan morning Murray never newspapers night North northern Northwest conspiracy officers orders Pleasonton Potomac president quoted raid on Richmond raiders Rapidan rebel Rebellion returned River rode scouts Secretary Seddon sent soldiers South southern Stanton Thompson thousand tion told Toronto troopers Ulric Dahlgren Union prisoners Union troops Virginia volume 33 wagon Walker Washington winter wrote Yankees York young