Confederate Operations in Canada and New York

This book, which was first published in 1906, describes the hostile activities and plots that Confederate soldiers carried out along the country's northern boundaries in 1864. The author, John W. Headley, was a participant in the cloak-and-dagger conspiracies and writes from his personal perspective while quoting from many authorities and military records.Two important Confederates, Jacob Thompson of Mississippi and Clement C. Clay Jr. of Alabama, were among those who organized and participated in the complicated Canadian campaign, despite their differing views on how this was to be accomplished. Confederate efforts were fueled and aided by widespread resentment, especially in the Midwestern and Canadian border States, of the invasion of and making war upon the South. Thompson’s thought was to take advantage of the dissatisfaction and frustration with the US government and form an alliance with anti-war and anti-Lincoln elements in these areas, thus undermining the US war effort and possibly creating a Mid-West Confederation of States with a capital in Chicago.Clay, weary of bloodshed, focused on less aggressive methods to promote peace. Both men failed to fulfill their goals, but the campaign highlights the Confederacy's desperate actions in the last year of the war to secure its independence.The book has illustrations. Read more