The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1911-02-07
GheD0uble
Tragedy
OF President Lincoln and the Man
Who Had Saved His Life

Copyright by American Press Ass
citation, 1911.

" y
citation. 1911.
There are many stories In the life of
Abraham Lincoln. Probably no man
ever lived who was connected with
more romances. But In them all there
is something sad. 1t was period of
war In which these events of which he
was the central figure occurred. and
only very few of the romances ex-
tracted from war have happy termina-
tons. No one can look upon the por-
trait of Abraham Lincoln without see
ing there the solemnity Of those four
years when the boys of 81 to '65 were
being moved down like wheat when
every family In the north and In the
south were mourners.
There is one event in the life of
President Lincoln which, If certain
efforts that were made had been un-
successful, would have left nonexist-
ent his leadership in the great struggle
and he would have gone down In
history simply as the man whose cleo
ton brought it on. True. 1t would
have been adorned with the crown Of
martyrdom, but at the beginning in
stead of the end Of bis career.
This is the story of his escape from
that earlier attempt to assasinate him
which was failure:
1t was IN the spring of 1861, when
secession sympathizers were plotting
against the lines of communication
leading from the national capital, that
man, middle aged. muscular and
with a determined though tranquil
face. appeared in Perrymansville.
Md. He was Pinkerton detective
and had been sent there to discover
plots to damage railroad property.
When Mr.. Lincoln went to Washing
ton for his first inauguration. having
passed through New York, he went
southwark on the Pennsylvania and
Baltimore and Ohio railroads. Allan
Pinkerton, chief of Chicago detec-
tive bureau, learned through master
machinist of the latter road that a
number of secessionists had bound
themselves by an oath to assassinate
Mr.. Lincoln while journeying to the
capital. There was but little time to
act, for the president elect was about
to leave his home. When the assassi
nation plan was conceived it was not
known by the conspirators by what
route Mr.. Lincoln would go to the cap
ital. They were therefore obliged to
arrange for an attack upon him at sew
eral different points. The Perrymans.
vile branch of the organization pre-
tended to be cavalry company Web
ster, who, though of quiet exterior.
knew how to sham very deep feeling
against the Yankee government, at
once enrolled himself In this cavalry
company.
But getting into the company was
far from getting its plans, and unfor
tunately there was very little time to
discover them. Webster relied on his
pretended hatred of the government to
secure his initiation into the inner cir
Gle. His ruse succeeded. He was In
vited to go to the house Of the captain
Of the company, but not to say word
about the Invitation. In a room every
window of which was protected
against hearing and seeing from the
outside he met men from the central
point of the conspiracy, Baltimore. and
was received as one of the planners
Of the work to be done.
Seated about table, the party dis
cussed different methods of assassi-
mating the president elect. Webster
being a new man and of reserved
disposition. listened to the others, only
occasionally pointing out some weak
spot in a proposition or suggesting a
way to obviate it. Before the confer
ence broke up 1t had been decided to
shoot Mr., Lincoln at the depot as he
was passing through Baltimore on the
23d of March.
Webster now had the plans In his
possession. Taking himself away
from the so called cavalry company.
he went where he could safely commu.
nicate with his chief, Allan Pinkerton.
On the night Of the 21st of February
Pinkerton met Mr.. Lincoln at the Con-
tinental hotel at Philadelphia and re-
vealed the plot.
The question now arose how. having
the plan, to defeat 1t. A ruse was
adopted. Instead Of going on to Wash
ington direct. Mr. Lincoln was taken
northwest to Harrisburg. But it was
no easy job to turn the gaze of mil
lions Of people from the most promi-
nent figure in the land with hosts of
newspaper correspondents watching
his every movement. The telegraph
wires leading. out of Harrisburg were
secretly grounded. thus cutting or that
city from the rest of the world.
Mr. Lincoln now being able to travel
without news Of his passage being tel
egraphed from every station. private
train was made up at Harrisburg, and
the president elect-it is said that he
was disguised was taken back to Phil
adelphia and at midnight of the 22d
instead of the 23d. as had been ar
ranged. was rushed through Baltimore
and early the next morning arrived
safe in Washington.
This brief statement of the plan to
assassinate the president elect and its
defeat is essential to the story-a story
of Abraham Lincoln as the central fig
IRE and Timothy Webster. whose
quick work was instrumental in saw
ing him for the great work he was to
accomplish. 1t would have been well
had the president kept Webster by
him until. his task having been fin
ished. he should return to the less dan
gerous field of private life. But Web
ster could not have brooked four
years of comparative idleness. Be
sides, there was a continued need for
his services. The only railroad thor
oughfare between the northern Allan
tic states and the capital was continu-
ally threatened. Indeed, there was no
safety on any line connecting the capt.
tai with the rest of the country. Even
dispatches were not safe in transit.
The first work done by Webster after
foiling the intention of the Baltimore
conspirators was to carry some impor-
tant papers through to the president.
Webster found the railroad bridges
burned by the secessionists. Taking
the route through Hayre de Grace.
where long bridge was destroyed, he
was rowed across the river and hired
a wagon to take him onward He was
obliged to pass through Perrymans-
vile. and the wagon was stopped by
the cavalry company in which Web
ster had enlisted for spy. He was rec
ognized. but fortunately for him the fact
that he had revealed their plot to the
government was not known to them.
Webster Travelled on in company
with an Englishman whose confidence
he won. and the man revealed to him
that he was bearing dispatches to