A month after Lincolnās assassination, William Alvin Lloyd arrived in Washington, DC, to press a claim against the federal government for money due him for serving as the presidentās spy in the Confederacy. Lloyd claimed that Lincoln personally had issued papers of transit for him to cross into the South, a salary of $200 a month, and a secret commission as Lincolnās own top-secret spy. The claim convinced Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and Judge Advocate General Joseph Holtābut was it true?
For many years Lloyd had been hawking hisĀ Southern Steamboat and Railroad GuideĀ throughout Dixie, and it was this thorough familiarity with the South and its peopleāand their familiarity with himāthat would have given him a good cover when the time came. In July, 1861, and now desperate for cash, Lloyd crossed enemy lines to collect debts owed by advertising clients in the South.
After just a few days in the Confederacy, officials jailed Lloyd for bigamy, not for being a Yankee spy as he later claimed. After bribing his way out, he crisscrossed the Southern states, trying to collect enough money to stay alive.
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Between riding the rails he found time to marry plenty of unsuspecting young women only to ditch them a few days later. His behavior drew the attention of Confederate authorities, who nabbed him in Savannah and charged him as a suspected spy. But after nine months, they couldnāt find any incriminating evidence or anyone to testify against him, so they let him go. A free but broken man, Lloyd continued roaming the South, making money however he could. In May 1865, he went to Washington with an extraordinary claim and little else: a few coached witnesses, and a pass to cross the lines signed āA. Lincolnā (the most forged signature in American history), and his own testimony.
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So was he really Lincolnās secret agent or nothing more than a con man?Ā And wasĀ Totten vs. United Statesāinspired by Lloyd's claim and which set precedent for espionage lawĀ based on a monumental fraud?Ā Ā Find out in this completely irresistible and wholly original work.Ā
This book title, Lincoln's Secret Spy (The Civil War Case That Changed the Future of Espionage), ISBN: 9781493008100, by Jane Singer, John Stewart, published by Lyons Press (April 1, 2015) is available in hardcover. Our minimum order quantity is 25 copies. All standard bulk book orders ship FREE in the continental USA and delivered in 4-10 business days.
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