Archive for February, 2010
Ram's Head Snuff Mull - 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot
So many of the 1500 photographs I took in the UK for our recently released book, “Crimean Memories: Artefacts of the Crimean War,” were unusual, with interesting histories, but this snuff mull is one of my absolute favorites. It is a silver mounted ram’s head snuff mull, which had a home in the Officer’s Mess of the 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot until the Crimean War.
The Crimean War took place between 1854 and 1856, primarily on the Crimean Peninsula in today’s Ukraine. Imperial Russia had for some time been exhibiting expansionist ambitions which were threatening established trade routes to India. Under what was perceived as a veiled attempt to further these ambitions, Russia invaded parts of the Ottoman Empire (Turkey). Britain, France, and eventually Sardinia joined Turkey and declared war on Imperial Russia.
The 42nd Royal Highland Regiment of Foot, more commonly known as The Black Watch, landed at Kalamita Bay in the Crimea in September1854, as part of the Highland Brigade, 1st Division, of the English Army of the East. Their battle honours include Alma, and the Siege of Sevastopol.
The snuff mull in this photograph is the head shoulders and horns of a ram, and is about two feet square. It currently rests in a fine case in The Black Watch Museum, Perth, Scotland, where we found it. It was originally in the 42nd Regiment Officers’ Mess, and contained snuff in the round silver jeweled tray on its top between the horns. There was a ritual-like ceremony attached to the snuff use that each officer was bound by mess tradition to follow.
According to the Black Watch Museum records, this particular mull was brought to the Crimea by the Highland officers to be used in their mess, but upon arrival, they found no source for proper snuff. Thus, the commanding officer used the snuff mull as an inkpot. On close examination you can see the ink stains inside the round tray on top of the mull.
After the war, the mull was lost. It literally disappeared for 75 years. It was found under odd, but interesting circumstances. There is now a silver plate added on the front of the snuff mull which reads: “This Black Watch snuff mull was discovered in a saleroom by H.M. Queen Mary who presented it to the Black Watch in 1932.”
Thus, this superb artefact found its way to its rightful home, and I found an amazing story to attach to my photograph of this noble creature. There’s something endearing about the way he is looking at you – almost as though he’s looking across the ages.
This artifact was photographed courtesy of The Black Watch Museum, Perth, Scotland.
Page from Corporal D's Diary - Crimean War
A good friend of mine, the Archivist NCO of the Scots Guards, Wellington Barracks, London, and I are working on publishing the hand-written diary of a Scots Fusilier Guards corporal (who will merely be called “D” until we publish), who was in the Crimean War (1854-1856). It is an amazing document.
Usually ‘other ranks’ diaries, which are scarce to begin with, are in quite poor English and almost impossible to read … no capitals or too many, no periods between sentences, sentence fragments, no commas, bad tenses, and atrocious spelling. This soldier was the opposite. He was educated, and had a meticulous hand. His writing is legible, even delicate, and grammatically better than most officer diaries I have seen.
We are typing it out as accurately as possible, and adding footnotes to explain such entries as, “Some of the Bashi Bazouks came by…” (The Bashi Bazouks – which literally means ’damaged heads’ – were irregular Turkish cavalry fighting against the Russians. They were recruited from the gutters, badly led, unreliable, and very willing to run when the heat was on. However, on those rare occasions when they did actually engage the enemy, they were reputed to be impressive.)
It is also always interesting to read what was written at the time the battles of the Crimean War were fought, a primary source. Hopefully, we will be able to publish this diary within a year – It deserves to be read.
Bashi Bazouks
Bashi Bazouk Chief
Black Bashi Bazouk
The 2010 calendar is rapidly filling up. I have over the past month or so been gathering dates for various lectures and author events. The entire list will be posted on my web site soon, but it isn’t complete yet.
The year is filled with exciting events, including book signings, book fairs, talks at various collectors groups and Civil War Round Tables, a photography project at the Gettysburg National Park, a book tour in the United Kingdom (May 1 – 16), and taking part in the Gettysburg Festival (June 18-27). In addition, Civil War Round Tables have asked that I present my most recent talk, “Relax Men, It’s Only the President! – Lincoln’s Approach to Personal Security,” on several dates in 2011.
Follow Me to Glory - The Crimean War
The Gettysburg Conspiracy - The American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln
Crimean Memories: Artefacts of the Crimean War
I’m looking forward to two full years of book promotion, rich with opportunities to talk to folks about the Crimean War, the American Civil War, Gettysburg, and Abraham Lincoln. It appears the most difficult part will be finding the time to research and write the third novel in the Ian Carlyle Series, “The Ear Collector,” and work on publishing an extraordinary diary of a Crimean War Scots Fusilier Guards soldier – a project long overdue.
Curling sheets - Vancouver Winter Olympics 2010
So I’m watching Ice Hockey, and it’s the big one … US versus Canada. What a game! I still can’t believe we won, but I’ll damned sure take it. For me it’s almost as much fun as watching Rugby, and in the case of hockey, I can understand why they wear so much padding. Anyway – I’m watching hockey, and they switch on me to “curling.” My first reactions - – - “Giant shuffleboard – come on, get serious – an Olympic sport? Then I began watching it more closely and became mesmerized.
I couldn’t understand much at first, but the air began to clear, and it became very interesting. Of course, being the obsessive that I am, I immediately began researching curling, even as I was looking at it on the telly, and became even more intrigued. Now I have a whole new vocabulary: bump, a slider shoe, free guard zone, hammer, blank end, stealing, a biter, burn, and so many more.
Alas, I know curling has been around in Scotland since like the sixteenth century, in the US since the early 1800s, and an Olympic official sport since 1998, but it never perked my attention until I saw it in the Vancouver Olympic Stadium.
I love learning about new things…at least new to me… Curling – - – who knew?
Lord Abinger seated second row left. Can you identify the others?
A very close friend of mine has given me a challenge, and I am passing it on to you. He sent me the photographic image you see with this blog. It is a group of what appear to be American Civil War officers, one British observer officer (Diced headband on his forage cap), and possibly two other observers or American officers in civilian clothing lying down in front.
My friend is the archivist for the Scots Guards at Wellington Barracks in London. The British chap in the image is Lord Abinger (William F. Scarlett, 3rd Baron Abinger, Lt. Col., Scots Fusilier Guards – former name of the Scots Guards). The image is purported to have been taken at Falmouth, Virginia, in 1863. The challenge is to identify the officers and others in civilian clothing appearing with Lord Abinger in the image.
Can you assist in this worthy cause ?
The Baltimore Plot by Michael Kline
I wrote a few days ago about a plot to kill Lincoln in Baltimore in February 1861. What I failed to mention is a fine book on the subject entitled, oddly enough, “The Baltimore Plot,” by Michael Kline. It was most compelling to me because Kline is an attorney, and approaches the alleged plot from an investigative/intelligence perspective, which you do not see much in history books.
I found the book fascinating and exactly what Michael Kline said it was – - an in-depth investigative look at circumstantial evidence surrounding the possibility of a plot. As a former investigator myself, I found Kline’s methodology, analysis, and information gathering both interesting and thorough.
He admits that his analysis is rather circumstantial, as there are no witnesses to interview, there are no confessions, and written documents differ and contradict. What Kline did was very much like what is done in the intelligence community today when analyzing bits and pieces of unsubstantiated data from sources of varying reliability. Kline does a masterful job of pulling those bits and pieces together to make reasonable inferences and conclusions.
Other than going back in time, as I’m certain Kline (and I) would love to do, his analysis is as good as it gets. I personally agree that there is a high probability of a plot having existed, and who the perpetrators were
I recommend the book to anyone interested in Lincoln, the causes and political machinations of the Civil War, or anyone who wants to view an excellent word picture of those turbulent times.
Typical photo shoot set up in confined area
I spent much of today getting my camera equipment ready for a photo shoot coming up soon for a good friend, Keith Rocco, a fine historical artist. This means making certain cameras are clean, loaded, and with charged batteries. It also involves cleaning and checking out lenses, exposure meters, lights, backdrop stands, and various other photographic paraphernalia.
This may sound strange, but doing so invariably reminds me of the cleaning and checking out process with weapons and the equipment needed for a military operation or a law enforcement raid of some kind. In my past I’ve done both.
I find guns and cameras a captivating contrast, with interesting similarities. When I was in the military, and later in law enforcement, checking your weapons and equipment was essential to survival. They had to be checked and checked again to be certain, if needed, they would be available and properly functioning. If you had to use a gun, however, the outcome was hardly creative. The results were more distructive.
In photography, your equipment still has to be available and functioning, but the end result is quite different. Rather than possibly destroying something or hurting someone, you are creating images people might enjoy or use productively.
It is the professional tasks of cleaning and functionally checking the tools of your trade where I find interesting contrasts and similitudes. In the long run, I find what I am doing now in photography a more personally satisfying end result – - – but, then, in the past, I wouldn’t have wanted to run into a bad guy in a dark alley when all I had was a camera 
Sunny - Before the snows came.
The snow in Gettysburg has kept me away from the stable where I board my horse. Sunny, a bright-eyed Appaloosa, was inside all this time, a prisoner in his stall – unable to run or play with his best friend, Teddy, a sleek Arabian, in the 40 – 50 inches of snow covering the outdoor ring and paddocks. I knew he would be well cared for at my stable, but felt serious guilt anyway for “neglecting him.
He must be missing me terribly, I thought – lonely, morose, moping about like a lost soul. So today I finally made my way out there, expecting that Sunny might be a bit peeved at my neglect, expecting him to be somewhat hyper after his long confinement, but also thinking how happy he’d be to see me.
Imagine my chagrin, when I found Sunny well-groomed, hooves clean as a whistle, well-fed, warm as toast in the heated barn in his clean stall, and not particularly caring whether I was there or not. Now Sunny is a fairly new horse to me. He has only been mine for six months or so. We’re still getting to know one another, but yet I expected him to be waiting to see me with open affection. This was not to be.
After I stroked him a while, and whispered softly in his ear, he did begin to nudge and niggle at my sleeve. Ah ha, he did miss me. That is what I was thinking until it dawned on me he simply wanted a treat. Yes, there I was, a mere “pez dispenser,” on hand for Sunny’s pleasure, and a slave to his hungry eyes. I was, as you might imagine, very satisfied with the wonderful care he was receiving, but at the same time frustrated that I was not more needed by this great animal I have learned to love…ah well.
I know that Sunny and I are a new match, and I know that there’ll come a time when our relationship will go beyond my being the big human who grooms him, gets on his back, makes him work, then gives him a treat for his trouble. But, alas, I fear my attachment for Sunny is moving much faster than his for me … other than those pez’s … which are in reality an apple or a carrot. Right now I’m satisfied that he knows I’m in charge, which makes it safer when I ride him, but the rest will take more time.
In the hope of speeding that bond along, I groomed him, threw my western saddle gently on his back, and rode him for the first time in many days in the indoor arena. I did some ground work to settle him down. This is a sweet horse – spirited, but sweet. He was hyper from being cooped up a while, but nonetheless responsive, and was being a joy to ride – to a point. He was fine until I tried a little jog – opps!
I was told by the amazed on-lookers that it was a joy to watch. With huge smiles they saw Sunny bunny-hopping across the arena, with me fast in the saddle, but hopping up and down with him just like an old western movie … and a bad one at that. He settled down, and I thanked him for the invigorating ride with a pat on his neck and a few whispered words. He snorted a patient approval of my staying on his back, as if to say, “OK, you passed.” We continued to work the arena, and it was a great ride, if not a close and personal bonding experience.
I’ll keep at it, and I’ll try not to worry about him at the stable pining away without me. Mostly, I’ll continue to reach out for that bonding I know will come in time, at his own speed, when I can graduate from Pez Dispenser to senior partner and faithful friend.
Allan Pinkerton with his detectives (Seated on right)
So now Pinkerton, armed with the information his operatives developed, could piece together the plan of the subversive group to assassinate Lincoln in Baltimore on 23 February 1861. It revealed itself something like this:
First they would excite the citizens of Baltimore to a fever pitch against Lincoln, which wouldn’t take much doing. By the time Pinkerton heard the details of the plot, this part of the plan was already a success.
The conspirators had to decide if they would attack at Calvert Street Station when Lincoln arrived, during the trip from Calvert Street to the Washington Station where he would board the train for Washington, or at the Washington Station itself. The decision was to assassinate Lincoln upon his arrival in Baltimore.
Crowd waiting for Lincoln at Calvert Street Station, Baltimore
They would salt the crowd waiting for the President Elect at Calvert Street Station with a large number of unruly secessionists. It was reported that Colonel Kane, the Chief of Police of Baltimore, was either in on the plot or tacitly approved of it. In any event, he was to assign only a small detachment of police to escort Lincoln, and make a path for him through the crowd.
The conspirators would create a diversion on the fringe of the crowd. The police would respond to the diversion, leaving Lincoln at the mercy of the angry crowd. Within the crowd would be the assassin, who would then kill Lincoln. The weapon was to be left to the assassin to choose – knife or gun.
The assassin would be selected by a secret drawing of ballots. The conspirator who drew a “red ballot” would do the deed, but his identity would only be known to himself, because the drawing would take place in a darkened room.
Apparently, however, there were concerns over this plan among the leadership of the conspirators. What if the would-be assassin had second thoughts? They would lose their chance to kill Lincoln. In the event, eight red ballots were included, rather than one. The thought being, one must presume, that with eight conspirators drawing a red ballot, each thinking he was the only one, at least one of them would succeed in the assassination.
There was to be a ship anchored in Chesapeake Bay waiting to whisk the assassin, or assassins, away. It was not a bad plan, and might well have succeeded, had it been executed.
Pinkerton acted quickly once he had confirmed the threat. He sent Kate Warne to arrange a meeting with Lincoln through Norman Judd, a Lincoln confidant, who was travelling with him. Pinkerton, Judd, Lincoln and Warne met in Philadelphia on 21 February 1865. Pinkerton and Judd presented the evidence to Lincoln, who was initially unconvinced. He declined to alter his schedule.
However, independent of the investigation of Pinkerton, William H. Seward, the Secretary of State, had developed information about a plot to assassinate Lincoln in Baltimore, which seemed to corroborate Pinkerton’s evidence. He sent his son, Frederick, to report this evidence to Lincoln.
With this corroborating evidence, Lincoln agreed to alter his schedule, but insisted that he meet his commitments in Harrisburg before he would place himself in Pinkerton’s hands. On 22 February 1865, Lincoln left a dinner in Harrisburg early and boarded a special train to Washington by way of Baltimore. This would allow Lincoln to pass through Baltimore at night, the day before Lincoln’s scheduled arrival.
To further disguise Lincoln, Pinkerton had him wear a soft cap and carry a shawl over his arm as though he were an invalid. In addition, Kate Warne acted publically as though she was Lincoln’s sister. Pinkerton had his men at stations along the train route. As the train approached they would signal with a lantern that all was well.
Pinkerton pulled it off. The conspirators slept as Lincoln journeyed through Baltimore without incident, arriving in Washington safe and sound.
On the other hand, when the story came out, especially in Harper’s Weekly, Lincoln was roundly criticized for “slinking” into Washington for his inauguration, wearing a disguise.
Lincoln allegedly "slinking" into Washington
Cartoon version of Lincoln's soft cap and shawl
There are certainly scholars who dispute this story, and even Ward Hill Lamon, Lincoln’s staunch friend and self-appointed bodyguard disputes Pinkerton’s veracity to a degree. However, there is also a body of evidence to support the account. Perhaps we will never know for certain, but it sure makes one heck of a yarn.
This tale begins with the State of Maryland seething with dissension. Pro-slavery factions were bubbling over with new members. Groups like The Knights of the Golden Circle, and the National Volunteers had established cells in Baltimore, and set up training camps in Virginia to drill would-be soldiers. There was talk in taverns and secret meetings of destroying northern railroad property, tracks, and bridges, to disrupt the Federal government in the name of the Southern Cause.
Pinkerton's Logo
Allen Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency, whose symbol was a single open eye, a “private eye” if you will, was thriving in Chicago. He was known for his innovative investigative techniques, and was considered one of the top detectives in the country.
Having heard rumors of such antagonistic groups, the Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore Railroad hired Pinkerton to identify and investigate these dissident groups, with an end goal of protecting railroad property and interests. He was authorized to take with him a team of detectives.
Allan Pinkerton
By early February, 1861, Pinkerton was using undercover agents in Baltimore to gather information. To their surprise, they uncovered a possible plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln, the President Elect. The bare bones information indicated that the plot would be executed in Baltimore, as the President Elect passed through on the way to Washington for his inauguration.
With the approval of his railroad employers, Pinkerton set about on an audacious plan to flesh out this information and act to neutralize the plot. He would employ three trusted covert operatives using the cover that they were southerners from New Orleans or Charleston. Pinkerton, himself, would be with them as lead operative and coordinator, under the alias “Mister Hutchinson” (No relative … anyway, mine’s Hutchison.)
A “Mister Howard” would target the gentry of Baltimore, many who publically expressed radical pro-slavery views. We don’t know his real name to this day, but he was reported to have been extremely good at his job. Before long Baltimore society had accepted him as that handsome devil, “Howard from New Orleans.”
The middle classes of Baltimore, and the subversive groups, were to be infiltrated by Timothy Webster. That was his real name. In an unrelated covert operation later in the war, he was caught and hanged as a spy. In this operation, he succeeded in joining one of these groups and, in fact, drilled with them at a training camp in Virginia.
Pinkerton’s last operative was a quantum visionary leap in investigative work. He chose a woman, Kate Warne, but no ordinary woman. Pinkerton had hired her as a detective – unheard of in the mid-19th century – and she was good. In fact, Pinkerton later made her his Female Superintendent of Detectives. She went along on some missions with him as his wife. Rumors of a romance were never proven, but they were buried side by side.
As a credit to her skill, she was eventually named one of the five best detectives in America. In this operation, she was to gain acceptance by Baltimore society, to compliment and support the work done by “Howard of New Orleans.”
Reported to be Captain Cipriano Ferrandini, in later years
In only a matter of weeks, Pinkerton and his operatives were amazingly successful. By mid-February, they had identified the groups involved and many of the key players. One in particular stood out. A captain in the Knights of the Golden Circle, Cipriano Ferrandini was of Italian decent, and strongly favored political assassination with a knife to gain his ends, and overthrow a disliked government.
One of Pinkerton’s operatives is reported to have introduced him, as Mister Hutchinson, to Ferrandini in a tavern in Baltimore. It was well known that Lincoln was to come through Baltimore enroute to Washington and his inauguration on February 23, 1861. Ferrandini made it perfectly clear that Lincoln would die in Baltimore.
Pinkerton now had strong reason to believe this was a credible threat. He knew he must report it to Lincoln before he took the train to Baltimore.
Tune in tomorrow for Part II, and find out the meaning of “The Red Ballot.”
