Patrick K. O'Donnell explores the 1864 Dahlgren Raid, a failed Union "decapitation raid" intended to burn Richmond and assassinate Jefferson Davis. In response, the Confederacy intensified its Secret Service operations, employing spies, coded telegraphy,

Patrick K. O'Donnell explores the 1864 Dahlgren Raid, a failed Union "decapitation raid" intended to burn Richmondand assassinate Jefferson Davis. In response, the Confederacy intensified its Secret Service operations, employing spies, coded telegraphy, and influence campaigns to undermine Lincoln's 1864 re-election. They funded Northern "Copperhead" editors to promote peace while John Singleton Mosby's rangers disrupted Union logistics. This era also featured author Herman Melville, who embedded with Union cavalry to document the terrifying reality of fighting Mosby's elusive, pistol-wielding irregulars who dominated the headlines of Northern Virginia. (3)
1865