Thomas F. Harney

[SSlater]

(10-12-2014 04:56 PM)BettyO Wrote:  Indeed! Since this dude was born in Ireland - I went for him - the New Orleans fellow is probably closer - I'll look for him as well. Thanks!

Quote:Wow Betty, where did you come up with that?

Found it on Ancestry....not too sure now if this is the RIGHT Thomas Harney - still looking.....

BettyO. Your comment "not sure he is the right Harney" is SO TRUE.
In one case he was arrested as T. F. Harney and released as F. T . Harney. Sometimes he is "Frank". It is possible that these are not errors. I'm looking at original records on Microfilm. Cross checking does nor clear it up. That is one sure way - not to be found.

[STS Lincolnite]

Betty: check out the Confederate service records on Ancestry as well. There are several listings for Thomas F. Harney in Missouri units as well as in Confederate engineers. The 1860 census from New Orleans has him listed as a boarder...this could still be the same guy as described above (my post #15). Sounds like he was a drifter of sorts.

[RJNorton]

(10-10-2014 06:25 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Most of us are aware of the failed Confederate mission to send explosives expert Thomas Francis Harney into Washington in April of 1865, for the specific purpose of blowing up the White House. A chance encounter with a Union cavalry unit halted that mission.

Harney was arrested, but soon agreed to take the oath of allegiance and went south to New Orleans. Does anyone know what happened to him after the war? Did he ever write anything on his mission? Where is he buried? Are there descendants?

As I have said before I know very little about the Confederate underground, so please excuse if my questions seem a little simple-minded.

Why would a person coming to blow up the White House and then captured be released? My initial reaction would be that more should (could) have been done.

Is there any primary source proof that he was going to blow up the White House? Specifically, how do we know that he was going to try to do this?

In his "lost confession" Atzerodt said, "Booth said he had met a party in N. York who would get the Prest. certain. They were going to mine the end of the pres. House, near the War Dept. They knew an entrance to accomplish it through. Spoke about getting friends of the Presdt. to get up an entertainment & they would mix it in, have a serenade & thus get at the Presdt. & party."

Is there more evidence than this (I do not know if Harney was the party Atzerodt was referring to) that Harney's goal was to blow up the White House?

Many thanks to any folks who can add information on Harney's secret mission. Basically what I am saying is that I see the Harney mission to blow up the White House in a lot of books, but is there definitive proof that this is really true?

[SSlater]

(10-13-2014 09:56 AM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(10-10-2014 06:25 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Most of us are aware of the failed Confederate mission to send explosives expert Thomas Francis Harney into Washington in April of 1865, for the specific purpose of blowing up the White House. A chance encounter with a Union cavalry unit halted that mission.

Harney was arrested, but soon agreed to take the oath of allegiance and went south to New Orleans. Does anyone know what happened to him after the war? Did he ever write anything on his mission? Where is he buried? Are there descendants?

As I have said before I know very little about the Confederate underground, so please excuse if my questions seem a little simple-minded.

Why would a person coming to blow up the White House and then captured be released? My initial reaction would be that more should (could) have been done.

Is there any primary source proof that he was going to blow up the White House? Specifically, how do we know that he was going to try to do this?

In his "lost confession" Atzerodt said, "Booth said he had met a party in N. York who would get the Prest. certain. They were going to mine the end of the pres. House, near the War Dept. They knew an entrance to accomplish it through. Spoke about getting friends of the Presdt. to get up an entertainment & they would mix it in, have a serenade & thus get at the Presdt. & party."

Is there more evidence than this (I do not know if Harney was the party Atzerodt was referring to) that Harney's goal was to blow up the White House?

Many thanks to any folks who can add information on Harney's secret mission. Basically what I am saying is that I see the Harney mission to blow up the White House in a lot of books, but is there definitive proof that this is really true?

"Definite Proof"? I think so.
Harney was a known Master of the Torpedo. From the records, he mined Charleston Harbor and Mobile Bay. After which he was sent to Mosby on April 1, 1865, with Land Mines. As an aside: I believe that Slater's trip to Montreal, departing Richmond April 2, 1865, was intended to notify Jacob Thompson of the plan to blow up the White House, since Thompson had his own plans to do-Lincoln- in and tell Thompson to "back-off". Thus. the remark "This makes the thing all right".
When Harney was captured at Fairfax Station - April 10th (Fairfax Station is sometimes referred to as Burke Station, because the Station is at Burke in Fairfax County), he was with Thomas Franklin Summers, from Elijah White's 35th VA/ Cav. Who was his Guide/escort. Harney and Summers were traveling with another raiding party, who were trying to capture Mules at Burke Station. Harney's Irish luck ran out that night, when the other party got captured, and they got Harney too.
Here' the stab at the heart. On April the 4th, a Confederate enlisted man from Gabriel Rains Torpedo Bureau, named Snyder, talked to Col. Edward H. Ripley (9th Vermont Inf.) back in Richmond, to tell him about "A Party" from the Torpedo Bureau had left Richmond on a Secret Mission that was aimed at the head of the Yankee Government and he wished to put Mr. Lincoln on his guard.
To me - that's enough evidence to charge Harney with attempting to "Mine the White House" in some manner. I won't limit the "target" to the White House, it may have been some place that Lincoln frequented.
That's where String fellow comes into the picture. His story says "It was the White House."
All of this supports the over-all mission, to get Lincoln.

[RJNorton]

John, thank you very much for all this information! What surprises me is that this was certainly a very serious mission, and I assume Harney was captured/arrested with his munitions, but he simply agreed to take the oath of allegiance and was freed.

[L Verge]

I knew the White House historian/author William Seale years ago when he consulted on the furnishings of several of the historic properties owned by the same government agency as Surratt House. He also visited our museum. When Tidwell et al. heard that, they asked me to contact Mr. Seale about any point of entry that could have been used in 1865 to get such an action team into the WH. He quickly replied that the large sewer drains that ran into the building would have been the perfect spot. He described them as being large enough for a grown man to stand up in.

5-6 years ago, there was a program on either History Channel, A&E, or Nat Geo that devoted the hour to this theme via graphics, diagrams, etc. I believe the concept was that the strike would come during a meeting or event in one particular part of the house and would cause the floor to collapse, etc. It sure looked like it would work.

John Stanton - One of our hometown boys, E. Pliny Bryan, was a master of torpedoes also and was sent to Charleston and Mobile Bay (? on the latter) to mine the harbors. Any evidence to indicate that Bryan and Harney ever served together? Bryan was dead by this time, of course, having succumbed to yellow fever while in Charleston.

I have to admit that I have only skimmed Jane Singer's book on Confederate Dirty Tricks, but she has worked with Stanton after the Tidwell triumvirate broke up and probably knows more about covert actions - and Harney - than anyone else. BTW: The title of her book was not of her choosing. Her publisher made it the title. Jane's roots are in Virginia, even though she writes and works as a voice-over near Hollywood.

[SSlater]

(10-13-2014 03:38 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  John, thank you very much for all this information! What surprises me is that this was certainly a very serious mission, and I assume Harney was captured/arrested with his munitions, but he simply agreed to take the oath of allegiance and was freed.

The release was not as quick as you infer. He was arrested April 10 and taken to D.C. and put in "Old Capitol".. from there he was transferred to Elmira and in July he took the oath. (Remember , now the war was over) and he "evaporated"

Another item that I haven't cleared up - Thomas F. Harney of the Engineering Bureau, was arrested in Richmond on April 3rd WHAT? Yes! I have the record, but no details and no more information. It may be an Error for the April 10 arrest.

---

Laurie. You mentioned Augustus Spencer Howell. Rest Easy - he is not forgotten or ignored. He was b 1835, at Bryantown, Charles Co.
d 12 Dec 1869 @ 34. Burial Congressional. 1860 he was a Hotel Keeper. Fa. was Gustavus Howell (d 1836) Mo. Emaline (Shown on only 1 record, others say "none"). He was single. Siblings: John Henry 1825 -1881, who married Joanna Harbin 1828 - 1909. Joanna's brother was Thomas H. Harbin. b Nov 2 1833, d Washington 1885 (Worked at National Hotel, owned by Dr Richard H. Stuart.)
I will add more, as time permits - better still "His own Story".

[L Verge]

Good going, John. The last time I heard anything about Howell, we had only gotten as far as his father. Would love to know mother's maiden name. Boy, that Harbin name just floats through this whole story - Thomas had a covert operation going right within his own family.

When I was growing up, we were friends with a local family named Harbin. We called Mr. Harbin "Buddy," but his given name was Henry. Wanna bet that he descended through Thomas's brother's line? At that time, I wasn't smart enough to connect the dots between Thomas Harbin and Buddy Harbin (if there were any to connect).

[SSlater]

(10-13-2014 06:49 PM)L Verge Wrote:  Good going, John. The last time I heard anything about Howell, we had only gotten as far as his father. Would love to know mother's maiden name. Boy, that Harbin name just floats through this whole story - Thomas had a covert operation going right within his own family.

When I was growing up, we were friends with a local family named Harbin. We called Mr. Harbin "Buddy," but his given name was Henry. Wanna bet that he descended through Thomas's brother's line? At that time, I was smart enough to connect the dots between Thomas Harbin and Buddy Harbin (if there were any to connect).

Laurie. I didn't see a "Henry" Harbin alive into the 1900's but there was a John Henry Harbin 1859 - 14 Aug 1939.( Died at Piney Point). Would he be the guy you knew?
Plus: On 7 Oct 1850 Gustavus, 15, was in Bryantown Dist. of Charles Co.,with a [/b]Jenkins Family as a laborer, with his bro. William 17.

[L Verge]

The Mr. Harbin that I knew was my parents' age, so he would have been born sometime around 1915 or a tad later, I think. His wife's first name was Hilda, if that helps.

At one point, Howell was residing in Prince George's County in the district of Woodville (now Aquasco). I believe that Rick Smith was able to pinpoint where in that district he was located.

[HerbS]

Laurie-At what point do we grow up?-Herb

[Gene C]

I won't grow up! Growing up is optional, growing older is a different matter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sye2NanCYHI

[HerbS]

Age is just a #.

---

Oh yes-Kathy Rigby in Peter Pan.I feel that you can be man,and never grow up!

[Jim Garrett]

I believe I read in one of the fine publications from the Surratt Society that Thomas Harbin had a son or grandson who was a hero in the great war. There is a Francis Percival Harbin, born 1895 from Maryland in Arlington. He served with the famed 29th Div during the World War as a 2nd Lt. Must have been a grandson.

[loetar44]

“Killing Lincoln” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard says that there were at least FOUR groups planning the demise of the President at this time. Two of them planned to kidnap him, a third wanted to bomb the White House (Harney) and another wanted to smuggle yellow fever infested shirts into his dresser. What is known about this last group?