Phillip Henson the Southern Union Spy

[Gene C]

written by George S Johns in 1887, about 120 pages.

Philip Henson and this book have been mentioned on a few previous posts, so I thought I would read it.

Regarding the author - George S Johns who was a reporter, later the editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (the book was printed in St. Louis) and he would have been about 29 when this book was written. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Sibley_Johns

The author or publisher has this disclaimer in the front of the book,
"The materials were gathered and the work completed in the leisure time of four days so that it will be recognized readily that full investigation and careful arrangement were impossible."
It appears the book was made in preparation of a G.A.R encampment in St. Louis in 1887

This is how the author describes Phillipp Henson on p10. "His heroism is of that quiet, modest kind that is unconscious of its self; that does great deeds and does not know they are out of the ordinary; that tells of them as if they were common acts of everyday life. His nature is that of the honest, strong-fibred, staunch type, full of native shrewdness and unswerving integrity which looks clear eyed along the path of duty and sees no obstacle to cause a moments hesitation in the way; that faces danger with the cool intrepidity that is a stranger to fear; that moves straight on where other men stop and tremble; or even flee for their lives, that regards personal fame and honor so little that when a thing is done, no matter how wonderful or daring or admirable it may be, it is done with, and that is the end of it, leaving to others the sounding of its praises."

This book is an overly dramatic, over embellished account of his experience as a spy for the Union. The story ends at the close of the war. It's hard to tell if any of this is true, other than he did serve as an informant. The last 11 pages are letters of testimony regarding Mr Henson. Amazing they were able to assemble them within only four days.

Most of what seems to be known of Mr. Henson comes from this book.
Sources for a Wikipedia article about him do not verify much in the book, or their own article. A web site (no longer available) for dixiereckoning.com is referenced. Phillip Henson, according to the wikipedia article, was a Special Secret Service Agent after the war for General and President Grant looking into Lincoln's assassination. No reference is listed (dixiereckoning.com?)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Henson
The book seems to contradict this (p86), "In March of 1867, Co. Henson removed to Corinth and published the Corinth Republican, the most influential Union paper in the state. In September of the same year he sold his interest in the paper and moved to a little farm about three miles from the city, where he know lives (1887). No reference in the book that he was a special agent after the war.

Edwin Fishel wrote the following in 'The Secret War For the Union - the Untold Story of Military Intelligence in the Civil War' -
"Some readers will be aware of a subliterature on Federal and Confederate spies, consisting of two dozen spy memoirs and modern books descended from them. These writings are so heavily fictionalized that even the most believable parts are suspect. Some of the memoirist were not in intelligence work at all, a fact that modern writers are not aware of or choose to ignore. And even memoirist with experience in espionage, such as Allan Pinkerton, paid almost as little respect to factuality as did the authors of the complete fictions.

This seems to be one of those books