Will the real Thomas F. Harney, PLEASE STAND UP!

[SSlater]

I am still trying to research Thomas F. so that I can better understand him and what he tried to accomplish. This is just short of impossible. Right now I am working to determine what is the true story of his attempt to "blow up the White House."
To begin with, I doubt much of what has come down to us, so I will "correct" what I can prove. For example, just what explosive was he working with? It wasn't dynamite. Dynamite was not invented until 1867. It wasn't TNT (Trinitrotoluene), that came after dynamite. That leaves "Black Powder". Now I can estimate the size of the explosive package.
"Black Powder" is a combustible material, that will burn if ignited in the open air, but will explode when confined in a closed wrapper, (as stick of dynamite does). When wrapped with an open end, it becomes a rocket. (The force of small explosions propels the package through space.) Enough of this stuff, back to Harney.
"Black Powder" did not have the explosive force of the later explosives, therefore, a larger supply of powder was required, to accomplish an explosion equal to dynamite. If Harney expected to demolish a portion of the White House, he was going to need a GOOD SUPPLY of Powder - which would be voluminous and heavy.
I am not going to guess at how well the White House was built, but he knew he would need many men to carry the needed powder and not spill any - as it would explode right then - and/or attract undue attention by their strange antics. After it was installed, he had to hide this stinking mess until the "Special Event".
So, I am going to assume that they did not intend to "blow up the White House" as we have been to believe. That exact terminology was provided to us by George Atzerodt. Unfortunately, Atzerodt was not noted for his brain power. (Did you ever read his "Confession"? If you did, I bet you read it more than once - to try to understand what he was talking about. He was in a state of pure panic.
It follows then - what did he say? Quote: They are going to mine the end of the pres. house. Unquote. Keep the terminology in mind as we proceed.
At this point Harney is called upon to use his expertise, to do the job. What was Harney's "expertise"? He was "GOOD AT" placing mines in the rivers and bays of the South - to destroy Union shipping, but he was EXPERT at was planting land mines along the various pathways of traveling armies, that would explode on contact. This was a new weapon, that was extremely unique, that only he had experience with. Beyond that, the invented new and different mechanical ways of detonating the devices. He didn't need an electrical charge.
All Harney had to do was plant a few of these "thing-a-ma-bobs" and show the locals how to set them off, on command. They in turn would attend the proposed Serenade and pull the wires, or whatever they were trained to do, when Lincoln and others were in a vulnerable position and completely defenseless.

If this scenario is acceptable, then we are in a position to work on the details of how they organized the mission. We should be able to determine who and when, various people would act.
That's enough for now, I'll continue in a day or two, with "the rest of the story". (unless directed otherwise.)