I have found that hunting up the life of a Spy can be a fascinating pass time. My latest interest is a man named Richard Reynolds Montgomery.
This guy came to my attention when I reviewed the account of the prosecution of the Lincoln Conspirators. He was called upon by the Federal Government to prove that the Confederate Government was absolutely involved in the assassination plot. How could he do that?
In his testimony, given in secret, he revealed that he was a spy for the Confederate Government and had made frequent trips to Canada carrying secret instructions. He also revealed that whenever he made a trip, he stopped off in Washington to allow them to read all he was carrying. If the Federal Government knew the inner most secrets of the Rebs - why did they allow the plan to proceed? I think they were actively protecting Lincoln when they captured Thomas Harney, as he was proceeding ti Washington. (Thant's a story for another time.) I am interested in this guy Montgomery.
Richard Montgomery was born in Mew York City in 1839. He grew up in a huge family - more than 15 total. He married Emily E. Wallace in 1859 and started his own family. Two girls (twins) and a boy. (The girls were Florence and Florance.)
At some point, not clearly defined, he attempted to join the Army -as a Major, this failed (I think his father, a Broker< tried to buy a Commission) This led to his enlistment in the Army for "General Service", for 5 years, as a Sargent. However, in less than 2 months, he was ALLOWED to resign, in order to accept an opportunity to accept a "Class I Position". I assume that this is where he became a Spy. (His compensation was $1200. That is significant when you learn that Stanton (Sec. of War) was getting $8000 per annum.)
Montgomery had grey eyes, dark hair, ruddy complexion, an was 5'-8 1/2". He was assigned to the Adjutant General's Office.
The Adjutant General is the top man in the Army. EVERYONE WORKS FOR HIM. (George Washington, and Adjutant General got $162/ Mo.)
Montgomery is shown in the City Directory as "Rooming at 734 New York Ave, between 1863 and 1865. Then he is shown as "Major" after the war (while he "cooperated" during the Conspirator trial.
I'm out of space - but I continue to search. I'll add more if allowed.

---

(01-05-2018 03:48 PM)SSlater Wrote:  I have found that hunting up the life of a Spy can be a fascinating pass time. My latest interest is a man named Richard Reynolds Montgomery.
This guy came to my attention when I reviewed the account of the prosecution of the Lincoln Conspirators. He was called upon by the Federal Government to prove that the Confederate Government was absolutely involved in the assassination plot. How could he do that?
In his testimony, given in secret, he revealed that he was a spy for the Confederate Government and had made frequent trips to Canada carrying secret instructions. He also revealed that whenever he made a trip, he stopped off in Washington to allow them to read all he was carrying. If the Federal Government knew the inner most secrets of the Rebs - why did they allow the plan to proceed? I think they were actively protecting Lincoln when they captured Thomas Harney, as he was proceeding ti Washington. (Thant's a story for another time.) I am interested in this guy Montgomery.
Richard Montgomery was born in Mew York City in 1839. He grew up in a huge family - more than 15 total. He married Emily E. Wallace in 1859 and started his own family. Two girls (twins) and a boy. (The girls were Florence and Florance.)
At some point, not clearly defined, he attempted to join the Army -as a Major, this failed (I think his father, a Broker< tried to buy a Commission) This led to his enlistment in the Army for "General Service", for 5 years, as a Sargent. However, in less than 2 months, he was ALLOWED to resign, in order to accept an opportunity to accept a "Class I Position". I assume that this is where he became a Spy. (His compensation was $1200. That is significant when you learn that Stanton (Sec. of War) was getting $8000 per annum.)
Montgomery had grey eyes, dark hair, ruddy complexion, an was 5'-8 1/2". He was assigned to the Adjutant General's Office.
The Adjutant General is the top man in the Army. EVERYONE WORKS FOR HIM. (George Washington, and Adjutant General got $162/ Mo.)
Montgomery is shown in the City Directory as "Rooming at 734 New York Ave, between 1863 and 1865. Then he is shown as "Major" after the war (while he "cooperated" during the Conspirator trial.
I'm out of space - but I continue to search. I'll add more if allowed.

I need to add: None of this info shows up in "Family Trees".. I doubt that they know anything about guy.

John - the Tidwell Papers at the James O. Hall Research Center at Surratt House Museum contain a few pieces of correspondence between Tidwell, Hall, and Bill Hanchett about Montgomery. Contact Colleen if you want to find out contents. colleen.puterbaugh@pgparks.com or 301-868-6185 (Tues-Fri).

Thank you John for your research, I find it very interesting.

A quick Google search, and this was all I could find. ( Only a quick search) It's from an 2008 article by John Fazio in the Cleveland Civil War Round Table - Confederate Complicity in the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Part 3)
"At the trial, Richard R. Montgomery, allegedly a Federal spy, claimed to know most of the Confederate agents in Canada. He said that in January, 1865, Jacob Thompson told him of a plan to kill Northern leaders and that Thompson supported it, but was not allowed to proceed with it until Richmond gave a green light.

All three (Montgomery, Merritt and Dunham) were later shown to have perjured themselves, but one has to ask, why?
http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/a...icity3.htm

He is mentioned in Edward Steers - 'The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia' p. 378.
"As damaging as the testimony of Montgomery and the others appear to have been, it all fell apart when alll three came under attack by the press, which claimed all three men had committed perjury. Their stories all began to unravel when reporters could not verify most of their claims."

I'm curious, what about Montgomery has sparked your interest?

(01-06-2018 07:29 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Thank you John for your research, I find it very interesting.

A quick Google search, and this was all I could find. ( Only a quick search) It's from an 2008 article by John Fazio in the Cleveland Civil War Round Table - Confederate Complicity in the Assassination of Abraham Lincoln (Part 3)
"At the trial, Richard R. Montgomery, allegedly a Federal spy, claimed to know most of the Confederate agents in Canada. He said that in January, 1865, Jacob Thompson told him of a plan to kill Northern leaders and that Thompson supported it, but was not allowed to proceed with it until Richmond gave a green light.

All three (Montgomery, Merritt and Dunham) were later shown to have perjured themselves, but one has to ask, why?
http://clevelandcivilwarroundtable.com/a...icity3.htm

He is mentioned in Edward Steers - 'The Lincoln Assassination Encyclopedia' p. 378.
"As damaging as the testimony of Montgomery and the others appear to have been, it all fell apart when alll three came under attack by the press, which claimed all three men had committed perjury. Their stories all began to unravel when reporters could not verify most of their claims."

I'm curious, what about Montgomery has sparked your interest?

Before he has a chance to explain his interest, I just want to say that John Stanton worked with Hall, Tidwell, and Gaddy on their research back in the 1980s, spurred on by purchasing property in the Northern Neck of Virginia that once "housed" a Confederate spy camp. He's got a lot of information on the Confederate espionage system, and we know that his searches led to the final chapter on what happened to Sarah Slater, "The Lady in the Veil."

John once told me that, on his last visit with James O. Hall - shortly before his death -- Mr. Hall whispered to him as he left, "Go find them all." John has spent the last decade and more doing just that.

More on Richard Montgomery....
By now you know he was said to be a Spy, for the Union. I don't question that for a minute, even though he was labeled a liar - for his testimony in the trial of the conspirators. For those who don't know much about this guy....briefly, he testified that Jeff Davis approved the demise of Abraham Lincoln.
His testimony was transcribed by Ben Pitman, in secret. It was kept a secret for at least a month when it was leaked to the public Keeping his testimony a secret was intended to protect him from zealous confederates who might do-him-in for saying what he did. That was very considerate of them, but has anyone tried to find him after his testimony? There is nothing. I can produce details of his life from his birth - though his marriage - through his testimony - and then Nothing. Did he hide somewhere? Did someone get him?
I can follow his wife and children, up to their graves, but not one
word on Richard. I'll put some time on the other "two liars" to see if they met the same fate.

Gene C. Thanks for your input - I am searching for anything on this subject. I do not believe that the 3 men lied.
Their testimony was so very damaging, that the defense had to discredit the information the only way they knew how - they had to discredit the informants. They had to discredit their validity.
Oddly, the testimony was given in Secret and was kept a secret through the first month of the trial. The information was made available when the information was leaked to the public. So, up until then, the defense didn't even know what was said. The whole trial was an oddity. The prosecution owned the Judge, they owned the jury, then owned the sentiment, THE SOUTH WAS GUILTY OF KILLING LINCOLN.
My interest in spies was born in me, in my own war. I was not a spy -I didn't look like ''them", I couldn't talk like "them" (I learned a few words), but I spent my time sneaking around in the dark, all alone.

(01-06-2018 09:41 PM)SSlater Wrote:  Gene C. Thanks for your input - I am searching for anything on this subject. I do not believe that the 3 men lied.
Their testimony was so very damaging, that the defense had to discredit the information the only way they knew how - they had to discredit the informants. They had to discredit their validity.
Oddly, the testimony was given in Secret and was kept a secret through the first month of the trial. The information was made available when the information was leaked to the public. So, up until then, the defense didn't even know what was said. The whole trial was an oddity. The prosecution owned the Judge, they owned the jury, then owned the sentiment, THE SOUTH WAS GUILTY OF KILLING LINCOLN.
My interest in spies was born in me, in my own war. I was not a spy -I didn't look like ''them", I couldn't talk like "them" (I learned a few words), but I spent my time sneaking around in the dark, all alone.

John - Do you know exactly where Montgomery's wife and children are buried? Could he be in an unmarked grave? Is it in a large enough cemetery to have administrators with records going back that far?

Laurie: I'm not moving very rapidly in this search. I find a trail - and it dies on the next page. Montgomery is shown with his children - before the war., but he becomes "unknown" after 1865. (If they knew "before", they know "After".
He was charged with Perjury - I believe him. I believed that those who screamed "Perjury" - are the liars. He claimed that Davis et al, planned the Abduction and changed to Assassination. Which we all believe. I have written to his descendants and asked for help (I would like to clear him) but I got only one fuzzy answer. (Quote " maybe my cousin knows" but didn't tell me who the cousin was. )
I have cemetery records - mostly New York State, but none show Richard R. Montgomery, or his Misses. I have his son in Schoharie, NY (Don't ask me to say that.) but Papa is not there, at least I can't find him. I"M working on Newspaper obits now.
Aside: I'm more and more convinced that the NORTH killed Lincoln. This is based on the fact that Lincoln wanted the South back into thee Union unpunished. Everyone else wanted to hurt them - make them PAY. Which means they would make money personally. The North was falling apart over this. They were ready to go to war with eachother.
I should take more time to write these replies. because I don't know enough, to say it briefly. There was a great deal of trouble in the North over Winning the War. More to come (Don't hesitate to comment - PLEZ!)

(01-09-2018 05:28 PM)SSlater Wrote:  There was a great deal of trouble in the North over Winning the War.

I agree with you, John. Trouble was brewing in the North.

On September 20, 1864, Thurlow Weed wrote to William Seward that opposition against Lincoln "was equally formidable and vicious, embracing a larger number of leading men than I supposed possible."

At the 1864 Democratic National Convention Benjamin Allen of New York said, "The people will soon rise, and if they cannot put Lincoln out of power by the ballot they will by the bullet."

I'm happy to agree with trouble in the North, and that brings into play Fernando Wood, the mayor of the city for the first two years of the war. He was definitely a Democrat and a Copperhead and called for the city to secede from the Union. Wood was in cahoots with Weed and the Tammany Hall gang. Even though I have found him "interesting," I have never followed his trail after he went out of office. Can anyone fill in the blanks?

The city had definite economic ties to the Confederacy, immigration problems, draft riots, and other things that kept them unhappy with Lincoln and the Republicans. I believe that the failed sabotage events on hotels and Barnum's Museum on November 25, 1864, were actually planned for Election Day that month instead, but were foiled by a double agent. Could Montgomery have been that agent, John?

I am also a big believer in Judah Benjamin being at least one (if not the chief) mastermind of most of the dirty work. If we could find some ties between him and Fernando Wood, I'd be a happy theorist.

I will agree that there was a certain amount of trouble In the North near the end of the war, but there had always been trouble in the North. There were draft riots in NY City during the middle of the war. Senators and Governors complaining they couldn't reach their enlistment quotas. Women and children working in farm fields and factories because there were not enough men available to do the work.
Part of the trouble with some of this conspiracy theory is, if we eliminate Lincoln, what are we left with?
Lincoln's reconstruction plans were better economically than what eventually happened.

Save your Dixie cups, the South shall rise again!

(01-10-2018 12:02 PM)Gene C Wrote:  I will agree that there was a certain amount of trouble In the North near the end of the war, but there had always been trouble in the North. There were draft riots in NY City during the middle of the war. Senators and Governors complaining they couldn't reach their enlistment quotas. Women and children working in farm fields and factories because there were not enough men available to do the work.
Part of the trouble with some of this conspiracy theory is, if we eliminate Lincoln, what are we left with?
Lincoln's reconstruction plans were better economically than what eventually happened.

Save your Dixie cups, the South shall rise again!

What Reconstruction plans?

There is the short plan
http://www.sparknotes.com/history/americ...ion1.rhtml

and there is the short plan with a long explanation.
https://www.americanheritage.com/content...nstruction

and ... http://www.abrahamlincolnsclassroom.org/...struction/

The most important aspect of Lincoln's plan was to admit the South back into the Union without punishment. The people around him (Ben Wade. Thaddeus Stevens, Salmon Chase, Fernando Wood, etc.) wanted to punish the South in such a manner that they would all make money - MILLIONS- They even fought among thenselves. I'll hut up the details, if you are interested. They almoct succeded - their man missed election BY ONE VOTE, otherwise it all woud have been different. One more, cad, Me. ~John ~ Edwin Stanton (Don't Shoot!)

(01-10-2018 05:16 PM)SSlater Wrote:  The most important aspect of Lincoln's plan was to admit the South back into the Union without punishment. The people around him (Ben Wade. Thaddeus Stevens, Salmon Chase, Fernando Wood, etc.) wanted to punish the South in such a manner that they would all make money - MILLIONS- They even fought among thenselves. I'll hut up the details, if you are interested. They almoct succeded - their man missed election BY ONE VOTE, otherwise it all woud have been different. One more, cad, Me. ~John ~ Edwin Stanton (Don't Shoot!)

Gene and John - I had a specific purpose in posting that simple question. I wanted to draw Wild Bill into the discussion. Those who attended the Surratt Conference this past April will remember a very detailed talk that Bill gave on Lincoln's plans for Reconstruction - and he appropriately titled it "My Policy is to have No Policy," taken from Lincoln's own words.

Since he died before he could really present a firm plan for reconstruction and/or reconciliation, he left future historians and politicians to speculate on exactly how he would have handled the process. Bill did outline various tactics and policies that Lincoln enacted or attempted throughout the war that would lead (hopefully) to the final plan, but we can only guess what the final blueprint would be.

I find it strange that an official policy had not be drawn up by the end of 1864, when it was certainly obvious that the war was not going to be won by the Confederacy. I don't know that much about Seward, but as Secretary of State, wouldn't he have played a vital role in this also?

I also wonder if Lincoln could have been able to control the Radicals once the Union was saved. They had been planning their own version for four years. Now that Lincoln had gone from wartime executive to peace executive, I wonder how much cooperation he would get.

No matter whose policies went into effect in the end, lousy decisions on Reconstruction have managed to screw up certain portions of our society and culture to this day -- just the past few months of 2017 are proof of that.