The Baltimore Plot: What was Pinkerton Thinking?

[L Verge]

Both the Hour of Peril and Michael Kline's The Baltimore Plot are excellent books. And, for me, it has been nice to see that the Lincoln historians have finally agreed that there was such a plot against Lincoln as he passed through Baltimore. For years, they placed it on a back-burner as being spurious; and I always suspected that they just did not want people to think that Lincoln would have stooped (pardon the pun) so low as to sneak into D.C.

As for Lincoln's height being difficult to disguise, we have to take into account the hour of night that they pulled the stunt. The plotters had not counted on the change of plans, and there would be few people out and about at the new arrival to notice a stooped and frail gentleman.

I do find it interesting that Mrs. Lincoln and the children were sent on the regular train and would possibly face the wrath of the Baltimore crowds, but it would have been very difficult to sneak an entire family on the trains -- and I suspect that the authorities counted on the crowds not caring about Mrs. Lincoln and her sons; they were out for the president-elect's blood!