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L Verge · (This post was last modified: 10-10-2014 07:26 PM by L Verge.)

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?

SSlater · 10-10-2014, 10:44 PM

LAURIE. Many years ago Gaddy- Singer- and I, researched this guy, and didn't do well. He was released from Elmira Prison in May 1865 (At least that is "after the war", but he disappeared.) At this point we assumed that he joined up with the Fenians - that group of Irish Vets who wanted to invade Canada. Their records are stored at Catholic University in Washington.(JFS Class of 1951 -School of Engineering and Architecture) I was hospitalized at that time for appendasitus (Spelling?) and I never got back to the search. I have a gigantic file on him, that I will peruse. I do recall saying "He's probably with Sarah Slater" (all before we had anything on her). I also corresponded with a "Harney" Lady who kept a family tree on all Harneys. There might be something in the file , where we can begin, to go again. If Jane reads this, please add whatever you can remember. We did find some discrepancies in his records. Give me some time to read that file.

RJNorton · 10-11-2014, 05:04 AM

Laurie...John...everyone...are there any photos of Harney? I have never seen one.

loetar44 · 10-11-2014, 05:33 AM

Want to know more about Harney! I have practically nothing on him ....

Jim Garrett · 10-11-2014, 08:06 AM

I would imagine that it will be difficult to find much on Thos. Harney. I've looked for an image of Harney and couldn't come up with anything. Like many clandestine operatives, he kept a very low profile. I think if anyone comes up with new information, it will be a great discovery. While my esteemed colleague Dave Taylor feels that there isn't much to Enoch Mason, I find him an interesting person, and think he was involved. Another person we don't have much information on is Augustus Howell, who is living in the boarding house and arrested at the Surratt Tavern as a spy at the end of March '65. How advanced were the Confederate Secret Service operations? We will probably never know, but my guess is their operations were much larger than we know. That's the idea. Leave no footprints.

BTW Howell lies in a unmarked grave in Congressional cemetery, not far from J. Edgar Hoover.

Rsmyth · 10-11-2014, 11:08 AM

In 1865 Harney was imprisoned in Elmira, NY. On his oath of allegiance said he was going to his home In New Orleans. The trail then goes cold.

STS Lincolnite · (This post was last modified: 10-11-2014 11:32 AM by STS Lincolnite.)

Do we know anything about Harney's earlier life or even his age? There is a Thomas F. Harney I was able to find that was in a Confederate Missouri Regiment. I also found a Thomas Harney that died in Missouri in 1902 (I don't know if it is the same one and don't know if either are the one we are looking for). Any other clues from earlier may start to narrow the field.

(10-11-2014 11:08 AM)Rsmyth Wrote: In 1865 Harney was imprisoned in Elmira, NY. On his oath of allegiance said he was going to his home In New Orleans. The trail then goes cold.

The identification of home as New Orleans could well have been a lie - he was a secret service operative after all.

L Verge · (This post was last modified: 10-11-2014 01:36 PM by L Verge.)

I truly believe that the direction that modern Lincoln assassination researchers need to head in is trying to find some of these "minor" operatives who appear to have walked into the nether. The bottom rungs on every ladder lead to the top, if one keeps going.

Gen. Tidwell, as most of you know, was high up in covert actions during his career with both Army Intelligence and the CIA. He once told me that, when he learned that the French Resistance during WWII had based their underground activities on what they had been able to learn from the Confederate system, he began to really study that system - because few historians or intelligence operators had! James O. Hall had similar training during WWII in being given the Lincoln case to study from the judicial angle. He then entered the field of investigations at a high level with the Labor Department. Dave Gaddy, the third member of that triumvirate, was with one of our country's highest intelligence-gathering departments.

They developed leads to follow, and I think we owe it to them to keep on searching. IMO, Booth's small gang that takes a beating from historians, had help from both underlings and superiors. Connect enough dots, and I believe that a full picture will develop of a grander plan being developed over at least a year before the assassination that set the groundwork for what became Booth's "one mad act."

SSlater · 10-12-2014, 04:40 PM

I just read some of the file I have on Harney - and it's a mess. Would you believe - he was arrested in Richmond on April 3, 1865 and again on April 10. 1865 at Fairfax Station. (I wonder, which one was not Harney?) He spent half the war in Prison. (No wonder he has no Activity file). Most of the rest is all contradictions. Such as -he is said to have been born on Blair County, PA (1836+/-), yet, Blair County was formed until later. Maybe he lived in the area that became Blair Co. He arrived from Ireland with a younger girl - maybe a sister. I'll do a time-line on him, from what I have. At least he can't be in Georgia, if he is in prison somewhere else.
I have corresponded with Blair Co. and they gave me some of their history. The town was on the Wagon Trail West. There is no record of Harneys. There were some families, such as Hearney, etc. Others passed through, after a short stay.
After all this research, what have we got?

BettyO · 10-12-2014, 05:11 PM

Didn't find any photos of Harney YET - but here is a photo of his wife, Elizabeth Dooley Harney (1837-1912)

Jim Garrett · 10-12-2014, 05:45 PM

Wow Betty, where did you come up with that?

STS Lincolnite · 10-12-2014, 05:50 PM

(10-12-2014 05:11 PM)BettyO Wrote: Didn't find any photos of Harney YET - but here is a photo of his wife, Elizabeth Dooley Harney (1837-1912)

If the Thomas Harney that we are looking for did in fact marry Elizabeth Dooley, I can find census records for him from 1870-1910 in Minnesota. Looks like he died in 1911. I'm not sure this is the right one however. I found a bio of him in the history of Wabasha County and it makes no mention of Civil War service at all and seems to indicate he was a farming bachelor from 1861 until 1867 when he married Elizabeth Dooley. Doesn't sound like the kind that would be an engineer in Confederate service.

I also found an 1860 census record for a Thomas Harney in New Orleans. States he was born in 1834 in Ireland. That would match up more with what we believe about Thomas F. Harney Confederate operative.

Lots of Thomas Harneys out there from about the same time period.

BettyO · (This post was last modified: 10-12-2014 06:19 PM by BettyO.)

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.....

L Verge · 10-12-2014, 06:27 PM

Augustus Howell is another one that needs more flesh put on his bones. He's right in our backyard here in Southern Maryland, but we don't know very much about him.

STS Lincolnite · 10-12-2014, 06:38 PM

On page 418-419 of Come Retribution (I am summarizing):
Harney a native of Pennsylvania
Was at one time a school teacher
Had been a lieutenant in the 6th MO Infantry
Enlisted in Confederate Army on 1 May 1862 at Corinth, MS
Wounded 3 Oct 1862, returned to duty and was captured
Was held at Gratiot St. Prison in St. Louis until 2 June 1863
He was then sent to City Point, VA for exchange
Upon release he was picked up by General Raines and used on multiple assignments in MS, SC and AL
In March 1865 he was in Richmond
From there he organized a party to join Mosby

We know most of the rest about his capture and imprisonment.

Assuming this is really all the same guy, he really seems to get around. I have found several cards for Thomas F. Harney on Fold3 related to his service in Missouri Outfits. Will have to try to get more info next time I am at the Archives.

No wonder this guy has been hard to track down. Lots of Thomas Harneys and looks like the one we want moved around a whole bunch. Add to that he probably lied through his teeth half the time as a "covert operative". Hard to tell truth from fiction.