Lincoln's Secret Spy: The Civil War Case That Changed the Future of Espionage

[Eva Elisabeth]

(11-08-2014 02:23 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(11-08-2014 01:53 PM)L Verge Wrote:  ...because Lincoln would never resort to spies...

I have read that President Lincoln even used his podiatrist, Dr. Isachar Zacharie, to spy for the Union.

Quoted from this website:
http://www.shapell.org/manuscript.aspx?a...r-zacharie
"Of the fifteen hundred testimonials affirming the wondrous talents of the renowned British chiropodist, Issachar Zacharie, this is the most interesting:
   
Dr. Zacharie, has, with great dexterity, taken some troublesome corns from my toes - He is now treating me, and I believe with success, for what plain people call back-ache. We shall see how it will end.

It is the first of three such testimonials Lincoln would write for Zacharie,...by March, Issachar Zacharie would be his personal spy and confidential agent. Why, when, where, how, and even if, Lincoln chose Zacharie – or Zacharie, Lincoln – is unknown; but that Zacharie had a confidential role to play in Lincoln’s administration, and a special relationship with the President, is undeniable. By spring 1863, Zacharie was in New Orleans, reporting to General Banks, and to Lincoln, on various aspects of that city’s occupation. Doing everything but practicing chiropody, he tracked troop movements, gunboats, and transports; reported all manner of gossip; noted the status of Union currency; and did what he could to help the poor, especially Jews, who were caught up in the exigencies of war. He also proposed, or ran, a spy ring comprised of itinerate Jewish peddlers.

By summer, Zacharie was sanctioned to explore, with five thousand Confederate cash in hand, the possibility of a negotiated peace – a mission to which Lincoln added his imprimatur as well. Reputedly, Zacharie met with the Confederate Secretary of State, the Jewish Judah Benjamin, and other high Southern officials. The New York Herald somehow got wind of the story, and published a fantastic version of it; though whether Zacharie’s account of his personal report to the President is any less fanciful than, say, Jefferson Davis quitting the South to run Napoleon out of Mexico, is impossible to say. 'Mr. Lincoln detained me 2 hours, locking his doors and preventing any person from having access to him,' Zacharie wrote to Banks upon returning to Washington. 'He seemed to be delighted with my revelations.'

Lincoln’s 'delight' with Zacharie seemingly lasted the rest of his life, for as late as January 25, 1865, he was still writing things for his friend. 'About Jews,' he instructed Secretary of War Stanton, 'I wish you would give Dr. Zacharie a pass to go to Savannah… I promised him long ago that he should be allowed this…'

Zacharie was described, by a detractor, as splashily-attired, with oiled hair, and a presence perfumed sweeter than 'the winds that blow from Araby the blest.'"

(More about his illustrious career: http://strangeside.com/lincolns-chiropod...-zacharie/ )

[Jane Singer]

Fascinating, Roger! Thank you for posting about this fascinating character! I wonder what there is about him in the NARA?

[Eva Elisabeth]

(11-08-2014 06:31 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  Zacharie was described, by a detractor, as splashily-attired, with oiled hair, and a presence perfumed sweeter than 'the winds that blow from Araby the blest.'"

Roger once posted this photo (post#73): http://rogerjnorton.com/LincolnDiscussio...t=Zacharie

[Eva Elisabeth]

Jane, does any photo of William Alvin Lloyd exist? I googled but didn't find any.

[Jane Singer]

Good morning Eva Elisabeth. no, sadly no photo is extant. More frustratingly there are references to ambrotypes taken of Lloyd in Savannah and sent to two friends who could attest to his identity. But hard as we've looked and queried, they are not to be found.

[Jane Singer]

(11-08-2014 08:38 PM)Jane Singer Wrote:  Fascinating, Roger! Thank you for posting about this fascinating character! I wonder what there is about him in the NARA?

For anyone who is interested there are a number of items/letters from Lincoln to Zacharie as well as correspondence from Zacharie to the President.

Go to the Lincoln Papers in the LOC. Upon first glance it seems that Zacharie was indeed "working" for Lincoln in a limited capacity.

Would be interested to see when the letters came to light. If I read correctly they were donated in 1919 but that may not be right.

Yes, some accounts of Zarachie's work are inflated or confabulated but there appears to be some truth here.
Fascinating!!!!!!

[RJNorton]

(11-09-2014 12:25 PM)Jane Singer Wrote:  Go to the Lincoln Papers in the LOC. Upon first glance it seems that Zacharie was indeed "working" for Lincoln in a limited capacity.

Would be interested to see when the letters came to light. If I read correctly they were donated in 1919 but that may not be right.

Yes, some accounts of Zarachie's work are inflated or confabulated but there appears to be some truth here.
Fascinating!!!!!!

Hi Jane. 1919 would be right as that is the year Robert Lincoln deposited the Lincoln Papers at the Library of Congress. I think it is pretty much accepted by many historians that Robert may have destroyed some letters, correspondence, etc. that could have reflected poorly on his dad's legacy. If there were letters Zacharie wrote that very clearly related to his espionage on Lincoln's behalf they could have been burned by Robert as he might have considered them "too private" for public viewing. This is just speculation on my part, but I feel it's possible some of Zacharie's letters are "lost." The full extent of his work for Lincoln (if it really existed) may not be known.

[Eva Elisabeth]

Thanks, Jane and Roger, for this fascinating info! And for letting me know, Jane, I can give up searching for a photo of W. A. Lloyd.

[L Verge]

This is a sidebar to Jane's delving into the espionage side of the Civil War. When I get a request similar to what follows, I always turn to either Jane or Dave Gaddy for guidance (now that I don't have Bill Tidwell and Mr. Hall). This past week, I received the following email from a gentleman who had been advised by Harold Holzer to contact me as he searched for more information on a Civil War ancestor from Southern Maryland:

"My great grandfather Constantine Aloysius Bowling was a Confederate
soldier under J.E.B. Stuart in the 1st Maryland Cavalry. He is mentioned
in this letter from the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln...

To Charles A. Dana [1] [1]

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Oct. 17, 1864.
Will Mr. Dana please report to me on the case of Constantine Bowling? A.
LINCOLN

ANNOTATION

[1] ALS, owned by Dale Carnegie, New York City. Constantine Bowling has
not been identified, and no report from Dana has been found.

I have filled in some of the blanks. As the story goes, he told his
family the he was visiting a girlfriend in Baltimore (Mary Surratt?). He
was later captured near Washington and beaten badly somewhere along the
lines. He returned home in late 1864 / early 1865 to his hometown of
Bryantown, MD and was treated by our family doctor at the time ...Samuel
Mudd.

1. Why would he risk so much going that far behind enemy lines?
2. Why was he in Washington?
3. Why Linclon was so interested in him?
4. Why was someone as prominent as Charles Dana involved?

If you could find the time to point me in the right direction for some
answers, I wold greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time."

I was certainly intrigued because my great-aunt, Mary Emma Huntt, married an Aloysius Bowling of Southern Maryland in the 1880s. Could this have been her father-in-law? We now think that is very doubtful. However, Jane immediately found the roll of prisoners in Old Capitol Prison, and this Mr. Bowling was a prisoner there from October 1863-October 1864. We noted that he was released from Old Capitol within ten days of this letter to Charles Dana - and at almost the same time that Booth was beginning to form his operatives for the kidnap plot. Could Bowling have been a link? She also found reference to 48 pages on Bowling in another source that she is currently exploring.

There is also a "down home" story about Bowling. He grew up in Bryantown (a very familiar name in the Lincoln assassination story), and the story is that he hid in the rafters of the belfry at St. Mary's Catholic Church in the village with secret papers while Union soldiers searched the area for him. Sounds like a Walter Bowie or Col. Mosby stunt to me! That church, of course, is where Dr. Mudd made a special trip for Mass on that Sunday in November of 1864, and met John Wilkes Booth.

The intriguing part of the whole story (to Jane and me) is why Lincoln would turn to Charles Dana, the well-respected journalist for assistance on the case of Aloysius Bowling - but then again, Dana had served Lincoln in the past as a special investigator. If you want to join in the hunt, have at it. It would be nice if we could finish the story for this descendant of Bowling.

[Jane Singer]

(11-13-2014 04:54 PM)L Verge Wrote:  This is a sidebar to Jane's delving into the espionage side of the Civil War. When I get a request similar to what follows, I always turn to either Jane or Dave Gaddy for guidance (now that I don't have Bill Tidwell and Mr. Hall). This past week, I received the following email from a gentleman who had been advised by Harold Holzer to contact me as he searched for more information on a Civil War ancestor from Southern Maryland:

"My great grandfather Constantine Aloysius Bowling was a Confederate
soldier under J.E.B. Stuart in the 1st Maryland Cavalry. He is mentioned
in this letter from the Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln...

To Charles A. Dana [1] [1]

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Oct. 17, 1864.
Will Mr. Dana please report to me on the case of Constantine Bowling? A.
LINCOLN

ANNOTATION

[1] ALS, owned by Dale Carnegie, New York City. Constantine Bowling has
not been identified, and no report from Dana has been found.

I have filled in some of the blanks. As the story goes, he told his
family the he was visiting a girlfriend in Baltimore (Mary Surratt?). He
was later captured near Washington and beaten badly somewhere along the
lines. He returned home in late 1864 / early 1865 to his hometown of
Bryantown, MD and was treated by our family doctor at the time ...Samuel
Mudd.

1. Why would he risk so much going that far behind enemy lines?
2. Why was he in Washington?
3. Why Linclon was so interested in him?
4. Why was someone as prominent as Charles Dana involved?

If you could find the time to point me in the right direction for some
answers, I wold greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time."

I was certainly intrigued because my great-aunt, Mary Emma Huntt, married an Aloysius Bowling of Southern Maryland in the 1880s. Could this have been her father-in-law? We now think that is very doubtful. However, Jane immediately found the roll of prisoners in Old Capitol Prison, and this Mr. Bowling was a prisoner there from October 1863-October 1864. We noted that he was released from Old Capitol within ten days of this letter to Charles Dana - and at almost the same time that Booth was beginning to form his operatives for the kidnap plot. Could Bowling have been a link? She also found reference to 48 pages on Bowling in another source that she is currently exploring.

There is also a "down home" story about Bowling. He grew up in Bryantown (a very familiar name in the Lincoln assassination story), and the story is that he hid in the rafters of the belfry at St. Mary's Catholic Church in the village with secret papers while Union soldiers searched the area for him. Sounds like a Walter Bowie or Col. Mosby stunt to me! That church, of course, is where Dr. Mudd made a special trip for Mass on that Sunday in November of 1864, and met John Wilkes Booth.

The intriguing part of the whole story (to Jane and me) is why Lincoln would turn to Charles Dana, the well-respected journalist for assistance on the case of Aloysius Bowling - but then again, Dana had served Lincoln in the past as a special investigator. If you want to join in the hunt, have at it. It would be nice if we could finish the story for this descendant of Bowling.

Laurie and forum,

I'm still working on the Dana connection. The forty-eight pages on Constantine A. Bowling's service records are in FOLD3. If any of you subscribe, it is a marvel! When I think of how Dr. Hall and others spent long, long hours at the NARA and here I can access service records in a very short time. Hardly seems fair.

Seems so far that there is a stew of family mythology and fact but it is of record that Bowling was arrested as a 'rebel spy.' And as Laurie speculates, was he recruited by someone at the prison or had the Maryland underground been nipping at his heels before?

There is more to do on the family and because the Bowling family physician was Dr. Mudd .... well ...

Good chase, this! Again, Laurie thanks for the kind words. This darn war is my life''s work, especially the espionage angles.

[Jane Singer]

Executive Mansion,
Washington, Oct. 17, 1864.
Will Mr. Dana please report to me on the case of Constantine Bowling? A.
LINCOLN

ANNOTATION

[1] ALS, owned by Dale Carnegie, New York City. Constantine Bowling has
not been identified, and no report from Dana has been found.

I have filled in some of the blanks. As the story goes, he told his
family the he was visiting a girlfriend in Baltimore (Mary Surratt?). He
was later captured near Washington and beaten badly somewhere along the
lines. He returned home in late 1864 / early 1865 to his hometown of
Bryantown, MD and was treated by our family doctor at the time ...Samuel
Mudd.

1. Why would he risk so much going that far behind enemy lines?
2. Why was he in Washington?
3. Why Linclon was so interested in him?
4. Why was someone as prominent as Charles Dana involved?

If you could find the time to point me in the right direction for some
answers, I wold greatly appreciate it. Thank you for your time."

I was certainly intrigued because my great-aunt, Mary Emma Huntt, married an Aloysius Bowling of Southern Maryland in the 1880s. Could this have been her father-in-law? We now think that is very doubtful. However, Jane immediately found the roll of prisoners in Old Capitol Prison, and this Mr. Bowling was a prisoner there from October 1863-October 1864. We noted that he was released from Old Capitol within ten days of this letter to Charles Dana - and at almost the same time that Booth was beginning to form his operatives for the kidnap plot. Could Bowling have been a link? She also found reference to 48 pages on Bowling in another source that she is currently exploring.

There is also a "down home" story about Bowling. He grew up in Bryantown (a very familiar name in the Lincoln assassination story), and the story is that he hid in the rafters of the belfry at St. Mary's Catholic Church in the village with secret papers while Union soldiers searched the area for him. Sounds like a Walter Bowie or Col. Mosby stunt to me! That church, of course, is where Dr. Mudd made a special trip for Mass on that Sunday in November of 1864, and met John Wilkes Booth.

The intriguing part of the whole story (to Jane and me) is why Lincoln would turn to Charles Dana, the well-respected journalist for assistance on the case of Aloysius Bowling - but then again, Dana had served Lincoln in the past as a special investigator. If you want to join in the hunt, have at it. It would be nice if we could finish the story for this descendant of Bowling.
[/quote]

Laurie and forum,

I'm still working on the Dana connection. The forty-eight pages on Constantine A. Bowling's service records are in FOLD3. If any of you subscribe, it is a marvel! When I think of how Dr. Hall and others spent long, long hours at the NARA and here I can access service records in a very short time. Hardly seems fair.

Seems so far that there is a stew of family mythology and fact but it is of record that Bowling was arrested as a 'rebel spy.' And as Laurie speculates, was he recruited by someone at the prison or had the Maryland underground been nipping at his heels before?

There is more to do on the family and because the Bowling family physician was Dr. Mudd .... well ...

Good chase, this! Again, Laurie thanks for the kind words. This darn war is my life''s work, especially the espionage angles.
[/quote]

Charles Anderson Dana was assistant secretary of w from January 28, 1864 to July 26, 1865. I found a request from Lincoln to Dana in the LOC Lincoln Papers asking Dana to look into a pardon (not Bowling's). So Bowling's service records indicate he took the Oath of Allegiance and was released from the O.C.

Bowling's activities after his release may be hard to track but the records show just how he was captured near DC. One can also read his statement but was he really a member of the Confederate underground? Unless I see more reliable sources ...

---

Meant to say Dana was assistant secretary of war.

[Ernesto]

(11-08-2014 06:31 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(11-08-2014 02:23 PM)RJNorton Wrote:  

(11-08-2014 01:53 PM)L Verge Wrote:  ...because Lincoln would never resort to spies...

I have read that President Lincoln even used his podiatrist, Dr. Isachar Zacharie, to spy for the Union.

Quoted from this website:
http://www.shapell.org/manuscript.aspx?a...r-zacharie
"Of the fifteen hundred testimonials affirming the wondrous talents of the renowned British chiropodist, Issachar Zacharie, this is the most interesting:

Dr. Zacharie, has, with great dexterity, taken some troublesome corns from my toes - He is now treating me, and I believe with success, for what plain people call back-ache. We shall see how it will end.

It is the first of three such testimonials Lincoln would write for Zacharie,...by March, Issachar Zacharie would be his personal spy and confidential agent. Why, when, where, how, and even if, Lincoln chose Zacharie – or Zacharie, Lincoln – is unknown; but that Zacharie had a confidential role to play in Lincoln’s administration, and a special relationship with the President, is undeniable. By spring 1863, Zacharie was in New Orleans, reporting to General Banks, and to Lincoln, on various aspects of that city’s occupation. Doing everything but practicing chiropody, he tracked troop movements, gunboats, and transports; reported all manner of gossip; noted the status of Union currency; and did what he could to help the poor, especially Jews, who were caught up in the exigencies of war. He also proposed, or ran, a spy ring comprised of itinerate Jewish peddlers.

By summer, Zacharie was sanctioned to explore, with five thousand Confederate cash in hand, the possibility of a negotiated peace – a mission to which Lincoln added his imprimatur as well. Reputedly, Zacharie met with the Confederate Secretary of State, the Jewish Judah Benjamin, and other high Southern officials. The New York Herald somehow got wind of the story, and published a fantastic version of it; though whether Zacharie’s account of his personal report to the President is any less fanciful than, say, Jefferson Davis quitting the South to run Napoleon out of Mexico, is impossible to say. 'Mr. Lincoln detained me 2 hours, locking his doors and preventing any person from having access to him,' Zacharie wrote to Banks upon returning to Washington. 'He seemed to be delighted with my revelations.'

Lincoln’s 'delight' with Zacharie seemingly lasted the rest of his life, for as late as January 25, 1865, he was still writing things for his friend. 'About Jews,' he instructed Secretary of War Stanton, 'I wish you would give Dr. Zacharie a pass to go to Savannah… I promised him long ago that he should be allowed this…'

Zacharie was described, by a detractor, as splashily-attired, with oiled hair, and a presence perfumed sweeter than 'the winds that blow from Araby the blest.'"

(More about his illustrious career: http://strangeside.com/lincolns-chiropod...-zacharie/ )

On Zacharie: I have just published a book on Zacharie's life: Lincoln's Jewish Spy: the Life and Times Of Issachar Zacharie. (McFarland, 2020). Welcome any feedback.

[RJNorton]

(10-13-2020 05:01 PM)Ernesto Wrote:  On Zacharie: I have just published a book on Zacharie's life: Lincoln's Jewish Spy: the Life and Times Of Issachar Zacharie. (McFarland, 2020). Welcome any feedback.

Here is a brief description of Professor Abel's new book:

"Born into a Sephardic Jewish immigrant family, Dr. Issachar Zacharie was the preeminent foot doctor for the American political elite before and during the Civil War. An expert in pain management, Zacharie treated the likes of Henry Clay, John C. Calhoun, General George McClelland and most notably, President Abraham Lincoln.

As Zacharie’s professional and personal relationship with Lincoln deepened, the President began to entrust the doctor with political missions. Throughout Lincoln’s presidency, Zacharie traveled to southern cities like New Orleans and Richmond in efforts to ally with some of the Confederacy’s most influential Jewish citizens.

This biography explores Dr. Zacharie’s life, from his birth in Chatham, England, through his medical practice, espionage career and eventual political campaigning for President Lincoln."