Daredevils Of the Confederate Army

[Gene C]

The full title is "Daredevils of the Confederate Army - The Story of The St. Albans Raiders" by Oscar Kinchen.
Written in 1959, about 150 pages. No footnotes, bibliography is a bit lacking. No maps, drawings or photographs. My copy was a well done reprint. The raid is an interesting event in history, unfortunately, the book just doesn't tell the story very well.

About 2/3 of the book has to do with the trial of the raiders, and the legal positions each side takes.
If you have a legal background or are interested in international law, you might find this interesting. (I don't, and I didn't - much)
There is an eight page chapter, The Messengers", which has to do with the attempt by the raiders lawyer's to get documentation from Confederate officials in Richmond to verify the raiders were acting under their authority and approval for the St. Alban's Raid. Unfortunately, for Sara Slater fans, there is not much here. What is here is a bit confusing. (More on that later in a Sara Slater thread to be named at a later date) There are many interesting details, but the actual raid, escape and capture of the raiders only takes about 30 pages.

The Rev. Stephen Cameron is mentioned as well as a book he wrote on the Confederate Secret Service, of which I have been unable to find on the internet, and the author fails to include in his bibliography.

There is more information on Bennett Young, including quotes from his court testimony, his marriage in 1866 at Niagara Falls to Mattie Robinson of Kentucky, and life a few years later when he returns to KY.

Here are a few interesting details from the book -
- Jacob Thompson and Clement Clay are sent to Canada by Jefferson Davis "to carry out such instructions as you have received verbally, in such a matter as may seem most likely to conduct the furtherance of the Confederate States of America", (pretty vague instructions). Upon arrival in Canada, they deposit three quarters of a million dollars in the Bank of Toronto, in May of 1864.

- "Greek Fire" had been used with considerable effect when several river boats at St. Louis were burned in early summer of 1864.

- Prior to the St. Albans raid, Bennett Young was a student at the University of Toronto to continue his theological studies in preparation for a career in the ministry.

- Quotes from Bennett Young's speech before the court as to why he raided St. Albans. (anyone want me to post his comments?)

- and, "According to Young's own account which he related to some of his Canadian friends while a prisoner at Montreal, his neighborhood in Jasmine County was raided and plundered by a band of Union troops at the outbreak of the war, and a young lady who was to be his future bride was the victim of an outrageous insult by federal troops, the shock having led to her untimely death after a lingering illness of several weeks. Burdened with grief and longing for vengeance, he hastened to enlist in the Confederate forces in his state.

- Young was among 2,500 raiders (cavalry) who were captured at the time of Hunt's famous raid into Ohio in mid-summer 1863. He was removed to Camp Doulas, near Chicago and escaped early autumn of the same year.

The book is OK, with some shortcomings. I was lucky, and able to find a new reprint for less than $5 from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/Daredevils-Confed...erate+army

[RJNorton]

(07-24-2017 08:19 PM)Gene C Wrote:  The Rev. Stephen Cameron is mentioned as well as a book he wrote on the Confederate Secret Service, of which I have been unable to find on the internet, and the author fails to include in his bibliography.

Gene, I have looked for this, too. Does the author specifically state it's an actual book? All I can find is what General Tidwell writes in an endnote for April '65:

"Stephen F. Cameron, manuscript notes for "History of the Confederate Secret Service," Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond, Virginia. Based on internal evidence, the manuscript was compiled at about the same time as the trial of John H. Surratt in 1867. It is evident at the time of the writing the author was in correspondence with Jacob Thompson and other figures active in the Confederate operations in Canada."

So maybe the book Cameron was intent on publishing never got that far? Maybe all that is available to researchers is the manuscript notes? Gene, could this be why the author does not include it in his bibliography?

[Gene C]

Roger, the author never mentions the title of the book, but this is what he does say -

"The Reverend Cameron, who later wrote a book on "The Confederate Secret Service", relates that on his return from Richmond, while crossing the Potomac River, his skiff overturned by a shot from a Union battery on the western shore, but he finally succeeded in reaching the eastern bank and arrived safely among friends in his native state of Maryland." (page 113)

There were no footnotes, so I don't know if he 'relates' his story to the Canadian newspapers at the time, trial testimony records, or his book we can't locate. That is all he mentions about Cameron's book.

I'm not the greatest internet searcher, but I did try Internet Archive, Library of Congress, Google, and Amazon Books. No luck.

Kinchen's book is available on Internet Archives, but you have to log in and can borrow it for 14 days. I have never tried to do that, and am not familiar with that process.
https://archive.org/details/daredevilsof...+a+kinchen

[RJNorton]

Many thanks to Laurie for sending the manuscript! She writes:

"We have a copy of the Cameron ms from the Museum of the Confederacy (see attachment – 25 pages). It is in the files of James O. Hall. I seriously doubt that a book was ever published."

CLICK HERE.

[SSlater]

(07-25-2017 06:25 AM)Gene C Wrote:  Roger, the author never mentions the title of the book, but this is what he does say -

"The Reverend Cameron, who later wrote a book on "The Confederate Secret Service", relates that on his return from Richmond, while crossing the Potomac River, his skiff overturned by a shot from a Union battery on the western shore, but he finally succeeded in reaching the eastern bank and arrived safely among friends in his native state of Maryland." (page 113)

There were no footnotes, so I don't know if he 'relates' his story to the Canadian newspapers at the time, trial testimony records, or his book we can't locate. That is all he mentions about Cameron's book.

I'm not the greatest internet searcher, but I did try Internet Archive, Library of Congress, Google, and Amazon Books. No luck.

Kinchen's book is available on Internet Archives, but you have to log in and can borrow it for 14 days. I have never tried to do that, and am not familiar with that process.
https://archive.org/details/daredevilsof...+a+kinchen

Gene C. Hi! I looked for a book by Cameron, and never found one, However, it is believed he gathered material in order to write - and that material is called "Cameron's Manuscript". The material is (or was) held by the "Confederate Museum" in Richmond. The material was done in long-hand, so it is difficult to read. The material is not in any order, so you can't go directly to a special subject. (It's a box of unrelated letters.)- (Unless someone has done something with the Manuscript in the last few years.) I do remember reading the letter that E. G. Lee carried to Montreal, when he reported for duty, that was written by Judah Benjamin. He wrote, directing exactly what Thompson was to do with the Confederate Treasury - which was to put the money in British Banks - in Benjamin's Personal account. . I can not help you more, because all that stuff is in storage, and I do not have ready access. (In an emergency, I can try - but it would take time). Maybe I should get back to work on that. SSlater