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Book

Midnight on the Potomac : the last year of the Civil War, the Lincoln assassination, and the rebirth of America

Call Number

  • 973.7 E479 (CEN, OSH)

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Publication Information

New York, NY : Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House LLC, [2025]

Physical Description

320 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Summary

A new look at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, replete with evidence pointing to a much larger Confederate conspiracy. Author Scott Ellsworth's research strongly infers that by the time that the house lights dimmed inside of Ford's Theatre on the evening of April 14th, 1865, John Wilkes Booth had been working alongside, if not in direct concert with, the Confederate Secret Service for nearly a year. During the last ten months of the Civil War, the Confederacy launched a desperate, audacious war of terror against the North. Rebels attempted to derail trains, set buildings on fire, spread smallpox, and undermined public support for the Union army. History books and schools teach that John Wilkes Booth acted alone, was admired by neither side, and was a second-rate actor, but Booth was charming, a world-famous performer, and--most importantly--an ardent supporter of the Confederacy. In the summer of 1864, President Abraham Lincoln had a front-row view of the Civil War, as he dodged bullets from the approaching Confederate army at Fort Stevens. It was the first time in American history that a sitting president would come under enemy fire, but the history books would put a far greater focus on his assassination just eight months later. In Midnight on the Potomac, Scott Ellsworth rewrites history, arguing that the two events were in fact connected and that Lincoln's assassination was likely ordered by leaders of the Confederate Army. --

Contents

  • A note from the author
  • Act One. Something big
  • The secret agent
  • The wilderness
  • Spotsylvania
  • The President
  • An army of ghosts
  • Contrabands
  • Monocacy
  • Early
  • Darkness
  • First intermission: Richmond, midsummer
  • Act Two. North
  • Booth
  • The Parker House
  • Daylight
  • Kidnapped
  • Election day
  • Memento mori
  • Autumn in New York
  • Fire
  • This flag is your flag
  • March
  • Second intermission: Christmastime in Washington
  • Act Three. Powell
  • Henry Highland Garnet
  • Handprints
  • Second inaugural
  • City Point
  • Dies irae
  • Easter week
  • April 14th
  • Of time and the river
  • Afterword.

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