Confederate tactics - 1864 election

[davelotter]

OK, did the Confederates try to do anything to disrupt or influence the 1864 Northern elections? And did the North take any counter-measures to prevent the South from doing anything here?

[zathras33]

Re: Confederate tactics - 1864 election

OK, did the Confederates try to do anything to disrupt or influence the 1864 Northern elections? And did the North take any counter-measures to prevent the South from doing anything here?

1. Confeds: Win the war. :)
2. Federals: Take Atlanta. :D

Peter

[MassVOL]

Re: Confederate tactics - 1864 election

OK, did the Confederates try to do anything to disrupt or influence the 1864 Northern elections? And did the North take any counter-measures to prevent the South from doing anything here?

A great book that talks about the effect the election year had on the war is:

Decision in the West: The Atlanta Campaign of 1864 (Modern War Studies)
By: Albert E. Castel

Covers not only Sherman's Campaign in detail, but also talks about the need to keep the veterans in the ranks and the pressure on Sherman when Grant stalled out in the overland campaign. Also has some interesting asides with the political atmosphere in Washington and some of the gubernatorial elections that were taking place at the same time. Its an easy read and very informative. I recommend it highly.

[Matthew.Rector]

Re: Confederate tactics - 1864 election

OK, did the Confederates try to do anything to disrupt or influence the 1864 Northern elections? And did the North take any counter-measures to prevent the South from doing anything here?

I believe the Confederacy's "Northwest Conspiracy" attempted to influence the 1864 election. Without getting into much detail, this conspiracy included the raid on St. Albans, Vermont, plans for releasing Confederate prisoners from Northern prison camps, and a plot to burn New York City and Chicago.

The Kights of the Golden Circle, Sons of liberty, etc. and other southern sympathizers living in the north also talked about trying to disrupt things and aiding in this effort.

The article, Copperhead Activities by Dr. John W. Miller (©1996 The Cincinnati Civil War Round Table) includes some good information and overview on this topic.

http://users.aol.com/cinticwrt/copper.html

Also check out:
Confederate Operations in Canada and New York by John Headley, The Neale Publishing Company, 1906.

and

Confederate Agent, Discovery in History by James David Horan. Crown Publishers, New York,1954.

The last book is mostly a biography on Captain Thomas H. Hines, but he was fully involved in the Northwest Conspiracy as one of the leaders.