American Macbeth: The Overthrow of Abraham Lincoln

By James Theres and Tim Schnese

In November 1862, Union General George McClellan marches on Washington and overthrows President Abraham Lincoln not to save the country, but to save his wife.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu Publishing Services
• Release date: Nov 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781483420318

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AMERICAN

MACBETH

The Overthrow of Abraham Lincoln

James Theres with Tim Schnese

Copyright © 2014 James William Theres.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means—whether auditory, graphic, mechanical, or electronic—without written permission of both publisher and author, except in the case of brief excerpts used in critical articles and reviews. Unauthorized reproduction of any part of this work is illegal and is punishable by law.

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2032-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4834-2031-8 (e)

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Lulu Publishing Services rev. date: 11/03/2014

CONTENTS

Prologue

Pinkerton and Unger

Chapter 1   McClellan

Chapter 2   Pinkerton

Chapter 3   Crossing the Potomac

Chapter 4   Three Cigars

Chapter 5   A Good Christian Mother

Chapter 6   South Mountain

Chapter 7   Robert Plum Kelley

Chapter 8   Antietam

Chapter 9   Emancipation

Pinkerton and Unger

Chapter 10   Mary Ellen

Chapter 11   The Key Affair

Chapter 12   The Salmon P. Chase Home

Chapter 13   Father Abraham

Chapter 14   A Political Solution

Pinkerton and Unger

Chapter 15   A Different Political Solution

Chapter 16   The Turning Point

Chapter 17   The Plot is Hatched

Chapter 18   The Assassin

Chapter 19   Silent Leges

Chapter 20   Under Arrest

Chapter 21   Size 14 Goat Slippers

For my children, Dion and Anna.

Something to remember your Dad by.

Love you with all my heart.

—James Theres

To my wife Kristen, family, and friends. And for the Soldiers I served with.

—Tim Schnese

PREFACE

This story has been percolating in my head since 1989 when I was first stationed at Fort McClellan in Alabama. I knew just enough about history then to find it strange that a military post in the Deep South was named after a Union general. At the time, I could not think of any others. There was Fort Lee, Fort Bragg and Fort Polk, all named after generals of the Confederacy.

I conducted a little research and discovered that President Lincoln had had difficulties with General George McClellan which ultimately led to Lincoln firing McClellan in November of 1862, never to return to the Army. I also remember reading that McClellan was a Democrat with southern sympathies. I left it at that, but the story never left me. From time to time, I would jump back into it, do a little more research and let history percolate some more. I was amazed to learn that McClellan actually considered marching on Washington in the fall of 1862. I started to think, What if he did overthrow Lincoln and why would he do it?

The story sat for another 15 years until I met up with an old college buddy, Tim Schnese at a restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin sometime in 2008. Tim and I had attended the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater together. We were both history and political science majors. We had stayed in touch over the years, but this was the first time we had discussed this Civil War story. We agreed that it would make for an amazing piece of historical fiction, and frankly, were a little surprised that no one had written one or that it was so little known to history how close McClellan was to marching on Washington.

The important question was that despite McClellan having opportunity, proximity, resources, political support and an adoring Army he chose not to overthrow Lincoln when he had the chance. What, then, would motivate him to do it? We left dinner that day inspired to write this historical novel about a general in the United States military directly challenging the civilian authority. Lincoln, McClellan and the Civil War were the stage.

As we dug into the research, we came to understand how fragile the concept of civilian authority over the military was in early American history. Yet, it is the peaceful transition of power which has allowed America to exist as we know it today. Without the military’s adherence to this authority, our democracy would cease to exist. Government of the people, by the people, for the people would indeed have perished from the earth.

For the next couple of years, the story started to take shape, but something was missing. We still hadn’t come up the ingredient that would motivate McClellan to march on Washington. We talked over the phone, met up a couple of times and wrote the story from a distance. I devoured over 60 books about Lincoln and McClellan, visited the battlefield of Antietam in Maryland and Lincoln’s home in Springfield, Illinois. I even walked through a fully grown cornfield to get a sense of what it was like for those boys storming through the cornfield at Antietam.

Then one day, I was sitting at a Barnes and Noble bookstore discussing the book with someone who happened to be a Shakespearean scholar. She said to me, Sounds like a great story, but you know what you’re missing is a strong woman. In Shakespeare, it’s the women who are strong and the men weak. This general will do it if his wife is the motivator.

I thought about that for a few days and realized the scholar was right. But was McClellan’s wife strong and ambitious? I was amazed to discover that she was. I was stunned to learn that McClellan had written his wife several hundred letters during his 400 days as Commander of the Army of the Potomac. I was stunned to learn that McClellan almost lost his wife to his best friend from West Point, Ambrose Powell Hill in the late 1850s. I was stunned to learn his wife had serious political ambition. Ambition she couldn’t realize herself, but could through her husband. I came to understand that George McClellan loved his wife, Mary Ellen, very much and she had this power over him. The title of the book, American Macbeth: The Overthrow of Abraham Lincoln, bubbled to the surface and the plot and motivation were ignited.

In the end, this story is an interesting what if piece of historical fiction set against the backdrop of the American Civil War. I hope we have written it well. Interestingly, General George McClellan should garner some admiration for something he never did, but certainly could have. His respect for the supremacy of civilian authority over the military re-enforced precedence of the Founding Fathers which has sustained our Republic for 238 years running.

James Theres

Jackson, Mississippi

Tim Schnese

Appleton, Wisconsin

MAIN CAST OF CHARACTERS

PROLOGUE

Necessity knows no law.

Abraham Lincoln, August 28, 1862

In the fall of 1862, the government of Abraham Lincoln clung precariously to power. Sixteen months of Civil War against the seceded southern states had yielded little success. In September, the Army of Northern Virginia led by Robert E. Lee invaded Maryland in an attempt to end the conflict and force the North to sue for peace. The fate of the Union rested in the hands of General George McClellan and the Army of the Potomac. Lincoln had reappointed McClellan to overall command on September 2, 1862 against the wishes of his Cabinet and the Radical Republicans in Congress. Without victories on the battlefield, the fire in the rear raged. Key members of the Cabinet conspired to resign if Lincoln did not remove McClellan from command.

A few days after his appointment, McClellan reorganizes the Army and marches westward from the Capital to meet Lee on the battlefield. While the army moves westward, Lincoln struggles with emancipation. On the eve of battle Lincoln makes a pact with God that if a victory is delivered he would acknowledge Divine Will to destroy slavery. On September 17, 1862, Union forces defeat rebel forces at Antietam creek. Five days later, Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation. Then, on September 24, Lincoln suspends habeas corpus in the entire North in an effort to eliminate political opposition to the war and emancipation. This proclamation and the suspension of habeas corpus divide even more the two political parties, Democrat and Republican. The Cabinet and the Radical Republicans increase their pressure on Lincoln to remove that West Point, educated Democrat, McClellan, the very general who had delivered victory. Lincoln urges McClellan to seek out and destroy Lee’s army, which retreats back into Virginia.

In early October, Lincoln visits the army in the field hoping to induce McClellan to take action. He hears of a scheme by those loyal to McClellan to only wound the enemy on the battlefield but not to destroy them. Furious, Lincoln court-martials the brother of one of McClellan’s chief aides to send a message. Within days of Lincoln’s visit leading Democrats also travel to McClellan’s headquarters to urge him to slow on the battlefield and not give Lincoln any more victories prior to the November elections. They hope the tactic, along with Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and suspension of habeas corpus, will allow them to gain majorities in congress.

Meanwhile, McClellan’s wife, Mary Ellen, who is consumed by ambition, turns her affection to a rising young firebrand of a congressman while her husband is away at war. General McClellan learns of the affair while away at war in Virginia. He returns from the battlefield to confront his wife and discovers an even more sordid truth. On the same day, Pinkerton informs him that Lincoln will suspend the national elections. It is more than he can bear and decides to take matters into his own hands. He will march on Washington to overthrow a tyrant and protect the woman he loves.

The history of United States is forever changed.

Authors Note: There are three scenes in American Macbeth which take place on September 2, 1863, one year after the events in the book. The scenes help provide additional information as to the motivation of General McClellan through the eyes of his main co-conspirator, Allan Pinkerton as told to the Officer of the Guard, Friedrich Unger.

Fort McHenry Prison

Baltimore Harbor

September 2, 1863

4:53 p.m.

Allan Pinkerton was lying down on a trundle bed, a sleeping compartment not much bigger than a pile of straw. It was exactly one year to the day since it had all begun. He stared up at the stone ceiling appearing deep in thought, but in fact, his mind was blank. He had not shaved in a month and was eating less. His cheeks had fallen sallow. The dampness of the cell kept him in a constant chill.

Outside the thick, wooden door of his jail cell, he recognized the familiar sounds of the changing of the guard. He heard loud stomping boots accompanied by the precise slapping of Springfield rifles. As the keys rattled in the door lock, Pinkerton swung his feet around and rose up to greet his favorite guard, Captain Friedrich Unger. He genuinely liked this young man who had a story almost as remarkable as his own.

Wounded at the First Battle of Bull Run in August 1861, Unger was left for dead on the battlefield with a wound the size of a small saucer plate on his upper back. He lay in the hot sun for three days before scavengers found him half-alive in a field and carried him to a nearby barn called into service as a crude hospital. They threw him down on a bale of hay and left him for dead. Somehow he had survived his wound and the ordeal of a Confederate prison. In January of 1862, Unger was paroled in a prisoner exchange, and shortly thereafter he met President Lincoln, who asked to meet these men from the first battle against the Confederacy. Lincoln was so impressed with Unger’s miraculous survival that he commissioned him on the spot.

Good evening, Captain, best two out of three tonight, said Pinkerton, as Unger entered the cell.

Indeed, Mr. Pinkerton, replied Unger. I feel lucky tonight.

Luck has little to do with it, answered Pinkerton wryly.

With a quick smile, Unger produced a candle to supplement the light in the jail cell, while Pinkerton reached into his upper left breast pocket and fished out a long-cut cigar. Although he didn’t smoke, Unger enjoyed the aroma of fine Virginia tobacco. Both men sat down at the small, round table and turned their attention to the oak chess pieces positioned on the black-and-white chess board. Pinkerton reached over to grab the wool blanket on the bed to place it across his legs.

Captain, tonight I defer to you, said Pinkerton rotating the board 180 degrees. You have the first move.

Wary, but not surprised by Pinkerton’s sudden generosity, Unger slid a piece forward.

Kings pawn three, he said.

Pinkerton’s eyes never left his jailer’s face as he blew out a large cloud of blue smoke. He mirrored Unger’s first move, accompanying it with a gunfighter’s stare.

Captain, it’s hard to believe it’s been a year since it all started. You have been extremely gracious to a man in my predicament, said Pinkerton, taking another long pull of the cigar. I’ve enjoyed this time we’ve spent together these past three months. I appreciate you not pressing me on the topic.

We’ve discussed plenty, replied Unger. I guess I always felt you would talk about it when you were ready.

Pinkerton inhaled one last time and stubbed the cigar out on the table. The gallows awaited; it was time. He closed his eyes and started to gently stroke his beard.

Unger, it was a…

CHAPTER ONE

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McClellan

White House

Washington, D.C.

September 2, 1862

6:30 a.m.

It was a cool and windy September morning in the nation’s Capital. President Abraham Lincoln exited the White House and headed directly to the War Department offices perched on the corner of 17th and G streets. He wanted to consult one last time with his general-in-chief, Henry Halleck, about the decision to unify the Armies of the Potomac and Virginia and place them, once again, under the command of George McClellan. Lincoln knew this decision would be extremely unpopular with many, but General John Pope’s Army of Virginia had just been badly beaten by Confederate forces at the Second Battle of Bull Run a few days ago. McClellan was his last, best hope to reorganize, retrain and refit a demoralized Army.

The day before, the President had sought counsel from Francis Preston Blair Sr. regarding this decision to place McClellan back in command. Old Man Blair was a trusted confidant with political influence in the capital dating back to his membership on President Andrew Jackson’s Kitchen Cabinet. Blair’s son, Montgomery, now served as the Postmaster General in Lincoln’s Cabinet. Both Blair’s supported McClellan, although Montgomery found McClellan irritating at times. On occasion, Lincoln tested the Blair connection. He fed disinformation to the Old Man to see where it might flush out. To date, nothing had emerged. Lincoln’s plan was to announce his decision that afternoon during a full meeting with his Cabinet.

What Lincoln did not know was that his Cabinet, led by Secretary of War Edwin Stanton and Secretary of the Treasury Salmon Chase, was putting the finishing touches on a document of its own. They intended to force Lincoln to relieve McClellan or risk dissolving the Cabinet. The words treason and execution had been used regarding McClellan’s insubordinate support of Pope. Lincoln himself had concluded that McClellan’s actions wished for the failure of Pope’s Army. Secretary of the Interior Caleb Smith and Attorney General Edward Bates had signed the document along with Stanton and Chase. The Secretary of the Navy, Gideon Welles, supported its contents but would not sign. Secretary of State William Seward was out of town, and Postmaster General Montgomery Blair was not consulted. Only Welles was concerned that the Cabinet was overreaching its authority in forming a cabal against the President. The others were more suspicious of Seward’s convenient absence.

The walk from the White House to the War Department was short. Lincoln lumbered up the stairs to the building while removing his black top hat. Once inside, he dusted off his great coat and fumbled into the darkness of his hat searching for the orders to reappoint McClellan. Lincoln ducked into the office of Halleck, who was perusing last night’s dispatches from General Pope. The military situation in the East was not good. Fortunately, it appeared that Confederate forces were not pursuing Pope’s retreating Army. For the moment, the capital was safe.

Good morning, Mr. Lincoln, offered a surprised Halleck thrusting upward from his chair into an erect posture. He had gotten up too quickly and had to fixate his gaze, goggle-eyed, on Lincoln’s forehead.

Good morning, general, replied Lincoln, realizing he had startled Halleck. I thought we might have a word re-affirming our course in the light of General Pope’s and the Army of Virginia’s defeat.

Lincoln pulled a small chair nearer to the general’s desk and stretched out his legs. Both feet clomped to a rest on the corner.

Please, General, be seated.

Lincoln’s detractors often ridiculed the President’s western ways, but he was a mountain of man compared to other men of his time. Chairs, beds, desks and most furniture were built for men much smaller. The average man in 1860 was 5-feet, 8-inches tall and 140 pounds. Lincoln stood 6-feet, 4-inches tall and was 40 to 50 pounds heavier. The alternative to stretching out was sitting in a chair much too small with shoulders sloped forward, back arched and his long arms resting uncomfortably on painful knees. Lincoln opened the conversation by coming right out with his decision.

General, I intend to merge the Army of the Potomac and the Army of Virginia into one fighting force. I am reappointing General McClellan to take command. I know this to be an unpopular decision, but I have no choice. No other general has the organizational abilities to merge two armies and restore morale. I have taken only you into my confidence thus far. Like it or not, McClellan is our man.

The words hung in the air for a moment swirling around like a cloud of cigar smoke. Lincoln leaned back with his hands clasped behind his head. Halleck remained still with his arms folded across his chest considering the appropriate length of time to wait to support the decision, while making it appear that he was deep in thought. Halleck decided 15 seconds should do it.

Well, Mr. President, I agree with you on both counts. McClellan is the clear choice to reorganize the Army, and yes, he is an unpopular choice, the troops themselves notwithstanding.

Lincoln valued Halleck. On occasion, a President needed a reliable sycophant to support what he knew was the right course of action. Halleck, similar to McClellan, was an excellent organizer and administrator, and also like McClellan, he was an expert in caution. He also showed little emotion regarding the decision which Lincoln appreciated. Later that afternoon, upon announcing the decision to the Cabinet, Lincoln anticipated the theatrics worthy of the Booth family of actors.

Since we are in agreement, shall we deliver the good news to General McClellan? asked Lincoln. The chair creaked as he worked his way to his feet.

Although the inflection in the President’s voice indicated a question, Halleck knew it was not. Together, the President and the General-in-Chief headed out onto 17th Street and north to G Street. Lincoln clopped along like a plow horse as Halleck struggled to keep up; his stubby legs were no match for Lincoln’s gait. They completed the fifteen-minute walk to McClellan’s headquarters in silence.

Office of the Commanding General

Washington, D.C.

September 2, 1862

6:47 a.m.

General George McClellan was putting the finishing touches on a letter to his wife when an aide interrupted with news that the President and General Halleck had entered the building. McClellan unfolded a letter just received from his wife and re-read her final passage for strength.

…the President and company simply need to come to the same conclusion we already have: This Union could be saved but by the right man. Divine Providence had chosen you to be that man.

She finished it the way she always did, Mary Ellen. McClellan cherished his wife, Nelly, and felt fortunate to have her. She had rejected his first offer of marriage, and he moped around Philadelphia for weeks until he was sent to Europe as a military observer. The time away did not heal the wound. Upon his return, he attempted to rekindle the relationship only to find his closest friend at West Point, Ambrose Powell Hill, had courted her in his absence. She had accepted Hill’s offer of marriage. It was a crushing blow, which thrust McClellan into months of despair.

Mary Ellen’s mother, however, had not approved of the courtship. Hill, a southerner, had few prospects and no money. McClellan, on the contrary, was from a good Philadelphia family. Wanting the engagement to end, her mother took matters into her own hands and spread a vicious rumor in the Philadelphia social circles that Hill had a venereal disease. The claim had no foundation, but the damage was done. The engagement was off. McClellan quickly resumed his courtship of Nelly, and a year later they were married. Hill served as one of the groomsmen. McClellan had faced his old friend and nemesis on the battlefield during the Peninsula Campaign in 1861. He started to wonder how A.P. was holding up when the door opened. It was Lincoln.

Willard Hotel

Washington, D.C.

September 2, 1862

8:30 a.m.

Nathaniel Hawthorne had written that the Willard Hotel on the corner of 14th and Pennsylvania streets was the center of Washington political and cultural life. Presidents Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, Buchanan and Lincoln had stayed at the Willard. Julia Ward Howe penned the Battle Hymn of the Republic in one of the Willard Hotel’s rooms one morning, inspired by the memory of marching Union soldiers. The Peace Conference of 1861 was held there, presided over by former President Tyler, without success. Located only a few blocks from the White House, the Willard was a convenient meeting place.

The Cabinet met unofficially that morning to finalize a letter of remonstrance against McClellan. In truth, their sights were set higher than McClellan. Most members of the Cabinet were frustrated by Lincoln’s indecision and lack of leadership. Possibly, they were more frustrated by their inability to control and manipulate the President. The nation was in peril; its Armies defeated again on the battlefield. The English and French were considering recognizing the Confederacy, and the Peace Democrats were gaining momentum just before the November elections.

Gentlemen, the time has come, exclaimed Salmon Chase, secretary of the treasury. Either the government or McClellan must go down!

Chase was a balding, powerfully-built man with a slight droop over the right eye. He still harbored presidential ambitions after his defeat for the Republican nomination in 1860. Strangely, he was the main architect of the Republican abolitionist platform, but somehow the recognition for it evaded him.

After Chase’s emotional outburst, Secretary of War Edwin Stanton delivered the facts.

I have prepared a document demanding the immediate removal of General McClellan from any command of the Armies of the United States, said the War Secretary, focusing on Welles and Blair, the only non-signers. General McClellan’s conduct is reprehensible. His deliberate insubordination and withholding of forces from General Pope ensured our Army’s defeat. What he did, frankly, is nothing short of treason. I do not intend to push for such a measure, but McClellan must be removed.

Chase pounded his fist on the table.

I cannot stand idly by and watch the destruction of our nation and Army. The men in this room must show the resolve to save the nation. McClellan’s true intentions are well known. He intends to delay this war until a peace breaks out, and then what? exhorted Chase. A return to 1860, Chase finished, feeling he could not define his position any more clearly.

Secretary of the Navy Gideon Welles spoke next.

I do agree in principle with this document, but will not affix my signature to it. I believe our actions today – conspiring against the President and handing him a fait accompli – show little consideration and are, in fact, poisonous, if not treasonous to this administration. I, therefore….

Stanton interrupted Welles, beating Chase to the punch. Stanton was clearly irritated by Welles’ treason reference.

I know of no particular obligation I am under to the President. He called me to a difficult position and imposed on me labors and responsibilities which no man could carry.

Chase said nothing, acknowledging that Stanton had already said it best.

Welles regained the floor.

Mr. Secretary, I believe I do have an obligation to this President and serve at his pleasure. I also believe he relies on our counsel, as members of the Cabinet, and would be stunned to learn we have conspired against him. I will not sign the document; however, if the subject is broached in committee, I will offer my opinion, which is in concert with the majority.

Welles admired Lincoln, and Lincoln affectionately called the majestic-looking man with an all-white beard "Father