On Friday, November 25, 1864 Confederate agents from Canada attempted a flamboyant, but poorly executed scheme to burn New York City. An eight man team, calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan, attempted to simultaneously set fires in nineteen hotels, a theatre, and at Barnum’s Museum. None of the fires were successful, and the blaze at Barnum’s caused little more than temporary excitement. With New York Copperheads failing to rise up in armed rebellion, the eight agents immediately escaped to Canada after their plan failed, and only Confederate R.C. Kennedy was later captured in January 1865 when he tried to slip back into the United States at Detroit. Kennedy was subsequently tried, convicted and executed in March 1865 in New York City for his role in the failed plot.
00000174-b11b-ddc3-a1fc-bfdbb1a20000The Schreiner University Department of History is honoring the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a series of short vignettes focusing on events from 1861 through 1865. The Civil War was the most destructive conflict in American history, but it was also one of our most defining moments as a people and as a nation. Let us know what you think about "This Week in the Civil War." E-mail your comments to Dr. John Huddleston at jhuddles@schreiner.edu.Airs: Weekdays at 5:19 a.m., 8:19 a.m., 4:19 p.m. on KTXI and 4:49 a.m., 9:29 p.m. on KSTX.