The Planned 1864 Revolt For A New Confederacy

By John A Punola · Originally published February 2017 · p. 10

In 1864 plans were discussed for a Northward thrust from the South into the Northwestern part of the Union where there was considerable opposition to continuing the war. A successful invasion would be aided by known opposition to Lincoln and the war department. Chicago’s reasonably proximity of Chicago to the South also made the danger of escaped prisoners from nearby Camp Douglas POW camp a constant worry, because it housed 10,000 Confederate prisoners. If the POWs could be rescued successfully, they could join other Confederate forces and deliver a knockout blow, and the Union would be divided. A Confederate invasion of the North was not a new battle plan. In the early stages of the war, Stonewall Jackson drafted a detailed plan to swiftly attack key targets such as Harrisburg, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. His reasoning was that the North was undermanned and unprepared to stop an invasion. The North had only a handful of troops defending Washington, DC.; the states depended upon their militias that were undermanned and ill equipped. The plan was to swiftly capture the targets and immediately negotiate a peace treaty. Had the Confederate army pursued the retreating Union army after Bull Run, they could have gone all the way to Wash., D.C. with no opposition. However, both Robert E Lee and Jefferson Davis did not seriously consider the plan and preferred a defensive strategy that ultimately failed. Once their resources were mobilized, it was obvious that the South would be unable to match the industrial power of the Northern states. The defensive war was devastating to the South and left the land in ruins and a large number of casualties. In 1864 Abraham Lincoln was in an election year; he had encountered serious opposition and was fearful of losing in November. The people of the union had grown weary of the staggering casualties, and there was strong sentiment to end the war. Anti-war feeling was high and there was a wave of discontent to stop the fighting and negotiate a peace agreement acceptable to both sides. The Sons of Liberty were the most vocal; their numbers had grown and they demanded action. In 1864 the Confederacy had already set up two bases of operation in Canada to plan, direct and establish a new Northwestern Confederacy. The territorial loss would be a severe blow to the Union’s ability to continue the war against the South. The Confederate Secret Service instructed Capt. Thomas Hines at their Toronto, Canada, office, to meet with Jacob Thomas somewhere in Western Canada. It was Thomas who skillfully established the Confederate base of armed operations in Canada. Capt. Thomas Hines was a Kentucky born Southern patriot who, despite his youth, was responsible for the plans and operations of John Hunt Morgan Confederate cavalry raiders, serving as a planner of raids that originated in Kentucky and carried thru Indiana and Ohio. The raids caused a diversion of Union forces fighting units to Northern states to contend with Morgan’s raids that netted valuable military supplies. Hines had a grand vision to carry the war into the Union heartland and utilizing the results to end the war. Capt. Hines had previously met with the Knights of the Golden Circle and the Sons of Liberty, the two groups at the forefront of resistance to the Lincoln administration. Lincoln called opponents to his ruling government “Copperheads”, and his worst enemy. Together the two groups were developing a strategy to stir up opposition against the Federal Government, and force an agreement with the South to end the war. After seizing states in the Northwest, they would secede and form a Northwest Confederacy, and there seemed to be strong sentiment to do so. Camp Douglas was at the center

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of the plan to instigate a Northern rebellion. The numerous POWs within the camp impatiently waiting to be rescued formed one part of the plan. The Knights of Golden Circle and the Sons of Liberty had a strong presence in the Chicago area and thus was a logical place to begin military operations. Their carefully planned operation would begin with veteran Confederates crossing over from Canada whence they would combine forces with the Sons of Liberty and attack Camp Douglas freeing the prisoners. From Camp Douglas they would swiftly secure horses, weapons, clothing and essentials and attack Chicago. Once they were successful in securing the city, they would isolate the city and blockade the countryside. The breakout was supposed to take place on July 4, 1864, the day of the Democratic National Convention. At that time, the Democratic Party was firmly opposed to the war, which would lead to more Southern sympathizers being in the city than normal times. Union General Sweet postponed the convention when he heard rumors of a conspiracy planned to start during the Democratic Party gathering. As soon as the convention was delayed, the “Copperheads” asked for a delay in the planned uprising. There was general agreement to do so, and the planned day for action was now July 16, then rescheduled for August 29, the same day chosen for resuming the Democratic Convention. The Knights of Golden Circle did not hide their displeasure towards the Federal Government, but the group was not fully organized. A month before the Democratic Convention, the Chicago Tribune printed a full story of the proposed plot. This gave General Sweet additional time to acquire more men and weapons, doubling the security at Camp Douglas. The extra time also allowed the Chicago Police to add hundreds of men to their forces. When Capt. Hines and his staff of seven officers made it to Chicago a week before the Democratic Convention, they found that General Sweet’s military reinforcements made it Impossible for them to attack Camp Douglas without a much larger force. The original plan was to break into Camp Douglas with about 100 heavily armed men, disarm the guards and blow holes in the wall for the escaping POWs. After making a quick reconnaissance it was evident that more than 1,000 men would be needed, so the operation had to be put off and re-

scheduled at a later date. Capt. Hines met with Charles Walsh, a prominent politician and a top leader of the Sons of Liberty to arrange for more men. Walsh was willing to supply the badly needed men, but in return he wanted an official guarantee that Confederate Regulars from the South would move north from Kentucky to join the Sons of Liberty forces; as called for in the original plan. Hines pointed out that he did not have authority to do so, and direct orders had to come from Richmond, Va. Without a firm commitment from Walsh, Hines and his men had to return to Canada and await orders. In November, Capt. Hines returned with a new plan scheduled for, the day before the 1864 presidential election. The new plan was much more aggressive than the previous one. Hines arranged to have “Copperheads” come into Chicago from all the surrounding countryside. This plan was to first free the Camp Douglas POWs, arm them and quickly integrate them into the ranks of the armed conspirators to seize and burn key parts of Chicago. Once that was accomplished they would fan out, marching South to link up with Confederate cavalry composed of highly skilled, veteran troops. Again they were foiled by General Sweet. After the end of the Democratic convention, Sweet continued his troop buildup, increased his intelligence network and successfully infiltrated antigovernment groups plotting the uprising. He had learned of the new Confederate plans and devised clever means of impeding their success. Sweet allowed several Confederate soldiers to escape prior to the elections, then followed them to the plot leaders. After learning more, Sweet deployed his troops, successfully arrested the leaders and seized enough arms and weapons to fully arm 10,000 escaped POWs from Camp Douglas. Capt. Hines and his staff were detained to be tried for conspiring to liberate Confederate POWs and were placed in a Chicago jail. Fortunately, Hines and his staff were able to escape and made their way safely to Canada. The plans and dreams of a Northwest Confederacy were dead. The Sons of Liberty and the Knights of Golden Circle did a poor job of protecting their intentions and once information came in from special, trained intelligence agents, Union leaders knew every planned movement and easily thwarted them. The planned rebellion by the

Sons of Liberty and the Knights of the Golden Circle looked promising. Both factions had been working on a joint military plan with the South that could have brought a large Confederate army northward to join the restless and rebellious Copperheads. The Sons of Liberty and Knights of Golden Circle were heavily armed and included thousands of well trained Union troops released from duty via prisoner exchange who returned home wanting an end to the war. The dream of a Northwest Confederacy did not came close to a reality but might have been successful if cooperation between the different camps had been better coordinated and unified The inclusion of Confederate forces to reinforce insurgents around Chicago was only the tip of the iceberg. Military planners in Richmond were seriously planning for a Confederate force that would leave Virginia, pass through West Virginia, with their target being western Pennsylvania. This Confederate force would be cavalry, designed for fast movement and deployment. The planners were looking at a quick thrust into Pennsylvania with the intent of establishing headquarters in Pittsburgh. Part of the army would deploy East destroying infrastructure, with the destruction of bridges and railroads as priority targets. The other part of the army would push west into Ohio and link up with Sons of Liberty elements. It was felt seizing the wealth of Pennsylvania and Ohio could sustain the army, and indications were that thousands of disaffected men would join to fight the Lincoln regime. Bear in mind, there were no Union armies deployed in the North, the states were defended by unreliable militias who would pose little threat to Confederate regulars. The entire war had been fought in the South. To bring the same war to the Union homeland would hasten a compromise. It was a dream conceived too late in the war to succeed, and there were no guarantees the plan would end the war. However, the grand plan to turn the fortunes of the South into a negotiated peace treaty failed to materialize and by the beginning of 1865 the prospects of a Union victory had increased by virtue of major victories during the latter part of 1864. One can only wonder how different it might have been if the South and Sons of Liberty had conducted a successful operation and the grand plan to bring the war into the North had succeed.