ipl-logo

The Contributions Of Timothy Webster During The Civil War

1194 Words5 Pages

Timothy Webster Timothy Webster is one of the most famous spies in the Civil War. He worked for Allan Pinkerton, the leader of one of the most famous detective agencies ever, and was the first spy to be executed during the Civil War. One of his major successes, and the reason he has been remembered so well, was the prevention of Abraham Lincoln’s pre inauguration assassination. No one knows what would have happened if Webster had failed, but if there had been a different result regarding the assassination then the country we now live in could be a very dark and miserable place. Timothy Webster Timothy Webster was born on March 12, 1822 in Newhaven, Sussex County, England. When Timothy was young he was taught a machinist’s trade. In August …show more content…

Sometimes he would be tracking grave robbers, other times he would be taking down terrorists who were trying to burn down the Rode Island Bridge. In one of his more exciting cases, Webster was chasing forger Jules Imbert through the city. When the suspect ran Webster chased him relentlessly, even jumping off a train in order to keep up. If fate had been kinder, Webster would have eventually run the detective agency. Unfortunately, this was not to be. In 1861, Webster and Lawton were sent to Baltimore to pose as a southern husband and wife. Their mission was to infiltrate the secessionist group and gather information on a plan to destroy bridges that linked Washington and New York. While on this mission Webster found that the group was planning to assassinate Abraham Lincoln while he was traveling to his inauguration. With this information Pinkerton was able to change Lincoln’s plans, sneaking his through Baltimore on a night train. Thus avoiding a major …show more content…

While there he reconnected with the group that had tried to assassinate Lincoln. Webster then volunteered to carry messages across the border for them. While it was dangerous to be crossing the border so much, it gave Webster a distinct advantage in that he could travel freely throughout the whole of the south including Richmond. Webster and Hattie established themselves once again as husband and wife, but this time in the heart of the confederacy. With this new level of importance within the confederacy, they were allowed access to military camps. They even gained the trust of confederate officials such as John B. Magruder and John H. Winder. He carried both official and personal documents for both of these generals. Webster’s pass to cross the border was issued by Confederate Secretary of War Judah Benjamin himself. To them Webster was friend who could be

Show More
Related

  • Redefined The Civil War Essay

    439 Words  | 2 Pages

    The civil war redefined what it meant to be an American because the nation was divided. The civil war redefined to be an American because it changed laws and american’s were also divided over slavery. Nobody ever helped Sojourner Truth get into carriages,over mud puddles or even gives her any best place. Frederick Douglass told others that they would be free when you are twenty-one during the civil war, but he said that he is a slave for life. Paul Revere quotes said On a shadowy something far away,where the river widens to meet the bay,a line of black,that bends and floats on the rising tide,like a bridge of boats so it basically has something to do with the civil war or the fact that he feels bad for the people who are slaves and need help.

    Read More

  • Edward Pierce Research Paper

    400 Words  | 2 Pages

    An Orphan’s Obsession Edward Pierce, or Andrew Miller, or is it Robert Jefferson or maybe even John Simms… The identity of the supposed orphan who committed the Great Train Robbery remains ambiguous, but the motives behind it are not. Michael Chriton’s The Great Train Robbery sheds light on 1855’s greatest crime with details about Edward Pierce’s accomplices and impeccable criminal knowledge to show how Pierce’s livelihood as a criminal morphed into an obsession.

    Read More

  • How Did Lincoln And Johnson Approach To Reconstruction

    130 Words  | 1 Pages

    Lincoln wanted to help the South rejoin the Union. His primary concern was what was best for the Union. The South needed to rejoin the Union on his terms. Johnson had once talked tough against southern farmers, he allied himself with ex-Confederate leaders, and he forgave them when they appealed for pardons. This delighted southerners, of course,

    Read More

  • Civil War Dbq Essay

    345 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American Civil War was in many ways a logical conclusion to the growing differences between the Northern and Southern United States from its beginnings the late 1700’s. The growing sectional differences in politics, economics, and society made war seem nearly inevitable by the year 1861. One major cause of The American Civil War was the Missouri Compromise. This was a cause because the Missouri Compromise the Compromise split the north and south to being slave and non slave territories, which led the country divided.this averted war for 30 years until california was up for grab for whether it was it was a free state, because it crossed both sides of the Missouri Compromise line. In Document 5 Abraham Lincoln states “A house divided against

    Read More

  • William Lloyd Garrison's Contribution To The Antislavery Movement

    224 Words  | 1 Pages

    The Antislavery movement was the most significant contribution to history as this event would enable to overshadow almost all other effort at social reform. The movement William Lloyd Garrison was important figure to the antislavery movement. In the 1820s Garrison was an assistant to Benjamin Lundy who published antislavery newspaper of the time. However, Garrison broke away from Lundy in 1838 and founded his own newspaper called the “Liberator.”

    Read More

  • James M. Mcpherson's What They Fought For: 1861-1865

    1091 Words  | 5 Pages

    The United States Civil War is possible one of the most meaningful, bloodstained and controversial war fought in American history. Northern Americans against Southern Americans fought against one another for a variety of motives. These motives aroused from a wide range of ideologies that stirred around the states. In James M. McPherson’s What they fought for: 1861-1865, he analyzes the Union and Confederate soldier’s morale and ideological components through the letters they wrote to love ones while at war. While, John WhiteClay Chambers and G. Kurt Piehler depict Civil War soldiers through their letters detailing the agonizing battles of war in Major Problems in American Military History.

    Read More

  • How Did George Washington Able To Sit Next To Each Other

    489 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ulysses S Grant and Abraham Lincoln could sit next to each other because they both believed in the justice to protect the order of the Union. Lincoln liked Grant for his success in battles which his other generals could not accomplish. Abraham Lincoln would be able to sit next to Harriet Tubman because she was an abolitionist activist who fought for the rights for African Americans and Lincoln wanted them to be free. Harriet Tubman and Fredrick Douglas because they both wanted slavery to abolished and were slave back then. Fredrick Douglas and John Brown could sit next to each other because they both wanted to abolish slavery and they ended up using different methods, but they wanted slaves to be free in the south.

    Read More

  • Civil War Essay

    710 Words  | 3 Pages

    and then was killed in 1865.

    Read More

  • Civil War Dbq Essay

    538 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most important wars in American history was the Civil War, it lead to change in beliefs and conviction in our borders. Fought from 1861 to 1865 many constitutional and social developments had to occur for our country to truly be free for everyone. Elections, conspiracies, assassinations, all to bring unity between the North and the South but also leading to a revolution. It pushed the South to rethink their belief that slavery is right and the Union to fight for the freedom that goes with being an American to all races.

    Read More

  • John Calhoun's Rights Debate

    1504 Words  | 7 Pages

    Daniel Webster was born on January 18, 1782 in Salisbury, New Hampshire. He often entertained the family and the tavern guests with readings and recitations. As he grew older he attended classes at the various houses where the schoolmaster boarded in succession around the township (H). At 14 he spent part of a year at Phillips Exeter Academy, and at 15 he entered Dartmouth College, where he was amazing at public speaking. After graduation he taught school and read law, going to Boston and studying in the office of a prominent lawyer (H).

    Read More

  • African Americans: The Role Of African Americans In The Civil War

    235 Words  | 1 Pages

    African Americans fought in the Civil War on the Union and Confederate side. Most of the slaves were free and run away slaves. The emancipation proclamation helped the slaves be free and get their citizenship. Black soldiers did not receive equal or treatment white soldiers made more money. In June 1864 Congress granted retroactive equal pay meaning blacks and whites made the same pay.

    Read More

  • The Civil War: Hardship In American History

    179 Words  | 1 Pages

    Hardship is an endeavor no person yearns for, and logically it’s fathomable why we’d steer away from difficulties. However, one can only value what they have when they’ve survived the unimaginable, because without hardships we’d be oblivious to the triumphs in life. History is an abyss of unfortunate events, nevertheless we have conquered every setback. The civil war, for example, was one of the United States most traumatic times. Much can be said about the bloodiest four years in american history, but overall in order to find harmony between the divided sides, we had to fight battle by battle for a cause that, with all the gruesome sacrifices no longer seemed worth it.

    Read More

  • Civil War Dbq Essay

    1104 Words  | 5 Pages

    Originally, as a new nation emerging, the United States was focused on building and stabilizing itself in order to seem powerful to foreign countries. However, as time went on, the North and the South disagreed over various issues and were eventually divided. Many events arose which worsened the split between the North and South after the Antebellum Era, resulting in the South seceding from the Union. The reason why Southern states seceded from the Union in 1860 and 1861 was the controversy over slavery between the North and the South. One main event that contributed to the controversy over slavery and the South’s secession was Abraham Lincoln’s election.

    Read More

  • Civil War Dbq Essay

    422 Words  | 2 Pages

    From perfection to imperfection, the United States started a union with 13 states; approximately twenty three years later the union began falling apart. Disagreements, lies and frustration started tearing the lands apart leading to war. Texans fought in the Civil War because of the conflict of slavery, the love for Texas and state rights. The Civil War was the bloodiest in American history with a death count of around 620,000 human lives. Texans fought in the Civil War because of slavery.

    Read More

  • Faulkner And The Civil War: Myth And Reality

    115 Words  | 1 Pages

    Coughlan also refers to William Faulkner, as a successful business man, started in Ripley the Railroad Company, and was also a writer (Coughlan 34). In the journal Faulkner and the Civil War: Myth and Reality by Douglas T. Miller states, "... Faulkner 's utilization of historical fact is the fictional career of Colonel John Sartoris, which so closely parallels the career of the authors own great-grandfather, Colonel William C. Falkner ' ' (Miller). The author Miller explains also the similarities between Faulkner 's great-grandfather and of his character Colonel Sartoris with such as, "... both fought well, but were demoted in rank ..." (Miller).

    Read More

More about The Contributions Of Timothy Webster During The Civil War

Open Document