The Spy of the Rebellion

Pinkerton #18

by Allan Pinkerton, Patrick Bass (Introduction)

In this colorful narrative history, the founder of Pinkerton National Detective agency describes his successful thwarting of an assassination plot against President-elect Lincoln early in 1861 and his exploits as an operative during the crucial years of the Civil War. Allan Pinkerton, using the pseudonym of Major E. J. Allen, headed an espionage organization that fed information bout the Confederate Army to Major General George B. McClellan. At the heart of The Spy of the Rebellion are his entertaining anecdotes concerning the methods by which he recruited and managed his agents. Originally published in 1883, it is a fast-paced story full of narrow escapes, violent episodes, nefarious schemes, and candid conversations with the most famous and powerful people of the time. Here are the beleaguered General McClellan, the benign President Lincoln, the villainous Secretary of war Edwin Stanton, the notorious Rebel spy Mrs. Rose Greenhow, and countless others. In his introduction to this edition, Patrick Bass evaluates The Spy of the Rebellions as history, adding that it "serves historical comprehension in the same manner that good fiction often does, through almost subconscious means, through an indefinable feel for the milieu it imparts to the reader."

Genres: History, Civil War, Nonfiction, American History, Military History

666 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Notorious agency of Scottish-American detective Allan Pinkerton broke strikes and disrupted labor efforts to unionize.

People best know this spy for creating the national agency. In 1849, people in Chicago first appointed Pinkerton. In the 1850s, he partnered with Chicago attorney Edward Rucker in forming the northwestern police agency, later known nationally and still in existence today as Pinkerton consulting and investigations, a subsidiary of Securitas Aktiebolag.

Business insignia of Pinkerton included a wide open eye with the caption, "We never sleep."

People posthumously published exploits of his agents, perhaps some ghostwritten for promotion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_P...

Reviews

[TXGAL1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

WARNING: There is a scattering of derogatory language throughout. This book was written a few years after the Civil War and reflects the remembered statements by those involved on both sides.

Allen Pinkerton has written his book of memoirs surrounding his mandate to create a secret service of the US Army and deploy spies to reconnoiter behind enemy lines and report back with information about troop location, size, movement, etc.

This book was an easy read and the stories were very enlightening.

A definite read for one who wants to learn more about history.

[Lenknee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. Written in 1883 it is the story of the beginning of the Secret Service which back in those days did not protect the President but founded to spy on the Confederacy. Mr. Pinkerton's writing style is very engaging and gives insight into many of the people who were central to the Civil War.

[Corey Recko · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Spy of the Rebellion was written by detective Allan Pinkerton, founder of the famous Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency. The book covers Pinkerton’s activities during events leading up to and during the American Civil War, from Pinkerton leading a group of detectives who foiled an 1861 plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln to his leading intelligence and espionage for General George B. McClellan. All of the ingredients are there for an exciting memoir, and in that respect this book does not disappoint. There’s only one problem: a good portion of this book is pure fiction. Pinkerton writes of some of his experiences and those of his operatives with great and accurate detail, other times, events are embellished, exaggerated, or completely made up. He sometimes even invents spies (there never was a John Scobell). The book is worth the read for the parts of it that are true, for his tribute to Timothy Webster, and for his heartfelt defense of General McClellan.

[Dick · Rating 3 out of 5]

My copy of this book is old - printed in 1883 - fascinating insights to what eventually became the secret service. Though at the time of Lincoln's presidency - it was truly inadequate. Hence, Lincoln was murdered by a coward as he sat in a rocking chair at Ford's Theatre.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating

Yes, that Pinkerton. He not only started a detective agency whose operatives foiled bank and train robberies, he started the Secret Service during the Civil War, although it is never called that in the book. Pinkerton wrote the book just twenty years after the cessation of hostilities, so the language is outdated and, consequently, some of it is not currently politically correct. I’m sure the most vehemently woke among us will be deeply offended and call for the book to be banned and Pinkerton to be erased from history.

That would be a great waste. This is a unique view of the conduct of the war, highlighting the machinations of Confederate sympathizers even within the government to bring it down. It also provides a different perspective about the extraordinary turnover of command in the Union army. Pinkerton’s writing style is conversational and entertaining, making this an easy read despite its length and old-fashioned style. Well worth reading.

[Connor Hanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a unique tale - a blend of autobiography, 2nd hand stories, and undoubtedly some hyperbole.

Told by Allan Pinkerton, an antebellum detective turned wartime head of the first army intelligence organization, he mainly focuses on how he ran his operations, uncovered rebel sympathizers in Washington, and detailed the experiences of his "scouts" (he always referred to his own agents as detectives or scouts, whereas the foe's were always spies).

[Ronnie Cramer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adventures of detective Allan Pinkerton and his agents during the American Civil War. As with most of these Pinkerton books, the cases make for fascinating reading.

[A.P. Knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Civil War history, you'll like this book. Lots of good spy stories.

[Lisa Campbell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love, love, love old books and the language they were written in!

[Corey Recko · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Spy of the Rebellion was written by detective Allan Pinkerton, founder of the famous Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency. The book covers Pinkerton’s activities during events leading up to and during the American Civil War, from Pinkerton leading a group of detectives who foiled an 1861 plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln to his leading intelligence and espionage for General George B. McClellan. All of the ingredients are there for an exciting memoir, and in that respect this book does not disappoint. There’s only one problem: a good portion of this book is pure fiction. Pinkerton writes of some of his experiences and those of his operatives with great and accurate detail, other times, events are embellished, exaggerated, or completely made up. He sometimes even invents spies (there never was a John Scobell). The book is worth the read for the parts of it that are true, for his tribute to Timothy Webster, and for his heartfelt defense of General McClellan.