April '65: Confederate Covert Action in the American Civil War

by William A. Tidwell

William A. Tidwell establishes the existence of a Confederate Secret Service and clarifies the Confederate decision making process to show the role played by Jefferson Davis in clandestine operations. While the book focuses on the Confederate Secret Service’s involvement with the Lincoln assassination, the information presented has implications for various other aspects of the Civil War. The most thorough description of the Confederate Secret Service to date, April ’65 provides previously unknown records and traces the development of Confederate doctrine for the conduct of irregular warfare. In addition it describes Confederate motives and activities associated with the development of a major covert effort to promote the creation of a peace party in the North. It shows in detail how the Confederates planned to attack the military command and control in Washington and how they responded to the situation when the wartime attack evolved into a peacetime assassination. One of the most significant pieces of new information is how the Confederates were successful in influencing the history of the assassination.

Genres: Civil War, American Civil War

Hardcover

First published April 1, 1995

Reviews

[John Vandike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brief (<200 pages if you aren't into reading appendices) but fascinating look into what is actually known about the Confederate Secret Service and its various appendages during the American Civil War. Though the title specifically calls out April 1865 and does generally talk about the possibility of Confederation involvement with the Lincoln assassination, the book is really a much broader account of how much, and how little is really known about the shadowy ill-defined organization.

[Matthew Perry · Rating 3 out of 5]

Had a thesis and worked like hell to prove it; which was quite interesting, but the drive for facts left much to desire in terms of narrative. Author jumps time periods too often when trying to establish a connection and leaves reader confused, BUT and this is a big BUT the content is fascinating and the author does a fine job presenting it.