Come Retribution: The Confederate Secret Service and the Assassination of Lincoln

by William A. Tidwell, James O. Hall, David Winfred Gaddy

This is the first book to explore the Confederate Secret Service's link to the death of Abraham Lincoln. Investigating the assassination from their perspective as career intelligence officers, William A. Tidwell and David Winfred Gaddy, joined by James O. Hall, one of the leading authorities on the assassination, find and follow the clues, interpret the clandestine evidence, and draw well-founded conclusions. Their work uncovers evidence with the specialized scrutiny that is unique to researchers of their profession.

Genres: History, Civil War

385 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Hibberd Kline III · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former Marine Corps intelligence officer I was fascinated and highly impressed by this book. The history of Confederate clandestine operations is not well documented for obvious reasons. Tidwell, Hall and Gaddy do a superb job of approaching the subject as intelligence officers, identifying the known and making educated deductions that produce a believable assessment of how the Service was organized, how it operated, and how the ultimate operation to capture Lincoln changed into a kill mission on local initiative. Their scenario has the ring of truth and I find it entirely believable. I recommend this book to all War Between the States enthusiasts and to all those involved in or interested the art of intelligence and clandestine operations.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Heavy in detailed research. Focused highly on the Confederate Signal Corps snd John Wilkes’ role.

[Melissa]

Linda

[David Wardell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Considerable new research when published, and the source for other historical works on the same theme. Extensive documentation, but suffers from the common failing of many historical works, in that it allows many sources of unequal worth into the narrative without critical assessment.

The reading is enjoyable, but before the book is done you'll be wondering where the broad assessments of motives and strategy come from.

You'll also wonder why the writers believe they know more about the end of the war than some of the participants did. One example is General Grant, who is quoted occasionally but who also didn't sustain most of the book's key premises.