The Thackery Journal

by John Holt

  * * *

  George Walker had been one of Lincoln’s top Generals. He had made his way up through the ranks, and had been given his General’s stars by the President himself. Many a time he, and his family, had been honored guests at the White House. Lincoln had always considered him to be a personal friend. One he could rely on. One he could turn to for help and advice. Now General George Meredith Walker was actively considering rebellion against his Commander in Chief. That was High Treason, and he would be classed a traitor. If caught he would be hanged by the neck until dead.

  He shook his head in disbelief. He puffed on his cigar, took a drink of brandy and looked at the group of men seated in front of him. There on the far left sat General Thomas Jarvis, a man who was not afraid of taking a chance, especially if the prize was high enough. He was one of Grants favorites and had been specifically chosen by Grant to become a staff member. His specialty was military planning, tactics. This whole thing was originally his idea. It was he who had worked everything out in detail. It was he who had first mentioned it to Walker all of those months ago. And it was he who was now preparing the document – the Ultimatum.

  * * *

  It had all started just after one of those interminable planning meetings that Grant was so fond of that just went on and on. The meeting had just finished. Much had been discussed and there was such a lot to take in, a lot of detail to consider. Grant was expecting much to happen in the coming weeks. He was looking for results. Walker had decided to take a slow walk down to the nearby river, to carefully think things through. It was good to be out in the fresh air. He needed to clear his head of the smoke from Grant’s infernal cigar. And the talking! It just went on and on.

  Suddenly he heard his name being called. He stopped and turned around. A short distance behind him somebody was waving to him. It was Tom Jarvis. Walker gave a deep sigh. “Not being called back to the meeting I hope,” he murmured. He gave a smile and waved back.

  Ulysses S. Grant – Staff Meeting

  “George,” Jarvis had said, as he drew near. “That was quite some meeting, eh! Doesn’t he go on? He does like to hear the sound of his own voice, that’s for sure.”

  “You may be right I suppose,” said Walker. “Either way he was certainly in good form today. Although he is expecting rather a lot from us don’t you think?” He paused. “I just hope that we can deliver. I hope we can live up to his expectations. I imagine that there will be some trouble if we don’t.”

  Jarvis took a deep breath. “You know George, Grant is expecting far more than you may realize. Far more than was actually said back there.” He glanced back over his shoulder. “In fact, a great deal more.” His voice trailed away. Walker looked puzzled but said nothing.

  Jarvis took another deep breath. “George, this war is nearly over, six more months perhaps, another year at the most. It cannot last much longer. We have to think hard about the future, our future and that of our Country.”

  He paused for a moment or two, carefully considering whether or not to proceed. “We have to think about …”

  He paused once more and took yet another deep breath. He looked at Walker, thinking hard trying to decide whether or not to continue. He sighed, and then he nodded his head. He was ready to take a risk. “George,” he said slowly. “George, we have to think about a future without Lincoln.”

  “Without Lincoln,” Walker repeated, startled. “Exactly what do you mean by that Tom?”

  Jarvis started to laugh. “George, George, you are an intelligent man.” He paused waiting for a reaction, there was none.

  “George just think about it,” Jarvis continued. “I don’t really need to spell it out for you do I? It’s simple enough.” He paused once again. Still there was no reaction. “Now that the war is all but over, Lincoln is no longer of any use to us. In fact some would say that he has become something of a liability. Some would say that the Country needs a change.” He paused and looked directly at Walker. Still Walker remained silent. “It has been a long hard struggle, these past three and a half years. Now we have to be ready for peace.” He paused. “Ready for our peace, not his.” He threw his hands up. “We have to re-build, to unite.” He looked at Walker for a few moments, trying to assess whether or not he could be trusted. “The war has cost us dearly. The Country has paid a high price in lost men, in money and in resources. And who is to blame? Lincoln.” He shrugged his shoulders. “We have to remove him, to get rid of him. If necessary we have to eliminate him.”

  Walker could not believe what he was hearing. Eliminate Lincoln. Here they were talking about killing their Commander in Chief, their President. It was un-real, so matter of fact, as though they were discussing nothing more important than the weather. It’s going to be cloudy today; might have some rain later. We will have to kill Lincoln. Suddenly he had difficulty breathing. He pulled at his collar, loosening the button. He looked into Jarvis’ eyes. “Who are they who say that he is a liability, and no longer of any use?” he asked. “Who says that he should go?”

  “You ask who? I’ll tell you who.” Jarvis held up his hand, and raised one finger. “Grant for one,” he replied, as he pointed back towards Grant’s headquarters. “The Secretary for War, and the Secretary of The Treasury, they would gladly see him gone.” He raised two more fingers. He paused and placed his hand on Walker’s shoulder. “George, there are many who think that way. Many in the army, many in Lincoln’s own Party, and many in Government.” He shook his head. “Many in Europe, England for example, were against the war, against Lincoln.”

  Walker shook his head. This was nothing more than treason. “You’re mad Tom,” he stammered. “Replace Lincoln, indeed? That’s absolute nonsense, and you know it. And Grant is taking a great risk talking like that.”

  “Do you think so?” said Jarvis. “I don’t see it that way at all. He knows exactly what he is doing take my word for it, besides if it ever got back to Lincoln it just wouldn’t be believed would it?”

  “I know nothing of that,” said Walker. “It’s still nothing but nonsense.”

  “Is it?” Jarvis responded. “Is it really nonsense? Just think about it, George. I mean really think about it, just for a moment.”

  “I have thought about it,” Walker replied angrily. “And I don’t want to think about it anymore. I don’t like it one little bit. I want nothing whatsoever to do with it.” He turned and quickly walked ahead.

  Within a few moments Jarvis had caught up with him, and drew alongside.”Look George, I understand how you feel,” he continued. “I felt the same way, but there is a lot to consider. Lincoln took us into what many now regard as a needless war, an extremely costly war that saw thousands upon thousands dead. Many of them were just young boys. A war we could have lost if it had been left to Lincoln. Fortunately we had good military leaders, people like you and I.” Walker said nothing, but he knew that Jarvis was right. “We really have no choice,” Jarvis continued. “Unless he agrees to our demands, we have to replace him.”

  Walker started to shake. His hands were sweating. He took a deep breath. There was some truth in what Jarvis was saying, a lot of truth in fact, but to actually replace Lincoln. He shook his head. It was clear that the word replace actually meant to kill. Of that there was no doubt. It was madness to even consider it. He looked at Jarvis. “Who on earth would actually kill Lincoln?” he asked.

  Jarvis smiled. “Did I say kill? I don’t remember actually saying that exact word.”

  “Tom we both know what you said,” Walker replied. “Replace, remove, eliminate, or kill. It’s all the same.” He sighed. “I’ll ask the question again. Who on earth would actually kill Lincoln anyway?”

  “All right George,” Jarvis replied. “Let’s be clear shall we. You are absolutely right. Replace, remove, and, if we have to, as a last resort, eliminate. Kill if you will.” Walker said nothing. “As a last resort,” Jarvis repeated.

  He looked at Walker for a few moments. “Who would actually kill Lincoln?
You would be surprised. There are plenty of people who would gladly do it. I can think of dozens of fathers, hundreds, who have lost sons in this war, from both sides. They hold Lincoln personally to blame. They would almost certainly kill him if the opportunity arose. There are others who would do it if the price were right.” He paused. “There are always people willing to do almost anything for money.” A sneer spread across his face, and then he smiled. “Then, of course, there are the many Southern sympathizers who lost everything in this war - their homes, their possessions, their family. They have nothing left to live for. They would not hesitate for a moment. In fact I already have one such man in mind.”

  Walker looked up surprised. How far advanced was this idea he wondered. “I see. I thought that this was only conversation, just two old friends talking together. I hadn’t realized that it was a definite plan.”

  Jarvis laughed once again. “George it is only conversation, but we must be prepared for every eventuality mustn’t we? The army teaches us that one of the main rules in warfare is to have adequate, and workable contingency plans, to be ready for whatever comes, to think the unthinkable, and to plan for the unexpected.” He paused. “All I’m doing is preparing for something that may prove necessary. The situation may not arise. Well and good. Nobody said that it was definite.”

  Walker shrugged his shoulders, unconvinced. “What happens if your man was caught? He could tell them everything, and lead them straight to you. What contingency plans have you for that?”

  Jarvis shook his head. “That’s simple, George. He won’t get caught.”

  “What do you mean, he won’t get caught?” Walker quickly retorted. “Of course he’ll get caught.”

  “I mean, he won’t get caught,” Jarvis replied quite simply. He moved closer to Walker and whispered into his ear. “He will be shot whilst trying to evade capture.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Conspiracy

  Walker looked surprised, puzzled. “How do you know that?” he asked. “How can you be so sure?”

  Jarvis placed his hand on Walkers arm. “George I know that he will be shot, because it will be one of our men that shoots him. It will be assumed that he was acting alone, especially if certain facts are made known.”

  “What facts?” Walker asked.

  Jarvis gave a wry smile. “Oh. Just a few relevant details,” he replied nonchalantly. “His sympathy for the South, then there was an earlier plan to kidnap Lincoln,” He looked at Walker. “You know things like that. Those facts will, of course, be leaked at the appropriate time, to the appropriate people.” He paused once again, and smiled. “You know what I mean, George.”

  George knew exactly what he meant. He opened his mouth to speak, but Jarvis was already speaking again. “I fully expect that the person who shoots him will be hailed a hero. Probably get a medal,” he said. “And we will be home free.”

  Walker was not convinced. “That makes no sense, Tom. There is absolutely no guarantee that will happen.”

  Walker was beginning to lose patience. The whole conversation was so much nonsense. It was un-worthy of serious consideration. “How do you know that your man will catch up with him? I mean after he does what he is supposed to do, he could go anywhere couldn’t he? What makes you so certain that it will be your man who catches up with him, and not someone from the authorities?”

  “That’s very simple,” Jarvis replied. “We know exactly where he will go. The assassin will be given an escape plan. It will be a route out of town, leading to a series of safe houses, picked by us. Our man will take up position in one of those safe houses, and just wait.”

  Once again Walker shook his head in disbelief. “Wait a moment Tom. This is just getting a little out of hand.” He paused for a few moments. “I cannot believe what I am hearing.” He held up one finger. “Number one, you have someone in mind to carry out the assassination, correct?” Jarvis said nothing, but merely nodded.

  Walker held up a second finger. “Number two. You have an escape plan all worked out, together with so-called safe houses. Correct?” Once again Jarvis merely nodded.

  A third finger was held in the air. “And number three, you know that the assassin will not be captured because you have already arranged for him to be eliminated. Is that correct?”

  “Perfectly correct,” Jarvis responded. “I would say that is a concise précis. You appear to have covered everything. Clever isn’t it?”

  “Suppose things go wrong and we get found out,” said Walker. “Then what happens? Execution, that’s what.”

  “Why would anyone suspect us?” replied Jarvis. “His loyal Generals, who have supported him through every turn, stood by him through thick and thin. No it would be put down to a Southerner, that would make sense don’t you think.”

  “And you say that it is only conversation,” Walker replied. “Tom, you have it all worked out, to the finest detail. It sounds as though your plan is ready to go ahead.”

  “Also perfectly correct,” Jarvis replied. “All I need is a reason, an opportunity, and the finance.”

  “Finance?” Walker repeated.

  “Naturally we would need money, a lot of money. An operation like this would involve a lot of people, and cost a considerable sum of money,” Jarvis explained.

  Walker took another deep breath, and gave a sigh of relief. “So you don’t have the necessary finance. So with all of your planning, it could not happen after all,” he said with obvious pleasure. “You cannot proceed. So it is just conversation after all, nothing more, just idle talk.”

  “Oh no, I can assure you that it is not idle talk. It is a definite possibility, under certain circumstances,” Jarvis said. “Certainly we currently lack the finance that is true. But I have an idea in that regard. I think I know where we can get the necessary funding.”

  Walker shook his head. This whole conversation was totally unbelievable. He looked at Jarvis. “Go on,” he said.

  “George, George, why so glum,” Jarvis said. “What’s the problem?”

  “Go on,” Walker repeated louder this time. “Just get on with it.”

  Jarvis laughed loudly. “Certainly, George.” He rubbed his chin and stared into the distance. “A few days ago a large quantity of gold was stolen from the gold depository at Santa Ana, in Mexico.” He stopped and turned to look at Walker. “You have been to Mexico, haven’t you George?” Walker said nothing.

  “No matter,” Jarvis continued. “It was actually stolen by a small detachment of Confederate soldiers led by a certain Captain Robert Dixon. In fact we believe that the Mexican authorities were complicit. However we’ll say no more on that score for the time being.”

  He stopped, waiting for some reaction from Walker. There was none. Jarvis shrugged his shoulders. “The gold was taken to the rail head at Stanway, where it was passed to another Confederate Captain, a certain Jacob Thackery. It was he who had the task of delivering the gold to the French Navy, lying at anchor in St Lawrence Bay, in exchange for a consignment of weapons.”

  Walker let out a gasp. “Weapons,” he repeated.

  “There were two French warships in the bay,” Jarvis continued. “They were loaded with weapons destined for the Confederate Army, rifles, cannons, dynamite, together with a vast quantity of ammunition. Fortunately the exchange never took place, the French never got the gold.”

  “It never took place,” Walker repeated. “So what happened? Why didn’t the French get it?”

  Jarvis shrugged his shoulders once again. “Oh, an unfortunate accident I’m afraid. The ships and their contents were I am sorry to say, totally destroyed. A small explosion I understand. It was all very sad.”

  “A small explosion,” Walker repeated. “Are you telling me that we destroyed those ships?” Jarvis raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

  “What about the crew?”

  Jarvis shook his head. “The fortunes of war I’m afraid.”

  “Are you saying that they were killed?”

  Jar
vis merely nodded.

  “All of them?” Walker continued.

  Jarvis nodded once again.

  Walker was horrified. “So what about the French?” he asked. “How will they react when they find out that we have destroyed their ships, and killed their men?”

  “React?” said Jarvis shaking his head. “Why should they react? Firstly, they could never prove that we did it, and secondly they could never admit that they had warships anchored in American waters.”

  Walker had to admit that what Jarvis had said made sense. Nonetheless he was becoming more and more impatient. More and more concerned. Where was this conversation leading? “What about the gold? Where is it now?”

  “I imagine Captain Thackery still has it,” replied Jarvis.

  “So what will he do with it once he finds out that the French ships won’t be waiting for him?” asked Walker. “Will he head for Vicksburg, or perhaps Richmond?

  “He can do neither,” Jarvis replied. “Richmond is virtually surrounded by our troops, so he won’t be able to take it there. And Vicksburg is too far.”

  “So what will he do with it?”

  “I believe that he intends to keep it,” Jarvis replied. “That would be my guess.”

  “Keep it, what makes you think that?” asked Walker. “What if he’s caught?”

  “Oh I’m convinced that he has the gold hidden already, and somewhere close by,” replied Jarvis. “He has the intention of going back for it after the war.”

  “How do you come to that conclusion?”

  Jarvis looked at Walker for a few moments. Walker was weak, with no ambition. Jarvis was totally difference. He was ruthless, ambitious and he knew that it was through Grant that he would attain his goal. With Grant as President, he would be the Secretary of War. After the President he would be the most powerful man in the Country. Nothing, and no-one, would be allowed to stand in his way. Any opposition would be cast aside. He had deliberately courted the friendship of certain officers, and he had established an efficient network of spies.