A Brief History
On November 25, 1864, a group of Confederate special forces operatives attempted to burn down New York City by starting fires in a plot orchestrated by Jacob Thompson, Inspector General of the Confederate States Army. The eight Confederates ambitiously started fires in 19 hotels across the city, as well as PT Barnum’s American Museum and a theater. The diabolical plan was to cause so many fires the firefighting men and apparatus would be overwhelmed, resulting in mass destruction.
Digging Deeper
Obviously, the plan failed or you would be reading about the Great New York Fire of 1864! Adding insult to injury, these men, calling themselves The Confederate Army of Manhattan, chose their attack date to coincide with “Evacuation Day,” the day in 1783 when British forces left New York after occupying the city for almost the entire American Revolutionary War. The targets chosen were the most prestigious hotels of the time.
This tiny “army” had infiltrated into New York by going through Canada. Most of the fires they started just did not take hold or were quickly put out. Of the eight soldiers, only 1 was prosecuted, a Robert Cobb Kennedy and that was in 1865 when he attempted to flee to Richmond, Virginia from Canada where he had fled after escaping from Johnson’s Island Military Prison while awaiting trial. (Johnson’s Island is located in Lake Erie’s Sandusky Bay, near present day Cedar Point Amusement Park, Ohio.) Kennedy and the others had originally escaped to Canada where they met up with other Confederates, but Kennedy was captured when he tried to get back to the US through Detroit. Kennedy was executed for his participation in the fire plot, doing himself no favors by various admissions and writing letters in which he talked about the plot. Kennedy had attended West Point (US Military Academy) prior to the Civil War, leaving the institution for an unspecified physical or mental condition.
Although the Confederates failed to burn down Barnum’s American Museum, the great attraction did indeed burn down on July 13, 1865 in a spectacular blaze. During the years the museum was open (1841-1865) over 18 million people had gazed at its wonders, including 2 Beluga whales that boiled in their tank during the fire! At times 15,000 people a day visited the museum.
Other raids and covert operations were planned and executed by both sides during the Civil War, but this has to be one of the most ambitious, though a failure by any measure. Question for students (and subscribers): What Civil War raids and secret operations are your favorites? Please share your thoughts with our other readers in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Strausbaugh, John. City of Sedition: The History of New York City during the Civil War. Twelve, 2016.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="14941 https://www.historyandheadlines.com/?p=14941">9 Comments
Now I know why before soldiers send letters to people from home or get letters from home they are looked at my authority, why would you ever reveal confidential information through a physical letter. You are basically setting yourself up and giving physical evidence that you’re that stupid.
I literally cried a little bit reading about the two beluga whales. It’s such a shame that those innocent animals were held captive and then killed as a result.
Why did 8 Confederates ambitiously start fires in 19 hotels across the city?? and they mentioned how there was so many fires that the firefighting men and apparatus would be overwhelmed resulting into a mass destruction. What the heck!!!
That is just a war crime right there. If it was a success, many innocent men, women, and children would’ve been killed in the fire.
I don’t even care about the stupid fire plan. Those poor whales!
If you escaped to Canada why wouldn’t you stay? What made him want to come back into the United States knowing that he was going to get caught.
If I escaped and actually got into Canada, I would never come back!!
Never was taught in school that the confederacy tried to burn down NYC.
Such a weird story! I never knew Confederate soldiers tried to burn down New York.