Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

"Yes! We're coming Abraham Lincoln. With curses loud and deep. That will haunt you in your walking, and disturb you in your sleep." This is a battle hymn sung by the Sons of Liberty which is the first Confederate run terrorist group Higham talks about. This hymn is a good example of the tone author Charles Higham sets for the book. Murdering Mr. Lincoln by Charles Higham, presents the reader with a factual, in-depth look at the story behind the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. Higham leaves no stone unturned as he thoroughly explains the events that lead up to the death of Lincoln. Overall, the book is written in the eyes of the Confederacy and examples like this hymn give the reader reason to believe so. The first section that Higham explains is titled "The Mission." This section gives a general overview of the mission of Confederate groups to try to remove President Lincoln from office. As the author explains, the Sons of Liberty were dedicated people, not just of the South, but also from Canada, who were willing to create a plan to take out the North. They did this is several ways, such as provoking war between England and the United States. Higham backs up his belief by providing vital information. "In the fall of 1861...Union adventurer Captain Charles F. Wilkes was sent to stage a boarding and seizure of the British ship Trent. This was, in legal terms, and act of war since no ship could be boarded in that manner according to the peculiar maritime rules" (Pg 9). Higham also lays down a background of future players that will be involved in the Lincoln assassination. Officials such as Confederate President Jefferson Davis, his Secretary of State Judah P. Benjamin, and the Secretary of the Treasury Chris Memminger were planning to send a Confederate mission to British North America. The objective of the mission was to disrupt the loyal American states and enlist support for possible invasion, arson and murder to endanger the North.