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Timothy Webster: Pinkerton Detective and Martyr to the Union |
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A Passage from the Allan Pinkerton Book, History and Evidence Passage of Abraham Lincoln from Harrisburg, Pa to Washington D.C. on the 22nd and 23rd of February, 1861 by Allan Pinkerton and William Pinkerton (not copy-righted) available at http://www.archive.org/details/lincolnharrisburg00pinkrich pages 10-11 A few words more, and those only in relation to one who is now dead, a martyr to the cause of the Union, who lies in unhallowed soil, "Unwept, unhonored and unsung"; one of my detective force, who accompanied me upon this eventful occasion.He served faithfully as a detective amongst the secessionists of Maryland, and acquired many valuable and important secrets. He, amongst all of the force who went with me, deserves the credit of saving the life of Mr. Lincoln, even more than I do. He was a native of Princeton, New Jersey, a life-long democrat, but he felt and realized, with Jackson, that the Union must and should be preserved. He continued in my detective service, and after I assumed charge of the secret service of the Army of the Potomac, under Major General McClellan, Mr. Webster was most of the time within the rebel lines. True, he was called a spy, and martial law says that a spy, when convicted, shall die. Still spies are necessary in war, ever have been and ever will be. Timothy Webster was arrested in Richmond, and upon the testimony of members of a secesh family in Washington, named Levi, for whom I had done some acts of kindness, he was convicted as a spy, and executed by order of Jefferson Davis, on the3Oth of April, 1862. His name is unknown to fame ; but few were truer or more devoted to the Union cause than was Timothy Webster. With this statement, I herewith subjoin the following letters, which are proof of my participation in the passage of Mr. Lincoln from Harrisburg, via Philadelphia, to Washington, on the night of the 22d of February, 1861. As I have before said, it was unnecessary that Mr. Kennedy should know aught of the movement that was going on, and I did not advise him of it ; although I am informed that he was on the same train and occupied the third berth in the same sleeping car from that where Mr. Lincoln lay on that eventful night of his passage to Washington from Philadelphia. ALLAN PINKERTON.
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To see a drawing of Timothy Webster and read his biography, CLICK HERE |
