Confederate Dirty War

They echo modern headlines--a shadowy underground organization orchestrating plans to bring down the government; bands of saboteurs slipping in from Canada to attempt coordinated acts of destruction; plans to poison water supplies and spread deadly diseases among the urban populace--but these and similar incidents were part of a Confederate strategy to wreak &quote;terror and consternation&quote; upon the North during the Civil War. Elements within the Confederacy, acting officially or otherwise, developed--and attempted--numerous plans to inflict terror and death upon the Union populace and bring down the government using a variety of unconventional means. These efforts are an overlooked and important aspect of the Confederate strategy during the Civil War. This is a history of Confederate efforts to terrorize, demoralize and defeat the North by attacking civilians and the government, using means outside the bounds of conventional warfare. It covers arsonists, &quote;destructionists,&quote; engineers of chemical and biological weapons, bands of mobile operatives, and a variety of other singular individuals and those who opposed them. Chapters cover prominent events in the campaign, from the efforts of the Sons of Liberty--an underground society allied against the Union and brought down by one heroic spy--to attempts to destroy the White House and &quote;decapitate&quote; the government. Illustrations, photographs and relative documents are included, as is an appendix following the career of Confederate bomber W.S. Duepree, killed while setting one of his own mines. Notes, a bibliography and an index are included.