I didn’t know that a group of men wanted to steal President Lincoln’s body until I read Steve Sheinkin’s book Lincoln’s Grave Robbers. This compelling tale is based on numerous primary sources. My hat is off the Sheinkin for his arduous research.

One of the most surprising aspects of the story is the grave robbers wanted to be paid a ransom of $200,000 and one of their friends, Benjamin Boyd, released from jail.  Why?  Boyd was a master engraver of  plates that were used to print counterfeit money.  At the time, his plates produced the most realistic looking counterfeit bills.

James Kennally, the mastermind behind a huge counterfeit operation, cooked up the idea to steal Lincoln’s body and recruited men to help him.  His business was in jeopardy with Boyd in jail. He needed his engraver freed so he could make more plates.

Sheinkin’s story alternates between the grave robbers and the Secret Service Agents who were trying to catch them. Adding to the drama of the story are two double agents spying on the grave robbers and reporting back to the Secret Service.

An interesting bit of trivia that Sheinkin shares is that by 1864, fifty percent of all paper money in the US was counterfeit and the Secret Service’s sole purpose of was to stop counterfeiters.

Counterfeit bills were called “coney” and the men who passed them in a community were called “shovers.” This is how it worked.  A “shover” would go into a store with a fake $20 bill and buy $5 word of merchandise. He would get $15 back in real money. When the owner of the business went to the bank, he would find out he had a $20 counterfeit bill. So he lost his $5 in merchandise and his $15 in change.

Did the grave robbers actually get their hands on Lincoln’s body? Was the Secret Service able to catch them?  What happened to Benjamin Boyd?  No spoilers here.  You will have to read the book and find out.

Happy Reading!