This is John Batchel, a conversation with colleague Patrick O'Donnell, his book, The Unvanquished,

about special forces on both sides of the Confederate and Union battle 1861 to 1865.

However, focusing just on the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, the participation and anticipation of the Confederate

Secret Service, the original thinking of an abduction, a kidnapping of the president to take him

out of Washington and get him to Richmond, perhaps. What did it look like? How was it set up?

Booth went for the kill, but if there had been an abduction, what would it have followed?

Much the same line that Patrick presents at Booth followed.

A lot of coincidences here, a lot of smoke.

Here's Patrick on the original abduction plan as arranged by

the Confederate Secret Service and their agents in Virginia and Maryland. More of this tonight.

What happens is Paul leaves Mosby's Rangers and he has handled the entire way by the Confederate Secret Service, specifically

a guy by the name of Parr, who's in Baltimore, he's got a China shop there.

He's handling him, and then he moves Paul from one location to another, down to eventually

the Surrott Boardinghouse, which is also a Confederate Secret Service safe house for agents.

And it's here that they begin to plan to kidnap the president.

And it's in some cases, they plan to try to find a way to capture the president while he's

alone in a carriage.

And it just sort of evolves from there to eventually where he's in the theater at Ford's

theater that they plan to kidnap him.

And there's one account where they plan to seize the president,

you know, basically lower him to the stage,

and then whisk him off on a horse into a carriage,

...