The Plot to Kidnap Abraham Lincoln’s Corpse

Back in 1876, “Big Jim” Kinealy tried to steal the corpse of Abraham Lincoln, intending to hold the body for ransom to free his top counterfeiter from prison. Find out how miserably that plan failed in our History Left Behind short!

Bibliography

 

“A Plot to Steal the Remains of President Lincoln.” National Parks Service. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/a-plot-to-steal-the-remains-of-president-lincoln.htm. Last modified October 26, 2023.
 

Craughwell, Thomas. Stealing Lincoln’s Body. Cambridge: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007.

Power, John. History of an attempt to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln, late president of the United States of America, including a history of the Lincoln Guard of Honor, with eight years Lincoln memorial services. Springfield: The H. W. Rokker Printing and Publishing House, 1890. 

U.S. Secret Service Media Relations. “Moments in History – U.S. Secret Service Successfully Thwart Attempt to Steal President Lincoln’s Body from His Grave in 1876.” United States Secret Service. Last modified November 7, 2018. https://www.secretservice.gov/newsroom/releases/2018/11/moments-history-us-secret-service-successfully-thwart-attempt-steal

 
Media Sources

“ARREST OF THE VANDALS Who Tried To Steal the Body of Lincoln.” (1876) https://newscomwc.newspapers.com/image/7270608/

“Jack Hughes and Terrence Mullen.” https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/a-plot-to-steal-the-remains-of-president-lincoln.htm

“Map showing the Toledo, Peoria, & Warsaw Railway and its connections, 1867.” (1867). https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3701p.rr005850/

“‘No man shall have less than a square deal,’ – Pres. Roosevelt at Lincoln’s Tomb, Springfield, Ill.” (1903). https://www.loc.gov/resource/stereo.1s02060/
 
Scroll to Top