The 1862 plot to kidnap Jefferson Davis / Victor Vifquain ; edited by Jeffrey H. Smith and Phillip Thomas Tucker.

Originally published: Mechanicsburg, PA : Stackpole Books, ©1998.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 185-190) and index.

In Washington -- On the way to Richmond -- Martial concert -- Prisoners of Fitzhugh Lee -- At the cottage by the roadside -- In Fredericksburg; news from Pittsburg Landing -- Field of battle -- In Libby Prison -- On parole in Richmond --- Plan for the kidnapping -- Mr. Mercier in Richmond -- Flowers -- Mr. Mercier leaves -- Heart bowed down -- Visit to the tug -- Aramis and Alice -- Confessions of love -- John Walker -- Great naval battle -- Last day in Richmond -- Away from Richmond -- Fight at the mansion -- Death of Walker -- Gap -- Alice arrived -- Crossing the Shenandoah -- Under the old flag -- From the year 1901.

Victor Vifquain's memoir is an engaging, firsthand account of a bold attempt to kidnap the president of the Confederate States of America. Archived for nearly a century, the chronicle of this previously unknown and daring plot has been brought to light by historians Jeffrey H. Smith, Vifquain's great-great grandson, and Phillip Thomas Tucker in a meticulously edited and annotated volume. The plot to ride into Richmond and capture Jefferson Davis was concocted by three brash adventurers, who, using pseudonyms from The Three Musketeers, were soon involved in escapades worthy of Dumas's trio. This stunning story provides a fresh perspective on Richmond during the Civil War and a personal account of a scheme devised to bring an early end to the war.