An illustration published in May 1863 of the Richmond Bread Riots. Library of Congress.
Ever wonder why a draft from the Bank of Ontario was found on the corpse of John Wilkes Booth? The Montreal branch of the bank was one of the places that Robin Philpot, my Canadian publisher, pointed to when he took me on a tour of the Confederates’ Montreal hangouts. I also saw the grounds where the Royal Theater once stood. Mr. and Mrs. Jefferson Davis were greeted with a rousing rendition of “Dixie” when they attended a performance after the war.
Davis received a hero’s welcome when he joined his spouse, the destitute Varina, and their children. They had been brought to Montreal where they were housed handsomely in a home owned by publishing magnate, John Lovell. One of those Montreal visitors was John Wilkes Booth, who, while living there, boasted about a scheme to kidnap President Lincoln.
Members of the Confederacy found a home in the “secesh friendly” Montreal, which preferred a divided America to one that was always threatening them with invasion. Their presence there is covered in a new book entitled Montreal City Of Secrets, by Barry Sheehy. The book includes archival pictures of members of the Confederate Secret Service and those of other big shots associated with the rebel regime.
The Confederacy lingers in the country’s imagination. Removing the statues of Confederate heroes was opposed by sixty-three percent of voters in Virginia’s recent election. Is…