Midnight on the Potomac: The Last Year of the Civil War, the Lincoln Assassination, and the Rebirth of America

From the author of the National Book Award longlisted titleThe Ground Breaking, a riveting new look at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, replete with evidence pointing to a much larger Confederate conspiracy.

AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR:The Ground Breakingwas longlisted for the National Book Award and Carnegie Medal, won the Housatonic Book Award, and was shortlisted for the J. Anthony Lukas Book Prize and Stowe Prize.

FRESH TAKE ON A PIVOTAL MOMENT IN US HISTORY:Ellsworth aims to correct the myth that John Wilkes Booth was reviled by both the Union and Confederacy, and that he acted alone. Piecing together shocking evidence, Ellsworth presents a convincing argument that Lincoln’s murder was not solely Booth’s doing; it was a plot by the entire Confederacy.

PAGE-TURNING NARRATIVE:This is the first time that this conspiracy has been written about in a propulsive, page-turning narrative. Ellsworth has created a historically valid, yet vivid, poetic, and cinematic account that will grab readers’ attention.

Author Residence: Ann Arbor, Michigan
Author Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Setting: Washington, DC(Markup shared by Judy Samuels on Dec 4, 2024)

From the author of the National Book Award longlisted titleThe Ground Breaking, a riveting new look at the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, replete with evidence pointing to a much larger Confederate conspiracy.

Told with a page-turning pace and eye-opening cast of characters, Ellsworth sets out to correct a pivotal moment of American history that we have gotten completely wronguntil now. Jam-packed with fresh, revelatory evidence, Ellsworths research strongly infers that by the time that the house lights dimmed inside of Fords Theatre on the evening of April 14th, 1865, Booth had been working alongside, if not in direct concert with, the Confederate Secret Service for nearly a year.

Historians have long ignored that during the last ten months of the Civil War, the Confederacy launched a desperate, audacious war of terror against the north. In the North, Rebels attempted to derail trains, set buildings on fire, spread smallpox, and undermined public support for the Union army. Instead, history books and schools teach that John Wilkes Booth acted alone, was admired by neither side, and was a second-rate actor. This couldnt have been further from the truth: Booth was charming, a world-famous performer, andmost importantlyan ardent supporter of the Confederacy.

In the sweltering summer heat of 1864, President Abraham Lincoln had a front-row view of the Civil War, as he dodged firing bullets from the approaching Confederate army at Fort Stevens. It was the first time in American history that a sitting president would come under enemy fire, but the history books would put a far greater focus on his assassination just eight months later. InMidnight on the Potomac, Scott Ellsworth rewrites history, arguing that the two events were in fact connected and that Lincolns assassination was likely ordered by leaders of the Confederate Army.