In 1876, a bizarre crime unfolded in American history: a meticulously planned attempt to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln from his tomb. The scheme was not driven by political motives but by a desperate counterfeiting gang aiming to ransom the president’s remains for the release of a jailed member and a substantial payout. While the plot failed, it exposed shocking vulnerabilities in Lincoln’s resting place, triggering a years-long series of secret reburials and heightened security measures.
The Aftermath of Assassination: A Nation in Mourning
Following Lincoln’s assassination in April 1865, his death sparked an unprecedented national mourning period. His body underwent one of the most elaborate funeral processions in American history, traveling by train through major cities, allowing an estimated one million people to view the coffin directly. Roughly seven million Americans, nearly a third of the population, witnessed the train pass or attended memorial events. This outpouring of grief cemented Lincoln’s status as a national icon.
The Vulnerable Tomb
By 1871, the grand Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, Illinois, was completed, housing Lincoln’s coffin within a marble sarcophagus behind a locked steel gate. However, security was lax, and visitors could freely access the monument. This vulnerability soon attracted the attention of criminals.
The Counterfeiters’ Scheme
In the 1870s, counterfeit currency was rampant, prompting the creation of the U.S. Secret Service. A Chicago-based gang led by James “Big Jim” Kinealy ran a major counterfeiting operation. When their master engraver, Benjamin Boyd, was arrested in 1875, Kinealy hatched an audacious plan: steal Lincoln’s corpse, demand Boyd’s release, and $200,000 in ransom.
The Double-Cross and the Near-Success
Kinealy recruited accomplices, including Terrence Mullen and Jack Hughes, and enlisted a supposed body snatcher named Lewis Swegles. However, Swegles was secretly an informant for the Secret Service. Despite the betrayal, the conspirators nearly succeeded on Election Night in November 1876, taking advantage of the distraction of the presidential election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel Tilden. They broke into the burial chamber and began hauling the 500-pound lead-lined coffin toward the exit when agents intervened, resulting in a chaotic confrontation. The conspirators fled, but were quickly apprehended.
Aftermath and Legacy
The legal fallout was minimal; Illinois lacked laws against corpse theft, and the men received only one-year sentences for conspiracy. Yet, the incident prompted frantic measures to secure Lincoln’s remains. His coffin was moved at least seventeen times over the next few decades, hidden in various locations within the monument. In 1901, it was permanently sealed in a steel cage and buried under ten feet of concrete. A final verification confirmed the body’s identity before the vault was welded shut.
Today, visitors can still tour the Lincoln Tomb in Springfield, unaware of how close the president came to being stolen. The incident remains a chilling reminder of the lengths some will go to, even for a corpse, and the lengths others will take to ensure history remains undisturbed.
