Robert Cobb Kennedy (October 25, 1835 – March 25, 1865) was a

Confederate A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

operative who was hanged for his role in a failed plot to burn New York City during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

Early life and family

Kennedy was born in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

to John Bailey Kennedy, a physician, and his wife Eliza Lydia Cobb.Brandt, Na
"The Man Who Tried to Burn New York"
pp. 36–37 His mother came from a prominent family, and was a distant relative of

Howell Cobb Howell Cobb (September 7, 1815 – October 9, 1868) was an American and later Confederate political figure. A southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and the speaker of the House from 1849 to ...

, a Speaker of the U.S. House, U.S. Treasury Secretary, and

governor of Georgia The governor of Georgia is the head of government of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the commander-in-chief of the state's Georgia National Guard, National Guard, when not in federal service, and Georgia State Defense Force, State Defense Fo ...

. He was the oldest of seven children. His family relocated to

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

shortly after his birth, but due to declining fortunes they moved again to northwest

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

in 1846, settling in

Claiborne Parish Claiborne Parish () is a parish located in the northwestern section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The parish was formed in 1828, and was named for the first Louisiana governor, William C. C. Claiborne. As of the 2020 census, the population ...

. The family's fortunes improved in Louisiana, where they amassed over 3,000 acres of land as well as dozens of slaves, making them one of the wealthier families of the region. At the age of 18, Kennedy left home to attend

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. He entered in the same class as

Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was a military commander and politician of the Confederate States of America. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil ...

and Edwin H. Stoughton, who would both later serve as generals on opposing sides of the Civil War, but Kennedy proved a poor student. He accumulated numerous demerits and a poor academic record, and was finally thrown out after two years of study when he was caught drunk off-campus with another cadet. Johnson, Clintbr>"A Vast and Fiendish Plot: The Confederate Attack on New York City"
p. 166 After two years of lackluster study, Kennedy returned to Louisiana. He quarreled often with his father and gained a reputation as a heavy drinker.Brandt
p. 48

Civil War service

When the war began, Kennedy entered Confederate service, joining the First Louisiana Regulars as a lieutenant. He fought at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh, also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing, was a major battle in the American Civil War fought on April 6–7, 1862. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater of the ...

, receiving a wound that left him with a permanent limp. His abortive term at West Point proved useful to him, as he was able to use a connection to former classmate General

to get a position as an assistant. He was captured while carrying dispatches, imprisoned at

Johnson's Island Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Initially, ...

, and later escaped using a homemade ladder and skiff. After his escape, he headed to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

rather than back South; it was there that he was recruited by Confederate spymaster

Jacob Thompson Jacob Thompson (May 15, 1810 – March 24, 1885) was the United States Secretary of the Interior, who resigned on the outbreak of the American Civil War and became the Inspector General of the Confederate States Army. In 1864, Jefferson Davis ...

, the head of the

Confederate Secret Service The Confederate Secret Service refers to any of a number of official and semi-official secret service organizations and operations performed by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Some of the organizations were directe ...

.Buhk, Tobin T
"True Crime in the Civil War"
p. 157

The plot to burn New York City

In 1864, Kennedy joined a small group of fellow Confederate operatives in a plot to burn New York City in retaliation for General Sheridan's scorched-earth tactics in Virginia. Each of the conspirators was equipped with incendiary devices, with which they planned to start fires in a number of hotels around the city where they had procured rooms. The goal of the plot was to overwhelm the local fire departments, burning much of the city and striking a blow to Union morale. While most of the conspirators proceeded as planned, Kennedy added his own twist, using one of his incendiaries to set a fire at

Barnum's American Museum Barnum's American Museum was a dime museum located at the corner of Broadway, Park Row, and Ann Street in what is now the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, from 1841 to 1865. The museum was owned by famous showman P. T. Bar ...

, allegedly because "it would be fun to start a scare." The plot ultimately failed, with the fires being quickly extinguished.Buhk
pp. 148–153 The conspirators had failed to open any windows, which restricted

airflow Airflow, or air flow, is the movement of air. Air behaves in a fluid manner, meaning particles naturally flow from areas of higher pressure to those where the pressure is lower. Atmospheric air pressure is directly related to altitude, temperat ...

. Had they done so, it is likely that the blazes would have burned out of control, as intended. After the failed attack, Kennedy and his associates fled to Canada, returning briefly to American soil to participate in a failed attempt to rescue Confederate prisoners by hijacking the train carrying them and diverting it to Canada. Kennedy then attempted to return to Confederate territory, but was apprehended by federal detectives when his train entered Detroit. He was then transferred back to New York to stand trial.Buhk
pp. 155

Trial and execution

After his capture, Kennedy attempted to bribe his jailor to release him from the police headquarters at 300 Mulberry Street, New York City. Unable to pay the demanded amount, he unsuccessfully requested funds from Southern sympathizers through letters. Ultimately, his jailor had only been pretending to be corruptible; he had been secretly turning in Kennedy's letters to the police. The letters were entered as

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports the proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the proposition is truth, true. The exact definition and role of evidence vary across different fields. In epistemology, evidence is what J ...

for the trial. Kennedy was decried in the Northern press as a "Southern terrorist." He was transported to

Fort Lafayette Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in The Narrows of New York Harbor (New York Bay), built offshore from nearby Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now the Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, Bay Ridge neighborhood in the New York City ...

to a military hearing chaired by General

Fitz Henry Warren Fitz Henry Warren (January 11, 1816 – June 1878) was a politician and a Union Army general during the American Civil War. Early life and career Warren was born in Brimfield, Massachusetts.Eicher, John H., and David J. Eicher, ''Civil War Hig ...

, while being represented by former West Point classmate Edwin Stoughton. His trial began on January 17, 1865. The trial, under Judge Advocate John A. Bolles ended on February 27; despite Bolles' inability to present more than circumstantial evidence, or to find a witness who had observed Kennedy perform any suspicious activities, Kennedy was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to hang. Stoughton appealed to President Lincoln to commute Kennedy's sentence to life imprisonment, but the appeal was refused. Kennedy attempted to escape on March 19, but was foiled in the attempt and consequently spent his last days in irons. He made a confession to the camp commander, Martin Burke, and Joe Howard Jr., of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''.Hewitt, Lawrence L. and Bergeron, Arthur W
Louisianians in the Civil War
pp. 172–173 Kennedy's execution on March 25, 1865, marked the last execution of a Confederate soldier by the United States government during the Civil War.Buhk
p. 160

References

External links

* Phil Scott

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kennedy, Robert Cobb 1835 births 1865 deaths American people convicted of arson American people executed for war crimes 19th-century executions of American people Executed military personnel Confederates convicted of war crimes Confederate States Army officers Confederate States Army personnel who were court-martialed Confederates executed by the United States military by hanging United States Military Academy alumni 1865 crimes in the United States Saboteurs Slave owners killed in the American Civil War