Download or read book True Crime in the Civil War written by Tobin T. Buhk and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2012-02-16 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Crime did not take a holiday during the Civil War, far from it. As Tobin Buhk shows in this fast-paced narrative, the war created new opportunities to gain profits from illegal activities, to settle old scores against personal enemies under the cover of fighting the nation's enemies, to pillage, plunder, and murder amid the carnage and destruction that seemed to offer license to legitimize such crimes. Students of the Civil War will find new information in this readable account. --James M. McPherson,Author of Battle Cry of Freedom • Examines criminal cases during the conflict • Cases include currency counterfeiting, tyrannical actions of Gen. Benjamin Butler, the murder of Gen. Earl van Dorn, raids by William Quantrill's Bushwhackers, the Fort Pillow Massacre, the horrific prison conditions at Andersonville, the fate of Lincoln the assassination conspirators, and more

Download or read book Those Damn Horse Soldiers written by George Walsh and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 2006 with total page 479 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bloody Crimes written by James L. Swanson and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-09-28 with total page 484 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Bloody Crimes, James L. Swanson—the Edgar® Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of Manhunt—brings to life two epic events of the Civil War era: the thrilling chase to apprehend Confederate president Jefferson Davis in the wake of the Lincoln assassination and the momentous 20 -day funeral that took Abraham Lincoln’s body home to Springfield. A true tale full of fascinating twists and turns, and lavishly illustrated with dozens of rare historical images—some never before seen—Bloody Crimes is a fascinating companion to Swanson’s Manhunt and a riveting true-crime thriller that will electrify civil war buffs, general readers, and everyone in between.

Download or read book Goat Castle written by Karen L. Cox and published by UNC Press Books. This book was released on 2017-08-09 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 1932, the city of Natchez, Mississippi, reckoned with an unexpected influx of journalists and tourists as the lurid story of a local murder was splashed across headlines nationwide. Two eccentrics, Richard Dana and Octavia Dockery—known in the press as the "Wild Man" and the "Goat Woman"—enlisted an African American man named George Pearls to rob their reclusive neighbor, Jennie Merrill, at her estate. During the attempted robbery, Merrill was shot and killed. The crime drew national coverage when it came to light that Dana and Dockery, the alleged murderers, shared their huge, decaying antebellum mansion with their goats and other livestock, which prompted journalists to call the estate "Goat Castle." Pearls was killed by an Arkansas policeman in an unrelated incident before he could face trial. However, as was all too typical in the Jim Crow South, the white community demanded "justice," and an innocent black woman named Emily Burns was ultimately sent to prison for the murder of Merrill. Dana and Dockery not only avoided punishment but also lived to profit from the notoriety of the murder by opening their derelict home to tourists. Strange, fascinating, and sobering, Goat Castle tells the story of this local feud, killing, investigation, and trial, showing how a true crime tale of fallen southern grandeur and murder obscured an all too familiar story of racial injustice.

Download or read book Between Two Wars A True Crime Collection written by Cheyna Roth and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2023-11-21 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover the most fascinating crimes committed between two of the greatest wars ever fought, from America’s first train robbery by the Reno brothers in 1866, to alleged killings at the H. H. Holmes Murder Castle in 1893, to the Rumrich Nazi spy case in 1938, and much more. The era from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of World War II was a dynamic and evolving time for murderers, thieves, gangsters and more. Train robberies, presidential assassinations, high-profile heists, and serial murders are just a selection of what occurred between the 1860s and the 1930s. Between Two Wars: A True Crime Collection includes a curated mix of both familiar and less-infamous cases. Tour through the carnage of 1880s Chicago as H.H. Holmes builds his Murder Castle. Learn about the significance of the less famous presidential assassination of the 1800s—of President James Garfield. At the turn of the century, find out why the theft of the Mona Lisa made the piece the famous work of art it is today, and discover the impact of the Black mafia with John “Mushmouth” Johnson, the infamous “Negro Gambling King of Chicago.” The full list of cases includes: - (1866) The Reno brothers and the first train robbery in America - (1878) George Leslie, a high society bank robber - (1881) Assassination of President James Garfield - (1893) H.H. Holmes Murder Castle and the Columbian Exposition - (1890s –1907) John “Mushmouth” Johnson, the “Negro Gambling King of Chicago” - (1911) The theft of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa - (1926) Disappearance of Agatha Christie - (1933) Kansas City Massacre - (1938) Rumrich Nazi Spy Case Written for murderinos, true crime junkies, and history buffs, Between Two Wars reads like you’re having a conversation with a friend or listening to your favorite true crime podcast.

Download or read book True Crime Michigan written by Tobin T. Buhk and published by Stackpole Books. This book was released on 2011-06-07 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes Jimmy Hoffa's disappearance, the Bath School Massacre, the Purple Gang of Detroit, and many more.

Download or read book Celia a Slave written by Melton A. McLaurin and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2021-12-15 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Murder at Broad River Bridge written by Bill Shipp and published by University of Georgia Press. This book was released on 2017 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published: Atlanta, Ga.: Peachtree Publishers, 1981.

Download or read book I Had Rather Die written by Kim Murphy and published by Kim Murphy. This book was released on 2023-09-08 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American Civil War is often regarded as a "low-rape" war, due to gentlemanly "restraint." Nearly thirty Union soldiers were executed for the crime. As a result, rape is perceived to have been dealt with harshly. On the surface, the numbers reflect the view that rape was indeed far from widespread. In reality, few soldiers received harsh punishment for a crime considered a capital offense in the nineteenth century. I Had Rather Die is the first book dedicated to the topic of rape during the war. Through newspapers, Official Records, diaries, letters, and court-martial documents, Kim Murphy exposes the misrepresentations about the topic of rape during the war. Not only were women raped during times of battle, but those who bravely stepped forward to name their attackers were interrogated in the justice system, often by their assailants. Courts-martial revolved around a woman's consent and her degree of resistance against a man's force. Poor and black women frequently had their reputations called into question. For far too long, women's claims have been dismissed as hearsay and propaganda. Behind the brother-against-brother war lurks the hidden war of brother against sister.

Download or read book The Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights written by William Louis Tabac and published by True Crime History. This book was released on 2018 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: They have no witnesses. They have no case. With this blunt observation, Mariann Colby--an attractive, church-going Shaker Heights, Ohio, mother and housewife--bet a defense psychiatrist that she would not be convicted of murder. A lack of witnesses was not the only problem that would confront the State of Ohio in 1966, which would seek to prosecute her for shooting to death Cremer Young Jr., her son's nine-year-old playmate: Colby had deftly cleaned up after herself by hiding the child's body miles from her home and concealing the weapon. Thus, this "highly intelligent" woman, as she would be described at her trial, had hedged a little on her wager. Not only were there no witnesses to the crime, but there was not a shred of physical evidence to pin the slaying on her. Under the usual forensic standards, her wager was spot on; the probabilities were that she would get away with it. But as the Shaker Heights police found themselves stymied by an investigation that was going nowhere, Mariann Colby upped the ante a bit. Under intense questioning, she broke down, claiming the gun had accidentally discharged. The state thought it had its capital murder case, but Mariann Colby's bet against it would be right on the money. As her trial unfolds in the book, the imprecision of her insanity defense confounds the judges, and psychiatrists disagree about her diagnosis. To make matters worse, the panel of judges that initially tried Colby was so confused by what they'd heard that they did not reach a decision consistent with the law of the state. This led to a second trial and more conflicting psychiatric opinions, another controversial judgment, and clashing trial outcomes. After reading The Insanity Defense and the Mad Murderess of Shaker Heights, readers--and the many childhood friends of the slain boy whose painful reminiscences are set forth in the book--will contemplate whether Mariann Colby did indeed get away with murder. In addition, those interested in legal history will find much of value in Tabac's discussions of the case and its use of an insanity defense strategy.

Download or read book The Beauty Defense written by Laura James and published by Kent State University. This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Justice is blind, they say, but perhaps not to beauty. In supposedly dispassionate courts of law, attractive women have long avoided punishment, based largely on their looks, for cold-blooded crimes. The Beauty Defense: Femmes Fatales on Trial gathers the true stories of some of the most infamous femmes fatales in criminal history, collected by attorney and true crime historian Laura James. With cases from 1850 to 1997, these 32 examples span more than a century, across cultures, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. But all were so beautiful, as James demonstrates, that they got away with murder. When Madeline Smith, a Glasgow socialite, tried to end a relationship with one man to date another, her jilted lover proved difficult to shake. She solved the problem, James writes, with arsenic-laced chocolates. And in Warrenton, Virginia, mild-mannered heiress Susan Cummings gunned down her polo-playing boyfriend, Roberto, following a disagreement. While these two women lived in different centuries and on different continents, both of their lawyers argued that they were too beautiful to be killers. And in both cases, the juries bought it. In telling the stories of Madeline Smith and Susan Cummings--and 30 others--James proves the existence of the so-called Beauty Defense and shines a spotlight on how gender bias has actually benefited femmes fatales and affected legal systems across the world.

Download or read book Murder Maps USA written by Adam Seltzer and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2021-12-07 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vivid and intriguing, Murder Maps USA plots the most remarkable American homicides between the Civil War and WWII onto maps and plans, alongside haunting crime scene photographs and compelling expert analysis. The most sensational and intriguing murders from across the United States are reexamined in this disquieting volume, which introduces readers to the most lethal killers from every state. Uncovering homicides from a seminal period of American criminal history, this compendium covers from the end of the Civil War to the beginning of WWII, the era that saw the first murderer convicted using fingerprints and the birth of the FBI laboratory. Every murder case is accompanied by a contemporary map or bespoke floorplan on which the precise movements of both killer and victim are meticulously plotted, revealing the vital components of each crime. The gruesome scene is completed with early mugshots and unnerving crime scene photographs, bringing to life blood-soaked Wild West bars, inner city ganglands, and the deadly plots behind famous assassinations. The killers featured range from the black widow Belle Gunness, who lured numerous victims to her Illinois farm, to Cleveland’s “Mad Butcher,” and from the infamous Texan bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde to the devious Petrillo cousins in Philadelphia and their contract killing service. Crime expert Adam Selzer illuminates the details of each case, recounting the shocking details of the crimes themselves, and the ingenious detective work and breakthrough forensics that solved them. His bloodthirsty tour of America’s criminal underworld uncovers the ruthless scheming of murderers both infamous and little-known, providing a hair-raising anthology that will appeal to anyone with a taste for murder.

Download or read book The Shocking Story of Helmuth Schmidt written by Tobin T. Buhk and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2013-07-02 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The author of True Crime: Michigan “tells the tale of an alleged World War I German spy and love-ad bandit from Royal Oak who killed to cover up his work” (C&G News). In the fall of 1916, New York housemaid Augusta Steinbach fell in love with a man she met through a matrimonial advertisement in her local newspaper. She traveled to Detroit to marry her correspondent, but in March 1917, she mysteriously disappeared. What began as a routine search for a missing person turned into a baffling case of deception, bigamy, and murder. Follow detectives as they unravel the tangled web spun by Michigan’s original lonely-hearts killer—a criminal mastermind the Detroit News dubbed “one of America's master outlaws.” Includes photos

Download or read book The Carlton Smith True Crime Collection written by Carlton Smith and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 974 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Four chilling, true stories of murder from the Pulitzer Prize finalist and coauthor of New York Times bestseller, The Search for the Green River Killer. As an investigative journalist for the Seattle Times, Carlton Smith covered the Green River Killer case for over a decade. Smith, along with his coauthor, fellow reporter Tomas Guillen, were named Pulitzer Prize finalists for their New York Times bestseller, The Search for the Green River Killer, which was published ten years before Gary Ridgway was finally arrested for his crimes. Gathered here in this volume are four of Smith’s most engrossing accounts of serial killers, pathological liars, and shockingly cold-blooded murderers. Fatal Charm: When handsome, charming Randy Roth’s fourth wife drowned in a speedboating accident just weeks after their first anniversary, authorities began to look at a pattern of suspicious behavior, uncovering the lies of a serial wife killer. Dying for Daddy: Jack Barron’s wife died mysteriously in her sleep. Soon after, his two young children were also found dead in their beds. But only when his fifty-two-year-old mother died, also of asphyxiation in her sleep, did law enforcement officials finally take action against a man driven to commit the most unspeakable of acts. Cold-Blooded: When lawyer Larry McNabney disappeared, his wife claimed he joined a cult. By the time his body was found in a shallow grave three months later, Elisa McNabney was speeding toward a new life in Florida—and a brand-new identity. Beautiful, seductive, and ruthless, she had thirty-eight aliases and a rap sheet a mile long, but her run was about to end. Killing Season: Over the course of seven months in 1988, eleven women disappeared off the streets of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Nine turned up dead. Two were never found. And the perpetrator remains unknown. Smith provides a riveting account of the unsolved murders—and the botched investigation that let the New Bedford Highway Killer walk away.

Download or read book The Sweet Blue Distance written by Sara Donati and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2024-04-02 with total page 801 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A young midwife travels west to the New Mexico Territory to care for women in need and faces dangers more harrowing than the ones she’s fleeing in this epic tale of survival, redemption, and love from Sara Donati, the international bestselling author of the Wilderness series. 1857: In a bid to outrun her past, Carrie Ballentyne accepts a nursing position with a doctor in the New Mexico Territory. She knows the journey from New York to Santa Fe will not be easy, but she relishes the adventure. However, nothing could have prepared her for the wilderness she encounters. Its vastness and power are awe-inspiring, stunning in both beauty and brutality. To endure, she must learn to rely on her fellow travelers—and one enigmatic man in particular. As the small, tight-knit group tackles challenge after challenge, she feels her heart opening to this rugged land—and the people willing to risk so much for one another. The trip west is only the beginning of Carrie’s challenges, though. In Santa Fe, she compassionately helps women bring new life into the world, making her beloved among new mothers. Soon, however, she realizes that her employer and his wife are keeping secrets from her, and she must ferret out the truth to protect their young daughter. But to save the little girl she’s come to cherish, Carrie will have to confront the demons in her own past—a feat that will take all of her bravery with the help of the man she’s grown to love and depend on above all others. With its vivid descriptions of the breathtaking western landscape and its irresistible characters, The Sweet Blue Distance is the unforgettable story of one woman’s courage to heal herself, her family, and the women entrusted to her care.

Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to American Crime Fiction written by Catherine Ross Nickerson and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2010-07-08 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the execution sermons of the Colonial era to television programs like The Wire and The Sopranos, crime writing has played an important role in American culture. Its ability to register fear, desire and anxiety has made it a popular genre with a wide audience. These new essays, written for students as well as readers of crime fiction, demonstrate the very best in contemporary scholarship and challenge long-established notions of the development of the detective novel. Each chapter covers a sub-genre, from 'true crime' to hard-boiled novels, illustrating the ways in which 'popular' and 'high' literary genres influence and shape each other. With a chronology and guide to further reading, this Companion is a helpful guide for students of American literature and readers of crime fiction.

Download or read book 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know written by Jeff Anderson and published by Stenhouse Publishers. This book was released on 2011 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether writing a blog entry or a high-stakes test essay, fiction or nonfiction, short story or argumentation, students need to know certain things in order to write effectively. In 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know, Jeff Anderson focuses on developing the concepts and application of ten essential aspects of good writing--motion, models, focus, detail, form, frames, cohesion, energy, words, and clutter. Throughout the book, Jeff provides dozens of model texts, both fiction and nonfiction, that bring alive the ten things every writer needs to know. By analyzing strong mentor texts, young writers learn what is possible and experiment with the strategies professional writers use. Students explore, discover, and apply what makes good writing work. Jeff dedicates a chapter to each of the ten things every writer needs to know and provides mini-lessons, mentor texts, writing process strategies, and classroom tips that will motivate students to confidently and competently take on any writing task. With standardized tests and Common Core Curriculum influencing classrooms nationwide, educators must stay true to what works in writing instruction. 10 Things Every Writer Needs to Know keeps teachers on track--encouraging, discovering, inspiring, reminding, and improving writing through conversation, inquiry, and the support of good writing behaviors.