American History Tellers - The Plot to Steal Lincoln's Body | The Manhunt | 3

Episode Date: February 23, 2022

By 1876, criminal boss Big Jim Kennally was ready to put his Lincoln body-snatching plan into motion. But his gang of thieves needed one more member before they could attempt the heist.Soon, they found their new recruit: a former horse thief from Wisconsin named Lewis Swegles. But what the gang didn’t know was that Swegles was a “roper” – an undercover informant, employed by Secret Service agent Patrick Tyrrell to bring down Kennally’s counterfeiting ring. When Swegles revealed the Lincoln plot to Tyrrell, the agent knew he had to act fast. First, however, he had to convince his bosses at the Secret Service that the far-fetched plot was real.Listen ad free with Wondery+. Join Wondery+ for exclusives, binges, early access, and ad free listening. Available in the Wondery App. https://wondery.app.link/historytellersPlease support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's the evening of November 6th, 1876. You're a porter at Chicago Central Station, loading luggage onto the overnight train bound for Springfield, the Illinois State Capitol. It's the night before Election Day and the train is packed. You're scrambling to get everything on board in the last ten minutes before the train's 9 p.m. departure. Among the passengers still milling around on the platform are four men.

One is slender, with a walrus mustache, holding a burlap sack. You move to take it off his hands. Allow me, sir. But as soon as you touch the sack, the man jerks it away from you. As he does, you can hear metal objects clinking inside. Hey, hands off! I'm a porter, sir. I'm trying... I'll load my own damn bag. A whistle blows. The five-minute warning. You don't have much time left. You turn from the man and go back to grabbing luggage.

A few minutes later, you feel a tap on your shoulder. You look up to see a broad-shouldered man with a cleft chin gazing down at you. Excuse me, you're a porter here? Yes, sir. Well, please keep this quiet, but I'm a detective. I'm looking for a group of passengers. Oh, who? What do they look like? One has a bushy beard, another a walrus mustache, probably carrying tools with him. Oh my goodness, yes I did. They were right. But when you turn to point, the men in their burlap sack are nowhere to be seen.

They were here just a minute ago. Maybe they got on the train. No, I've been watching. You sure you saw them? Yeah, they had a big burlap bag with them. I couldn't see what was in it. But it could have been tools. It was clanking. The man didn't want me to touch it at all. Huh. Well, find me if you spot them again, will you? The detective moves off, leaving you behind. You continue to toss bags onto the train until finally the platform is clear. Then slowly the train starts pulling out of the station. You're happy to watch it go. It's the end of a long, tough shift. Your shoulders are sore and you're eager to grab a sandwich and head home. But as you start to leave, you see something moving in the shadows. Several figures suddenly emerge,

one of them carrying a burlap sack. It's the four men. They take off running toward the train and hop on, one by one. Hey! Hey! You call out, but it's no use. The train is picking up speed. You look around and spot the detective at the far end of the platform. Sir, I saw the men. He sprints towards you, followed by two other men. Where'd they go? On the train. They just got on. The detective and his two associates rush past you to chase the train.

And one by one, they jump onto the last car. The detective himself barely makes it before the train leaves the station and disappears into the night. You're not sure what you just witnessed, but you hope those detectives catch their men. Whatever those four characters are up to, if they're hauling around a bag of tools to the state capitol on the eve of Election Day, with cops on their tail, it can't be anything good. With Audible, there's more to imagine when you listen. Whether you listen to stories, motivation, expert advice, any genre you love, you can be inspired to imagine new worlds,

new possibilities, new ways of thinking. And Audible makes it easy to be inspired and entertained as a part of your everyday routine without needing to set aside extra time. As an Audible member, you choose one title a month to keep from their ever-growing catalog. Explore themes of friendship, loss, and hope with remarkably bright creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. Find what piques your imagination. Sign up for a free 30-day Audible trial and your first audiobook is free. Visit audible.ca to sign up. From the team behind American History Tellers

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wherever you get your books. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history, your story. In November 1876, a group of four thieves set out from Chicago to pull off an audacious heist in Springfield, Illinois,al Abraham Lincoln's body and hold it for ransom. In exchange for the body's return, they wanted $200,000 and the release from prison of one of their associates, a master counterfeiter named Ben Boyd. But right on their heels was Secret Service Agent Patrick Tyrrell. He had tried to alert his bosses in Washington to the crime, but they found Tyrrell's description of tried to alert his bosses in Washington to the crime, but they found Tyrrell's description of the wild scheme too crazy to believe. Tyrrell was forced to take matters

into his own hands, chasing the criminals down to Springfield, where he hoped to catch them in the act. But as the time of the heist drew near, the thieves proved more devious than Tyrrell expected. It would take every bit of his skill and determination to stop the heinous crime and capture the men behind it. This is Episode 3, The Manhunt. On November 6, 1876, the four conspirators took the night train down to Springfield, a nine-hour, 200-mile journey from Chicago. To avoid being followed, they hopped on board the train at the very last second. But Secret Service agent Patrick Tyrrell was tailing the crew, along with two private detectives from the Pinkerton agency he'd hired as backup. They managed to scramble onto the train as well,

without the thieves being aware of their presence. Tyrrell had been keeping tabs on the thieves with the help of an inside man, a so-called roper or informant named Louis Sweagles. Sweagles was a former criminal who had talked his way into the plot at Tyrrell's behest. Sweagles had also brought along a friend named Billy Neely, a bricklayer who pretended to be a gangster and explosives expert. Neely had agreed to join the plot to provide Sweagles with some much-needed backup. Sweagles didn't want to be outnumbered if his cover was blown.

But for reasons that remain unclear, on the train ride to Springfield, Neely bowed out. At one of the overnight stops, he snuck off the train and returned home, leaving Sweegles on his own and in a difficult spot. Now he would not only have to pretend to go along with the plot, he would have to cover for Neely's sudden absence. The train, without Billy Neely, arrived in Springfield at 6 a.m. on November 7th, a cold, windy election day. Just before it stopped,

Sweagles meandered up to the front car to find the two actual thieves, the bushy-bearded Jack Hughes and the walrus-mustached Terrence Mullen. He invented a story about how Billy was fast asleep a few cars behind and suggested letting him nap a while, since the train didn't pull out again for another hour. Sweagles was a smooth talker, so his improbable cover story worked. Hughes and Mullen agreed to go get breakfast in town with Sweagles

and leave Billy slumbering on the train. They never suspected a thing. After eating, Hughes and Mullen wanted to check into their hotel. Sweagles said he'd go get Billy on the train. They never suspected a thing. After eating, Hughes and Mullen wanted to check into their hotel. Sweegles said he'd go get Billy from the train, but in reality, he ducked into another hotel and had a quick meeting with Patrick Tyrrell, who'd slipped off the train back at the station. Sweegles gave Tyrrell an update, and they agreed to reconvene later that night. Sweegles then returned to Hughes and Mullen. When they asked where Billy was, Sweegles pulled another story out of his ear. He claimed Billy had sent off to steal the horses

and wagon they'd need for their getaway that night. Hughes and Mullen hadn't seen their fourth member of the gang for almost 12 hours at this point, yet they never questioned whether something fishy was going on. They were too focused on the heist, and they trusted Sweagles, who had a legitimate criminal record and had enthusiastically helped plan the crime. They were also likely distracted by the election day excitement humming throughout Springfield. People had already started drinking that morning, and drunken crowds roamed from polling site to polling site. Elections in the 1870s were raucous affairs, and partisan mobs thought nothing of blocking polling sites or even starting fights to keep supporters of rival candidates from voting. In this rowdy atmosphere, Hughes and Mullen forgot all about Neely's

mysterious absence. And then, at around 3 p.m., Sweagles and Hughes took a streetcar down to Lincoln's tomb for one final look around to make sure no last-minute complications had arisen. To their delight, they found nothing amiss. The tomb was still barely protected, with nothing but a flimsy door and weak metal gate standing between them and the President's sarcophagus. Meanwhile, Patrick Tyrrell was busy setting his trap for the thieves. He had tracked the gang on the train, riding only a few cars behind, but keeping hidden. Once in Springfield, he also spent the morning scouting the Lincoln Tomb, trying to figure out where best to conceal his team. Then he returned to his hotel and convened a meeting to explain his strategy for nabbing the thieves.

He had with him the two Pinkerton detectives, plus two Secret Service agents Teal had cabled the day before and convinced to hurry down to Springfield. Louis Sweagles attended the meeting as well, having slipped away yet again after sending Hughes and Mullen off to supper. Sweagles updated Tyrrell on the thieves' final plans, allowing Tyrrell to nail down exactly when and how to strike. But there was also one unexpected attendee at the meeting, a reporter from a Chicago newspaper. Incredibly, one of the Secret Service agents had invited the reporter along. They were old friends. This complicated things for Tyrrell.

He now had a civilian to deal with, potentially a huge headache. But there was nothing he could do, and he agreed to let the reporter tag along as long as he stayed out of the way. Tyrrell explained the plan. At roughly 9 p.m., his team would conceal themselves inside the tiny Lincoln Museum at the front of the way. Tyrell explained the plan. At roughly 9 p.m., his team would conceal themselves inside the tiny Lincoln Museum at the front of the tomb. Sweegles and the thieves planned to arrive at the cemetery a half hour later and go straight to the mausoleum at the back of the tomb. At some point during their break-in, Sweegles would sneak off and give Tyrell's team an update. Later, Sweegles was supposed to sneak off a second time and alert Tyrell's team an update. Later, Sweagles was supposed to sneak off a second time

and alert Tyrell when they could make their move and arrest the thieves. Sneaking back and forth would be tough, but Tyrell wanted to catch the thieves red-handed. He didn't want to nail them only for trespassing, but for the more serious crime of body snatching. So he wanted to catch them after they'd broken into Lincoln's marble sarcophagus to ensure maximum punishment. At the same time, Tyrell didn't want the thieves to actually remove the coffin inside and risk damaging it or Lincoln's body. So for his plan to work, it would require perfect timing. Sweegles had to sneak off at exactly the right moment.

But Tyrell was confident that his roper would come through. When the meeting in the hotel broke up, Sweagles headed back to his crew. Tyrell and his team then checked their pistols and headed for the cemetery with the reporter in tow. When they arrived, Tyrell stuck the reporter in a room off to the side of the museum to keep him out of the way. Then he surprised his crew by telling them to take their boots off.

The museum had a marble floor, and he knew that their hard-soled boots would echo loudly. He didn't want a stray footstep alerting the thieves. So Tyrell and his men waited in their stockings until Sweagles, Hughes, and Mullen arrived at the cemetery. The thieves tossed their tools over the fence, including an axe they'd stolen from a construction site on the walk over. Then they hauled themselves over the fence and approached the tomb. After months of planning, the heist was on. Imagine it's November 7th, 1876. You're creeping through a cemetery in Springfield, Illinois.

It's dead quiet outside from the clinking of the tools and the sack you're carrying. The moon has risen, and you can see the tall obelisk that marks the site of Lincoln's tomb looming in the distance. When you reach it, you grab hold of the wooden outer door and give it a shake. It's as flimsy as a liar's promise, and the boards of the door soon snap. You turn to the other two robbers with you, grinning. One door down, one more to go. Give me the hacksaw. Beyond the door, there's a padlocked metal gate. Unfortunately, sawing through the padlock is harder than you expected.

It's a cheap saw, and after a few minutes, the blade snaps. You fling it aside in anger. Ah, give me the file. We have to do this the hard way. The new guy, Sweagles, hands you the file. He glances around nervously as you take it. Maybe I should go make sure no one's poking around. What do you mean? You saw all those drunken yahoos downtown. What if they decide to come up here and run around the cemetery? Our goose would be cooked. I just want to be safe. I'll be right back. All right. Be back soon.

When he leaves, you turn to your friend, Hughes. That Swiggles is a jumpy bastard. You return to the work, but the file is no better than the hacksaw. Finally, you grab a pair of pliers from the bag, hoping that will do the trick. You seize the lock and twist. The lock finally snaps, just as Sweagles makes his way back to you. You stand there panting, but feeling triumphant. Then you swing the metal gate open and hold your hand out.

After you, gentlemen. Hughes lights a lantern, and you follow him inside. In the middle of the room sits a giant marble sarcophagus, holding honest Abe's remains. You work the lid loose with an axe blade, and all three of you grab its edges and slide it back. When it's off, you grab the lantern and peer inside. Your mouth drops open in shock. Based on what the tour guide said, you'd expect it to see the cedar coffin. Instead, there's another thick sheet of marble held in place by concrete. God damn it.

Give me the axe again. Hughes grabbed a hammer and chiseled. We gotta bust through this. In the middle of this work, you hear swiggles behind you again. Hughes grabbed a hammer and chisels. We gotta bust through this. In the middle of this work, you hear Swiegel's behind you again. Well, it looks like you two got a handle on this. I'm gonna go find Billy and the horses. Suddenly, your blood boils. You're huffing and sweating and sick of Swiegel's laziness. No way. You make yourself useful for once. Grab the lantern and shine it in here. I can't see what I'm swinging at. But Billy will be wondering where we are. We'll let him wonder. Are you in on this or what?

You glare at him, and for once, Swiggles does as he's told. He nods and holds up the lantern. You are so close to succeeding now. The thought gives you a rush of adrenaline, and you raise the axe again. Just a few more minutes of work, and President Lincoln's body will be yours. When the thieves first broke into Lincoln's tomb, Louis Sweagle successfully snuck off once to update Patrick Tyrrell just as planned. But when he tried to sneak off again, his accomplices stopped him. For once in his life, Sweagle's clever tongue failed him, and he couldn't convince Mullen to let him leave.

Instead, he had to watch in horror as Hughes and Mullen battered their way into Lincoln's sarcophagus. Meanwhile, Tyrrell's team was getting antsy inside the small Lincoln Museum. They were so close they could hear the clatter and bangs from inside the tomb on the other side of the building. The robbers were clearly making progress. but Sweagles hadn't shown up. Tyrell's men urged him to move in and make arrests, but he refused. He had full faith in his roper, and he wouldn't budge until Sweagles gave him the go-ahead. Back in the tomb, the thieves finally got through their second layer of cement and marble. They began dragging out the cedar coffin.

They estimated it weighed about 400 pounds, less than they had feared. As far as Mullen and Hughes were concerned, everything was going according to plan. So now, Mullen finally gave Sweagles permission to go find Billy and the horses. Sweagles left the tomb and sprinted around to the museum door. In a rush, Sweegles told him that Mullen and Hughes had broken through the tomb and were dragging Lincoln's coffin out.

Tyrrell was shocked. The robbers were much further along than he had realized. Now he and his team had only moments to act. Now streaming. Welcome to Buy It Now, the show where aspiring entrepreneurs get the opportunity of a lifetime.

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Imagine it's November 7th, 1876. You're a secret service agent creeping through a cemetery in Springfield, Illinois. You're about to make the biggest arrests of your career. You're so excited you forgot to put your boots back on before leaving the marble-floored Lincoln Museum. So now you're stepping across the wet cemetery grass in just your socks, holding your gun at the ready. All right, let's move. Your men fan out behind you as you circle around towards the back of the granite building that houses Lincoln's tomb. Moonlight floods the cemetery, and you can see the shadow of tombstones to your right.

In the distance, you hear occasional shouts from election revelers downtown. As you creep closer towards the tomb, you can hear noises from inside, men grunting as if trying to lift something heavy. You continue to inch forward. An owl hoots, surprisingly close. It startles you, and you freeze, then listen again for noises from the tomb. But now there's only silence. You glance back at your fellow agents and beckon one forward. We're going to hold here for a second. We're losing time. Let's just rush into there. No, I told you we need to catch them red-handed in the middle of the act. Sounds like they are in the middle.

This agent is a trusted colleague of yours, a man who's helped you on bus before. But this is your operation, and you're going to do it on your terms. Look, the men inside are probably armed, and the last thing I want is a shootout at Lincoln's tomb. We hold here until we're sure we can get the drop on them. So you and your team wait until you hear some noises again from the inside of the tomb, footsteps and whispering. You nod, and your team resumes creeping forward. You're just 20 yards away now, so close you can practically hear the thieves breathing. You remind yourself to stay calm.

You've been tracking these crooks for months, and it's all come down to this moment. Suddenly, a gunshot shatters the silence. You crouch and look around wildly, trying to figure out where the shot came from. Then you see your trusted colleague. He's standing there next to you with panic on his face and holding a smoking pistol. Jesus, it went off by accident.

You can't believe it. You've lost the element of surprise. You have to act fast. You cock your gun and wave your men forward, boots or no boots. You've got to charge into the tomb and hope that one stray gunshot hasn't blown the whole operation. After the accidental gunshot in the cemetery, Tyrol rushed toward the tomb. He threw open the metal gate and pointed his gun into the darkness, screaming at the thieves to come out with their hands up. But the only answer he received was silence. After several tense seconds,

Tyrell signaled to the others that he was going inside. It was a risk, but he felt he had to take it. It was so dark that Tyrell couldn't see a thing. Still without his boots, he tiptoed over stray chunks of concrete and marble from the broken sarcophagus. Tyrell finally resorted to bluster, yelling to the thieves that if they made one wrong move, they were dead men. But there was still no answer. With a sinking feeling, he dug around in his pockets for a match, prayed that he wasn't making himself an easy target, and lit it. Finally able to see little,

Tyrell spotted abandoned tools on the floor. He also saw that Lincoln's cedar coffin had been dragged halfway out of the sarcophagus. Beyond that, thankfully, it was intact. But there was no sign of the thieves. They had escaped. Tyrell rushed back outside to his men and ordered them to search the grounds. The thieves couldn't have gotten far. Then he sprinted back to the museum to get his boots.

As his men continued their search, Tyrell decided to seek a higher vantage point. The squat building that housed the museum and tomb had a little terrace on top. He dashed up some marble stairs and peered into the dark night. Soon he spotted two figures darting by just 25 yards away. He pulled out his gun and fired, but missed both times. A moment later, the shadowy figures returned fire. Tyrell ducked down as bullets whizzed past him. He had wanted to avoid a shootout at the tomb, but that's exactly what he faced now. The figures below slipped behind a granite pedestal as Tyrell returned fire. And then he screamed for his agents to come, saying he had the thieves pinned down.

Then, after a moment of tense silence, a single voice emerged from the darkness. Tyrell? Is that you? Tyrell stayed silent, wondering if this was a trick to give away his position. After all, the thieves might have guessed his identity. But then he peered down toward the granite pedestal and saw his Secret Service colleagues. He'd been shooting at his own men. By the time Tyrrell and his team realized their

mistake, the thieves had vanished. It was a crushing moment. The body snatchers had been right in Tyrrell's grasp and he'd blown it. The Secret Service agents and Pinkerton detectives felt embarrassed, too. The only person in their party who wasn't deflated was the reporter from Chicago who raced off to file the story of a lifetime. As Tyrrell's crew dragged themselves back to their hotel, the thieves split up. Sweagles ducked back into downtown Springfield to lie low. Hughes and Mullen, meanwhile, hightailed it in the other direction. They ended up walking for 24 hours along dirt roads, filthy and exhausted. Every time a wagon rolled by, they dove into bushes for cover. Eventually, they staggered up to a railway station, 30 miles northeast of Springfield,

and boarded a train for Chicago. When the conductor asked for tickets, they invented a story how they'd just bought some cattle and were low on cash. But they said they could get money from Hugh's father, who lived on a farm near one of the stops along the way. As collateral until then, they offered the conductor a pistol. Guns were worth far more than train tickets, so the conductor took it. But the story they told the conductor wasn't a fiction. After reaching the stop, they found Hugh's father,

borrowed some money, and the duo paid for their tickets and retrieved their pistol. Then, knowing they were likely the target of a manhunt, they decided to split up. Hughes agreed to stay at his father's farm while Mullen returned to Chicago. They shook hands, wished each other luck, and parted ways. Hughes and Mullen were relieved to have escaped capture, but bitterly disappointed that their heist had been thwarted. They were baffled about what went wrong. They had no idea how the authorities had known to catch them at the exact moment of the robbery. But one thing they did know for sure,

even if they escaped the law, they would have to face the wrath of their boss, Big Jim Keneally, who had masterminded the plot. Patrick Tyrrell and Louis Sweegles also returned to Chicago, taking the same train back together. During the trip, Tyrrell pulled out a bonus $10 bill, double Sweegles' daily rate, and asked if he'd continue with the case and help find Hughes and Mullen. Sweegles agreed.

He was by now determined to see this through. Back in his office, Tyrrell worked two days straight without sleep, nearly to the point of collapse. But the trail was cold, and he was fearful he'd never pick it up again. But then he noticed an item in a newspaper, about two thieves who'd been nabbed 40 miles from Springfield. He immediately cabled the local sheriff there, asking for a physical description. But it wasn't his men. And unfortunately, the rest of the newspaper did not contain good news. After the Chicago Reporter's story appeared, detailing how the would-be Lincoln thieves had gotten away,

every other paper in Illinois followed with their own coverage. Some publications treated the whole heist as a joke or a hoax. Others floated wild theories that Democratic Party spies had tried to steal the Republican Lincoln's body as revenge for the Civil War. Still others countered that Republican Party operatives had stolen to frame Democrats and discredit them. Whatever their theories for who was behind the heist, most of the news stories attacked the man

who had failed to catch them, Patrick Tyrrell. How on earth, they demanded to know, had a veteran law officer bungled and arrested so badly? It was a question Tyrrell was asking himself too. It gnawed at him, pushing him to work even harder. But after several days without sleep, on top of weeks of stress before that, his body gave out.

He collapsed into bed with a severe fever, all but incapacitated. Meanwhile, somewhere out there, Hughes and Mullen were still free. And now, with Tyrrell out of commission, it was up to their fellow thief, Louis Sweagles, to hunt them down and bring them to justice. This is the emergency broadcast system. A ballistic missile threat has been detected inbound to your area.

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to Criminal Attorney early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. In November 1876, Secret Service Agent Patrick Tyrrell was confined to his bed by a severe illness. The manhunt for the men who had tried to steal Lincoln's body, Jack Hughes and Terrence Mullen, now depended on former criminal-turned-informant Louis Sweegles. But Sweegles had one big thing going for him. His cover as one of the thieves was still intact. He could use that to his advantage to find Hughes and Mullen. On the night of November 10th, three days after the failed heist,

Sweagles snuck up to the entrance of Big Jim Keneally's saloon, The Hub, and flagged down an acquaintance headed inside. He asked the man to send Big Jim out back to the alley, so Sweagles could speak to him without being seen. Sweegles had no real reason to slink about like a fugitive. No one was looking to arrest him. But he had to act afraid, or Keneally and the rest of the gang would realize he'd betrayed them. But as soon as Keenly stormed into the alley, Sweegles suddenly did have reason to be afraid. Keenly tore into Sweegles, screaming at him for botching the heist. When Big Jim finally cooled down, Sweegles asked if he'd heard where Mullen or Hughes was.

That set off Keneally for a second time. He said he hoped he never saw them again. Then he stomped back inside the saloon, leaving Sweegles alone in the alley, still with no clue where to find Mullen or Hughes. But soon after, Sweegles caught a break. A female friend of Mullen's reached out to him, asking if the coast was clear. Swiegels told her it was, and asked the friend to arrange for a meeting with Mullen the following night.

At their meeting, Mullen told Swiegels about what happened to him and Hughes after the heist got broken up. He added that Hughes was still in hiding, but was itching to get back to Chicago. This was all music to Sweegles' ears. If he could get Mullen and Hughes together in one place, and tip off Tyrrell as to their whereabouts, he could finally wrap up this case. Sweegles reported everything back to Tyrrell. The agent was still ailing, but he told Sweegles to keep him abreast of Hughes' whereabouts. A few days later, Jack Hughes did indeed slip back into Chicago.

And despite Keneally's anger, Hughes and Mullen started hanging around the hub again. After all, Mullen did co-own the bar. Sweegles relayed all of this to Tyrrell too. And on November 17th, Tyrrell summoned up all his strength, rose from bed, and headed out to redeem himself. That night, Louis Sweegles visited the hub and confirmed both fugitives were inside. Sweegles then left around 10.30 p.m. Once again, he had led Tyrell to the thieves, but this time his role in the case was complete.

Meanwhile, Tyrell met with two undercover detectives across the street, one of the Pinkerton men who had helped him in Springfield, and one from the Chicago Police Department. Concealing themselves in the shadows, the three men peered through the hub's front window as Tyrell pointed out Hughes and Mullen. Tyrell would have loved to take down the would-be grave robbers himself, but he knew he couldn't. He was still weak from his illness, and even if he had the strength to lead the bust, he knew Hughes and Mullen would recognize him instantly, probably opening fire. Tyrrell didn't want to get any bystanders or himself killed in a shootout. So he explained to the undercover detectives exactly how he wanted

them to take Hughes and Mullen down. And he emphasized that this time, they could not afford to fail. Imagine it's November 1876 in Chicago. You're a young undercover cop, and you and a fellow detective have just entered the hub, a notorious criminal hangout. You try to scope out the scene around you without betraying your nerves. And soon enough,

you spot your targets. Terrence Mullen and his walrus mustache are behind the bar pouring drinks. Jack Hughes is off in the corner near a stove. His chair leaned back against the wall. He looks half-asleep. You're surprised at how angry the sight of them makes you. You thought the Lincoln plot was despicable. As a native son of Illinois, you revered Lincoln. These two thugs desecrated his tomb and should be cowering in jail somewhere. But instead, they've been walking around in the open, drinking and carousing like they don't have a care in the world.

You find your anger steals your nerves. So you step forward, weaving around the tables of drinkers. Your partner finds a seat near Hughes in the stove. You march up to the bar and talk to Mullen. Hey, what kind of beer you got? We're a Pabst bar. Any good? It'll do the trick.

Or we can square you away with a shot of whiskey. I'll stick with beer. Two of the Pabst. Mullen moves to the tap and begins to pour. The keg is weak and it takes an excruciatingly long time. You slip your hand out of your pocket and finger your pistol. Mullin finishes with the first glass and starts on the second. You dart a glance over your shoulder. Your partner seems to be absorbed in watching a game of pool, but you notice his hand inside his coat pocket as well. Finally, Mullen finishes

pouring the second beer. As soon as he picks up both mugs and his hands are full, you seize your moment. You level your pistol right at Mullen's chest. For a second, his eyes go wide in shock, and his face twists into a disgusted sneer. I suppose this isn't a stick-up. You're not that lucky, Mullen. A second later, behind you, you hear your partner jump from his chair. You hear a pistol cocking, followed by a shout of alarm. You call over your shoulder.

Is that one awake now? Your partner laughs and confirms he is. Agent Tyrrell's plan worked perfectly. You got the drop on both of them. At this point, Tyrrell wanted you worked perfectly. You got the drop on both of them. At this point, Tyrrell wanted you to holler for him to come inside. But it turns out there was no need for that. As soon as the other lowlifes inside the bar realized there was an arrest underway, every single one of them scrambled for the exits. So a moment later, you see Tyrrell stride into the nearly empty bar, pistol in hand. You know he's been

on death's door, lying sick in bed until just hours ago. But as he slaps the cuffs on Mullen, and then on Hughes, he looks like a man rejuvenated. After the arrest, Mullen and Hughes were charged with body snatching and damaging Lincoln's sarcophagus and casket. Their trial began in May 1877, and each man was convicted and sentenced to one year in prison. As far as Patrick Tyrrell was concerned, that wasn't enough punishment. So the day Hughes got out of prison, Tyrrell met him at the door and arrested him on another, older charge relating to his counterfeiting crimes. As a result, Hughes went right back inside.

As for Mullen, he emerged from behind bars to find that Big Jim Keneally had double-crossed him. Big Jim and Mullen had co-owned the Hub Saloon. But while Mullen was inside, Keneally sold both their stakes and skipped town with the money. But that little score ended up costing Big Jim in the end. A few years later, Patrick Tyrrell convinced a resentful Mullen to help him finally bust Keneally, too. With Mullen's help, the Secret Service caught Keneally with a horde of fake $10 bills. He was sentenced to two years in prison. Patrick Tyrrell had finally brought down the ringleader of the Lincoln plot. Louis Sweagles became something of a celebrity when his role in stopping the Lincoln heist

was revealed to the public. Newspapers sang his praises as the Prince of the Ropers, but Sweegles couldn't stay on the right side of the law for long. He soon fell on hard times and got busted for burglary. He served 10 years. But the catalyst of the Lincoln kidnapping plot, master engraver Ben Boyd,

cleaned up his act in jail and managed to stay that way. After being released, he never counterfeited again. He and his wife Allie, who had once delivered his fake bills in a picnic basket, became productive members of society. Patrick Tyrrell stayed in the Secret Service for another 23 years, finally retiring in 1899. But his work to foil Lincoln's body snatchers, one of his first cases for the service, remained his most celebrated. As for Lincoln's body, the caretakers of the tomb were mortified at how close the thieves had come to stealing the president's remains.

They decided to take some drastic measures. Packing out a deep hole in the mausoleum floor, placing Lincoln's coffin inside, and burying it under 10 feet of concrete. Lincoln's body remains there, safe and sound, to this day. On our next series, and to celebrate Women's History Month, we trace the story of the 70-year struggle for women's suffrage. We'll follow three generations of activists who risked violence, arrest, and even death for the right to cast a ballot. now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey

at wondery.com slash survey. If you'd like to learn more about the plot to steal Lincoln's body, we recommend Lincoln's Grave Robbers by Steve Schenken and Stealing Lincoln's Body by Thomas Crawwell. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Lindsey Graham, for Airship. Audio editing by Molly Bach. Sound design by Derek Behrens. Music by Lindsey Graham. This episode is written by Sam Kean, edited by Dorian Marina. Our senior producer is Andy Herman.

Executive producers are Jenny Lauer Beckman and Marsha Louis for Wondery. Richard Bandler revolutionized the world of self-help all thanks to an approach he developed called neurolinguistic programming. Even though NLP worked for some, its methods have been criticized for being dangerous in the wrong hands. Throw in Richard's dark past as a cocaine addict and murder suspect,

and you can't help but wonder what his true intentions were. I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And we're the hosts of Scamfluencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims, and what's left once the facade falls away. We recently dove into the story of the godfather of modern mental manipulation, Richard Bandler, whose methods inspired some of the most toxic and criminal self-help movements of the last two decades. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to Scamfluencers and more Exhibit C true crime shows like Morbid and Kill List early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus.

Check out Exhibit C in the Wondery app for all your true crime listening.