Kate Warne
Encyclopedia
Kate Warnehttp://www.sameshield.com/history/sshistory04.html was the first female detective
in the United States
.
as a slender, brown haired woman, there is not much else known about Kate Warne prior to when she walked into the Pinkerton Detective Agency
in 1856. Born in New York, Warne became a widow shortly after she married. Kate Warne was left as a young childless widow in search of work. In answer to an ad in a local newspaper, Kate Warne walked into Allan Pinkerton
’s Chicago office in search of a job. There is still debate whether or not she walked in with intentions to become a detective or just a secretary. Women were not detectives until well after the Civil War
. Allan Pinkerton
himself claimed that Kate Warne came into his agency and demanded to become a detective. According to Pinkerton's records, he
Warne's arguments swayed Pinkerton, who at 10 o'clock on the morning of August 23, 1856 employed Kate Warne as the first female detective http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/d/d2/ChurchB6_2_Beginnings.pdf. Pinkerton soon had a chance to put Kate to the test. Would, as Kate had insisted, her gender allow Kate to infiltrate social situations that would bring clues to light? In 1858 Kate was involved in the case of Adams Express Company
embezzlements where she was successfully able to bring herself into the confidence of the wife of the prime suspect, Mr. Maroney. She thereby acquired the valuable evidence leading to the husband's conviction.http://books.google.com/books?id=XBt1Pvapr-MC&pg=PA33&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=xxhkVZwQBtW39DHpe1EuSv3VuOU Mr. Maroney was an expressman
living in Montgomery, Alabama. The Maroney’s stole $50,000 from the Adams Express Company
. With Warne’s help, $39,515 was returned. Mr. Maroney was convicted and sentenced to ten years in Montgomery, Alabama. See further details about the Adams Express Company Case against Mr. Maroney.
was secured by Samuel H. Felton, president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
, to investigate secessionist activity in Maryland. Felton believed that threats of damage to the railroad by "roughs and secessionists of Maryland." Allan Pinkerton
soon was at work, placing agents at various points in Maryland to investigate the possibility of damage to the railroad. As the information came forth, Pinkerton
became increasingly aware that the activity in Maryland did not just end with the railroad, but included the president-elect
, Abraham Lincoln
. Pinkerton
received permission to continue his investigation and focus on the possible assassination plot.
As part of Allan Pinkerton's team at the Pinkerton National Detective Agency
, Kate was one of five agents sent to Baltimore, Maryland on February 3, 1861 to investigate the hotbed of secessionist activity occurring just months prior to the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln
. http://books.google.com/books?id=cFi3hlh0VPUC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=lincoln+plot+warne&source=web&ots=JaBaihp4xr&sig=-VCEpoPpLBYTJAZBbeKy3BweWLI (see also Maryland in the Civil War
.) During the investigation, evidence supported attacks on the railroads and also unveiled the plot to assassinate president-elect
Abraham Lincoln
on his way to take office. The secessionist feeling in Baltimore was that if Lincoln came through the city that he would leave in a casket. Under the aliases Mrs. Cherry and Mrs. M. Barley (M.B.) Kate tracked suspicious movement among the Baltimore secessionist http://durer.press.uiuc.edu/wilson/html/278.html It was in part through her undercover work in the guise of
and Pinkerton believed the plot was imminent. Warne had befriended secessionist in Maryland and collected many details in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln
.
The President-elect
, Abraham Lincoln
was traveling from his home Springfield, Illinois to the capital via a train tour that was to stop at notable cities along the way. His published program showed that Lincoln's last leg of the journey was from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
to Washington, D.C.
Due to the configuration of the trains system, all southbound trains required a transfer to be made in Baltimore, Maryland. The Northbound station ended at Calvert Street and the Southbound train station started at Camden Street (now the Camden Yards station.) The distance between these two stations were about a mile by carriage ride.http://mdhistory.net/sources_secondary/cuthbert_msa_sc_5458_51_1653.pdf The secessionist plot to kill Lincoln was
After seeing the pieces of the plot coming together, Pinkerton requested of Kate on the morning of February, 18th to take the 5:10 evening train to New York City. Once there, she was to set up a meeting with Norman B. Judd
and place into his confidence a letter from Pinkerton stating all of the hereto discovered details of the assassination attempt. After Kate Warne supplied details of The Baltimore Plot
to Norman Judd, Judd set up a meeting between himself, Allan Pinkerton
and Abraham Lincoln
on the 21st of February. http://books.google.com/books?id=MDNdbLv8eRMC&pg=RA1-PA230&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=ugZu6XSI62sOk4wT_CTTcsGrT_c At this meeting, Lincoln was doubtful about an assassination plot, or that if such a plot existed that it should be taken seriously.
However, a second independent source confirmed the plot by way of Frederick W. Seward
, son of William H. Seward
(the secretary of state designate.) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/d/d2/ChurchB6_2_Beginnings.pdf From this point, Lincoln agreed that the assassination plot was plausible enough to take action. Lincoln decided to avoid hazard where it was not necessary, however he refused to cancel any of his scheduled plans in Harrisburg. His agenda included giving three speeches, raising of the American flag at Independence Hall and attending a high profile dinner.http://books.google.com/books?id=igpwJ_MOu-wC&pg=PA59&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=lp86neZF0aL3cEJjP5K-DDGMQtA#PPA59,M1 Accordingly, they made train arrangements that allowed Lincoln to fulfill his scheduled duties in Harrisburg. It wasn't until 5:45 that night that there was any deviation from his schedule. John George Nicolay
, Lincoln's private secretary interrupted the dinner party to excuse the president-elect. Lincoln then changed into a traveling suit, a soft felt cap and carried a shawl upon one arm to play the role of an invalid.http://books.google.com/books?id=vOfXZ1-U-XMC&pg=PA47&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=dDKON6F8ahbs7RpUQiz6_YIMU4U#PPA47,M1 Pinkerton meanwhile had the telegraph lines interrupted to prevent any knowledge of the deviation in the president-elect's
schedule. At the station, Kate Warne entered the sleeping car through the rear along with Allan Pinkerton
, Ward Hill Lamon
and a still disguised Abraham Lincoln
. She greeted president-elect Lincoln loudly as she would have a true brother.
From Harrisburg, Lincoln rode to Philadelphia by a special Pennsylvania Railroad
train. From Philadelphia he went to Baltimore by a special Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore train on the night of February 22/23.http://mdhistory.net/sources_secondary/allegiances001.pdf It is said that Warne did not sleep a wink on the overnight trip from Pennsylvania to Washington D.C that stopped in Baltimore. The disguises provided by Warne that night enabled Lincoln to make it through Baltimore without recognition and take his seat in the White House
. It is believed that Pinkerton came up with the slogan to his agency "we never sleep" as a result of Kate Warne's guard of Lincoln that night.
Kate was a key player in the foiled Baltimore assassination plot. Not only did she help to uncover details of the planned plot, but she also carried out most of the arrangements to smuggle Lincoln into Washington DC under secret cover. She couriered secret information and set up meetings as well as securing the necessary four berths on a train leaving Philadelphia under the pretext that these berths were for her sick brother and family members.http://mdhistory.net/sources_secondary/cuthbert_msa_sc_5458_51_1653.pdf
The train pulled out shortly before 11 p.m. and arrived in Baltimore about 3:30 a.m. on February 23. Kate remained in Baltimore as the sleeping cars with Lincoln on board were shifted to another train, which arrived in Washington around 6 a.m.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/additional-publications/civil-war/SML.htm
During the American Civil War
, Allan Pinkerton
and Kate Warne were used as a covert war intelligence-gathering bureau. She could easily penetrate into southern social gatherings. Warne said that women are most useful in worming out secrets in many places which would be impossible for a male detective. Believed to be a mistress of Allan Pinkerton
, the two would often pose as a married couple while undercover. She also had an assortment of names: Kay Warne, Kay Waren, Kay Warren, Kate Warne, Kate Waren, Kate Warren, Kitty Warne, Kitty Waren, Kitty Warren, Kittie Waren, Kittie Warne, and Kittie Warren. Warne was known as Kitty to Robert Pinkerton, Allan's brother. Robert Pinkerton often argued with Kate Warne over expenses turned over to the agency, but her relationship with Allan remained for years.
After the quelled assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln
, Kate continued to travel with Allan Pinkerton as his Female Superintendent of Detectives. On April 12, 1861 the Confederate States of America
's cannons in Charleston began firing on Fort Sumter
. These cannon shells marked the beginning of the American Civil War
. Within nine days, Pinkerton wrote to the now President, Lincoln, offering the services of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. However, before Lincoln could respond, Major General George B. McClellan
asked Pinkerton to set up a military intelligence service for McClellan's command.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/additional-publications/civil-war/Intel_in_the_CW1.pdf Therefore, by the end of July, 1861 Pinkerton took Kate, Timothy Webster and later George Bangs west to set up a headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio (see also Cincinnati in the Civil War
) to follow McClellan's Ohio division.http://books.google.com/books?id=k0YEAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kate+Warne%22&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&pgis=1
, Kate worked on various high profile cases.
One of these involved the murder of a bank-teller, George Gordon, in Atkinson, Mississippi. The murderer got away with $130,000. Pinkerton determined that George Gordon was fetching money for a friend or someone who frequented the bank when he was struck on the head behind the ear with a hammer with intent to murder any witnesses of the robbery. Through his investigation, Pinkerton felt certain that his prime suspect, Alexander P. Drysdale had in fact killed Gordon. However, at this point he did not have enough hard evidence to convict Drysdale; too much was still based on speculation. Therefore, he set a trap for Drysdale so that he would reveal a confession. Kate Warne was sent under cover as a Mrs. Potter and became close friends with Mr. Drysdale's wife. Through this plot, they were able to uncover where Drysdale had hidden the stolen money.
Another case for which Kate went undercover was that brought about by a Captain Sumner, who was convinced that both his sister, Mrs. Annie Thayer and a Mr. Pattmore were attempting to poision Mrs. Pattmore and himself. Warne took the name Lucille and took on the role of a pseudo-fortune teller to lure information out of the suspected murderer's confidants. In the meantime, she also continually coordinated Pinkerton's other female detectives in the agency. Pinkerton rented a space for Warne to work as part of her guise.
Allan Pinkerton
named Kate Warne one of the five best detectives that he had. Her convincing Pinkerton to employ her was a significant moment in woman's history. Women were not allowed to be a part of the police force until 1891 and could not be detectives until 1903.
This photo comes from the Library of Congress. Seated R. William Moore and Allan Pinkerton (right); standing: George H. Bangs, John C. Babcock, and Augustus K. Littlefield.
Allan Pinkerton
specifically thanks two people in his memoirs; Kate Warne and Timothy Webster
, a detective who was executed during the Civil War
for espionage. Both Warne and Webster were key operatives during the Baltimore Plot
investigations. Kate Warne reported back to Pinkerton about all her work when he was away from the office and they worked together on numerous cases during their tenure. Pinkerton constantly showed a deep trust in the work that Warne performed and acknowledges so in his memoirs. She was in charge of the Female Detective Bureau, established by Allan Pinkerton
. Her title was Supervisor of Women Agents. Allan Pinkerton
said to his female prospective agents:
She suddenly caught pneumonia on New Year's Day, 1868,http://www.answers.com/topic/kate-warne and died on the 28th with Pinkerton at her bedside. She is buried in the Pinkerton Family Plot in Chicago Illinois' Graceland Cemetery
.http://www.sameshield.com/history/sshistory04.html The grave is marked in the Graceland Cemetery
under the name of Kate Warn and that she died of congestion of the lungs at the age of 38. She was buried January 30, 1868.
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
Early career
Described by Allan PinkertonAllan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
as a slender, brown haired woman, there is not much else known about Kate Warne prior to when she walked into the Pinkerton Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
in 1856. Born in New York, Warne became a widow shortly after she married. Kate Warne was left as a young childless widow in search of work. In answer to an ad in a local newspaper, Kate Warne walked into Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
’s Chicago office in search of a job. There is still debate whether or not she walked in with intentions to become a detective or just a secretary. Women were not detectives until well after the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
himself claimed that Kate Warne came into his agency and demanded to become a detective. According to Pinkerton's records, he
"was surprised to learn Kate was not looking for clerical work, but was actually answering an advertisement for detectives he had placed in a Chicago newspaper. At the time, such a concept was almost unheard of. Pinkerton said " It is not the custom to employ women detectives!" Kate argued her point of view eloquently - pointing out that women could be "most useful in worming out secrets in many places which would be impossible for a male detective." A Woman would be able to befriend the wives and girlfriends of suspected criminals and gain their confidence. Men become braggarts when they are around women who encourage them to boast. Kate also noted, Women have an eye for detail and are excellent observers."
http://www.pinkertons.com/webster.htm
Warne's arguments swayed Pinkerton, who at 10 o'clock on the morning of August 23, 1856 employed Kate Warne as the first female detective http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/d/d2/ChurchB6_2_Beginnings.pdf. Pinkerton soon had a chance to put Kate to the test. Would, as Kate had insisted, her gender allow Kate to infiltrate social situations that would bring clues to light? In 1858 Kate was involved in the case of Adams Express Company
Adams Express Company
The Adams Express Company is a publicly traded diversified equity fund that traces its roots to a 19th century freight and cargo transport company. The Company uses a conservative investment philosophy, and the portfolio is managed with the expectation that it will generate solid returns with...
embezzlements where she was successfully able to bring herself into the confidence of the wife of the prime suspect, Mr. Maroney. She thereby acquired the valuable evidence leading to the husband's conviction.http://books.google.com/books?id=XBt1Pvapr-MC&pg=PA33&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=xxhkVZwQBtW39DHpe1EuSv3VuOU Mr. Maroney was an expressman
Expressman
An expressman refers to anyone who has the duty of packing, managing, and ensuring the delivery of any cargo on board a train.During the 19th century, an expressman was someone whose responsibility it was to ensure the safe delivery of a train's gold or currency, which was secured in the "express...
living in Montgomery, Alabama. The Maroney’s stole $50,000 from the Adams Express Company
Adams Express Company
The Adams Express Company is a publicly traded diversified equity fund that traces its roots to a 19th century freight and cargo transport company. The Company uses a conservative investment philosophy, and the portfolio is managed with the expectation that it will generate solid returns with...
. With Warne’s help, $39,515 was returned. Mr. Maroney was convicted and sentenced to ten years in Montgomery, Alabama. See further details about the Adams Express Company Case against Mr. Maroney.
Pre Civil War- "The Baltimore Plot" of 1861
Allan PinkertonAllan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
was secured by Samuel H. Felton, president of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad
The Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railroad was the Pennsylvania Railroad's main line from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania southwest to Baltimore, Maryland in the 19th and early 20th centuries...
, to investigate secessionist activity in Maryland. Felton believed that threats of damage to the railroad by "roughs and secessionists of Maryland." Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
soon was at work, placing agents at various points in Maryland to investigate the possibility of damage to the railroad. As the information came forth, Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
became increasingly aware that the activity in Maryland did not just end with the railroad, but included the president-elect
President-elect
An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...
, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
received permission to continue his investigation and focus on the possible assassination plot.
As part of Allan Pinkerton's team at the Pinkerton National Detective Agency
Pinkerton National Detective Agency
The Pinkerton National Detective Agency, usually shortened to the Pinkertons, is a private U.S. security guard and detective agency established by Allan Pinkerton in 1850. Pinkerton became famous when he claimed to have foiled a plot to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln, who later hired...
, Kate was one of five agents sent to Baltimore, Maryland on February 3, 1861 to investigate the hotbed of secessionist activity occurring just months prior to the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. http://books.google.com/books?id=cFi3hlh0VPUC&pg=PA18&lpg=PA18&dq=lincoln+plot+warne&source=web&ots=JaBaihp4xr&sig=-VCEpoPpLBYTJAZBbeKy3BweWLI (see also Maryland in the Civil War
Maryland in the Civil War
In the American Civil War, Maryland, a slave state, was one of the border states, straddling the North and South. Due to its location and a desire from both opposing factions to sway its population to their respective causes, Maryland played an important role in the American Civil War...
.) During the investigation, evidence supported attacks on the railroads and also unveiled the plot to assassinate president-elect
President-elect
An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
on his way to take office. The secessionist feeling in Baltimore was that if Lincoln came through the city that he would leave in a casket. Under the aliases Mrs. Cherry and Mrs. M. Barley (M.B.) Kate tracked suspicious movement among the Baltimore secessionist http://durer.press.uiuc.edu/wilson/html/278.html It was in part through her undercover work in the guise of
Pinkerton had agents across Maryland and details kept unraveling. However, it was Kate specifically who supplied many key details to Allan Pinkerton
a rich southern lady visiting Baltimore with a thick southern accent that apparently Mrs. Warne infiltrated secessionist social gatherings in the Baltimore area, places such as the classy Barnum Hotel posing as a flirting "southern bell" and was quick to not only verify that there was a plot to assassinate Lincoln, she developed details of how the assassination was going to occur. http://www.pimall.com/nais/pivintage/katewarne.html
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
and Pinkerton believed the plot was imminent. Warne had befriended secessionist in Maryland and collected many details in the plot to assassinate Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
.
The President-elect
President-elect
An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...
, Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
was traveling from his home Springfield, Illinois to the capital via a train tour that was to stop at notable cities along the way. His published program showed that Lincoln's last leg of the journey was from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
to Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Due to the configuration of the trains system, all southbound trains required a transfer to be made in Baltimore, Maryland. The Northbound station ended at Calvert Street and the Southbound train station started at Camden Street (now the Camden Yards station.) The distance between these two stations were about a mile by carriage ride.http://mdhistory.net/sources_secondary/cuthbert_msa_sc_5458_51_1653.pdf The secessionist plot to kill Lincoln was
just as Mr. Lincoln would be passing through the narrow vestibule of the Depot at Calvert St. Station, to enter his carriage. A row or fight was to be got up by some outsiders to quell which the few policemen at the Depot would rush out, thus leaving Mr. Lincoln entirely unprotected and at the mercy of a mob of Secessionists who were to surround him at that time. A small Steamer had been chartered and was lying in one of the Bays or little streams running into the Chesapeake BayChesapeake BayThe Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the United States. It lies off the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia. The Chesapeake Bay's drainage basin covers in the District of Columbia and parts of six states: New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and West...
, to which the murderers were to flee and it was immediately to put off for Virginia.http://mdhistory.net/sources_secondary/cuthbert_msa_sc_5458_51_1653.pdf
After seeing the pieces of the plot coming together, Pinkerton requested of Kate on the morning of February, 18th to take the 5:10 evening train to New York City. Once there, she was to set up a meeting with Norman B. Judd
Norman B. Judd
Norman Buel Judd was a U.S. Representative from Illinois, and the grandfather of U.S. Representative Norman Judd Gould of New York....
and place into his confidence a letter from Pinkerton stating all of the hereto discovered details of the assassination attempt. After Kate Warne supplied details of The Baltimore Plot
Baltimore Plot
The Baltimore Plot was an alleged conspiracy in late February 1861 to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln en route to his inauguration. Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, played a key role by managing Lincoln's security throughout the journey...
to Norman Judd, Judd set up a meeting between himself, Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
and Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
on the 21st of February. http://books.google.com/books?id=MDNdbLv8eRMC&pg=RA1-PA230&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=ugZu6XSI62sOk4wT_CTTcsGrT_c At this meeting, Lincoln was doubtful about an assassination plot, or that if such a plot existed that it should be taken seriously.
However, a second independent source confirmed the plot by way of Frederick W. Seward
Frederick W. Seward
Frederick William Seward was the Assistant Secretary of State during the American Civil War, serving in Abraham Lincoln's administration as well as under Andrew Johnson during Reconstruction and for over two years under Rutherford B...
, son of William H. Seward
William H. Seward
William Henry Seward, Sr. was the 12th Governor of New York, United States Senator and the United States Secretary of State under Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson...
(the secretary of state designate.) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikisource/en/d/d2/ChurchB6_2_Beginnings.pdf From this point, Lincoln agreed that the assassination plot was plausible enough to take action. Lincoln decided to avoid hazard where it was not necessary, however he refused to cancel any of his scheduled plans in Harrisburg. His agenda included giving three speeches, raising of the American flag at Independence Hall and attending a high profile dinner.http://books.google.com/books?id=igpwJ_MOu-wC&pg=PA59&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=lp86neZF0aL3cEJjP5K-DDGMQtA#PPA59,M1 Accordingly, they made train arrangements that allowed Lincoln to fulfill his scheduled duties in Harrisburg. It wasn't until 5:45 that night that there was any deviation from his schedule. John George Nicolay
John George Nicolay
John George Nicolay was an American biographer and secretary of Abraham Lincoln. In 1838, he immigrated to the United States with his father, attended school in Cincinnati...
, Lincoln's private secretary interrupted the dinner party to excuse the president-elect. Lincoln then changed into a traveling suit, a soft felt cap and carried a shawl upon one arm to play the role of an invalid.http://books.google.com/books?id=vOfXZ1-U-XMC&pg=PA47&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&sig=dDKON6F8ahbs7RpUQiz6_YIMU4U#PPA47,M1 Pinkerton meanwhile had the telegraph lines interrupted to prevent any knowledge of the deviation in the president-elect's
President-elect
An -elect is a political candidate who has been elected to an office but who has not yet been sworn in or officially taken office. These may include an incoming president, senator, representative, governor and mayor.Analogously, the term "designate" An -elect is a political candidate who has been...
schedule. At the station, Kate Warne entered the sleeping car through the rear along with Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
, Ward Hill Lamon
Ward Hill Lamon
Ward Hill Lamon was a personal friend and self-appointed bodyguard of the American President Abraham Lincoln. Lamon was famously absent the night Lincoln was assassinated, having been sent by Lincoln to Richmond, Virginia....
and a still disguised Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. She greeted president-elect Lincoln loudly as she would have a true brother.
From Harrisburg, Lincoln rode to Philadelphia by a special Pennsylvania Railroad
Pennsylvania Railroad
The Pennsylvania Railroad was an American Class I railroad, founded in 1846. Commonly referred to as the "Pennsy", the PRR was headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania....
train. From Philadelphia he went to Baltimore by a special Philadelphia, Wilmington, and Baltimore train on the night of February 22/23.http://mdhistory.net/sources_secondary/allegiances001.pdf It is said that Warne did not sleep a wink on the overnight trip from Pennsylvania to Washington D.C that stopped in Baltimore. The disguises provided by Warne that night enabled Lincoln to make it through Baltimore without recognition and take his seat in the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. It is believed that Pinkerton came up with the slogan to his agency "we never sleep" as a result of Kate Warne's guard of Lincoln that night.
Kate was a key player in the foiled Baltimore assassination plot. Not only did she help to uncover details of the planned plot, but she also carried out most of the arrangements to smuggle Lincoln into Washington DC under secret cover. She couriered secret information and set up meetings as well as securing the necessary four berths on a train leaving Philadelphia under the pretext that these berths were for her sick brother and family members.http://mdhistory.net/sources_secondary/cuthbert_msa_sc_5458_51_1653.pdf
The train pulled out shortly before 11 p.m. and arrived in Baltimore about 3:30 a.m. on February 23. Kate remained in Baltimore as the sleeping cars with Lincoln on board were shifted to another train, which arrived in Washington around 6 a.m.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/additional-publications/civil-war/SML.htm
Civil War- "Intelligence Work for the Union" April 1861-1865
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
and Kate Warne were used as a covert war intelligence-gathering bureau. She could easily penetrate into southern social gatherings. Warne said that women are most useful in worming out secrets in many places which would be impossible for a male detective. Believed to be a mistress of Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
, the two would often pose as a married couple while undercover. She also had an assortment of names: Kay Warne, Kay Waren, Kay Warren, Kate Warne, Kate Waren, Kate Warren, Kitty Warne, Kitty Waren, Kitty Warren, Kittie Waren, Kittie Warne, and Kittie Warren. Warne was known as Kitty to Robert Pinkerton, Allan's brother. Robert Pinkerton often argued with Kate Warne over expenses turned over to the agency, but her relationship with Allan remained for years.
After the quelled assassination attempt on Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, Kate continued to travel with Allan Pinkerton as his Female Superintendent of Detectives. On April 12, 1861 the Confederate States of America
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
's cannons in Charleston began firing on Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
. These cannon shells marked the beginning of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. Within nine days, Pinkerton wrote to the now President, Lincoln, offering the services of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency. However, before Lincoln could respond, Major General George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
asked Pinkerton to set up a military intelligence service for McClellan's command.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/additional-publications/civil-war/Intel_in_the_CW1.pdf Therefore, by the end of July, 1861 Pinkerton took Kate, Timothy Webster and later George Bangs west to set up a headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio (see also Cincinnati in the Civil War
Cincinnati in the Civil War
During the American Civil War, the Ohio River port city of Cincinnati, Ohio, played a key role as a major source of supplies and troops for the Union Army...
) to follow McClellan's Ohio division.http://books.google.com/books?id=k0YEAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kate+Warne%22&dq=%22Kate+Warne%22&pgis=1
Post Civil War- "Continued Espionage" 1865-1867
After successfully delivering the president elect to the White HouseWhite House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
, Kate worked on various high profile cases.
One of these involved the murder of a bank-teller, George Gordon, in Atkinson, Mississippi. The murderer got away with $130,000. Pinkerton determined that George Gordon was fetching money for a friend or someone who frequented the bank when he was struck on the head behind the ear with a hammer with intent to murder any witnesses of the robbery. Through his investigation, Pinkerton felt certain that his prime suspect, Alexander P. Drysdale had in fact killed Gordon. However, at this point he did not have enough hard evidence to convict Drysdale; too much was still based on speculation. Therefore, he set a trap for Drysdale so that he would reveal a confession. Kate Warne was sent under cover as a Mrs. Potter and became close friends with Mr. Drysdale's wife. Through this plot, they were able to uncover where Drysdale had hidden the stolen money.
Another case for which Kate went undercover was that brought about by a Captain Sumner, who was convinced that both his sister, Mrs. Annie Thayer and a Mr. Pattmore were attempting to poision Mrs. Pattmore and himself. Warne took the name Lucille and took on the role of a pseudo-fortune teller to lure information out of the suspected murderer's confidants. In the meantime, she also continually coordinated Pinkerton's other female detectives in the agency. Pinkerton rented a space for Warne to work as part of her guise.
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
named Kate Warne one of the five best detectives that he had. Her convincing Pinkerton to employ her was a significant moment in woman's history. Women were not allowed to be a part of the police force until 1891 and could not be detectives until 1903.
This photo comes from the Library of Congress. Seated R. William Moore and Allan Pinkerton (right); standing: George H. Bangs, John C. Babcock, and Augustus K. Littlefield.
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
specifically thanks two people in his memoirs; Kate Warne and Timothy Webster
Timothy Webster
Timothy Webster , Pinkerton agent and Union spy, was the first spy in the American Civil War to be executed.-Early life:Webster came to America with his parents in August 1830 and settled in Princeton, New Jersey...
, a detective who was executed during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
for espionage. Both Warne and Webster were key operatives during the Baltimore Plot
Baltimore Plot
The Baltimore Plot was an alleged conspiracy in late February 1861 to assassinate President-elect Abraham Lincoln en route to his inauguration. Allan Pinkerton, founder of the Pinkerton National Detective Agency, played a key role by managing Lincoln's security throughout the journey...
investigations. Kate Warne reported back to Pinkerton about all her work when he was away from the office and they worked together on numerous cases during their tenure. Pinkerton constantly showed a deep trust in the work that Warne performed and acknowledges so in his memoirs. She was in charge of the Female Detective Bureau, established by Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
. Her title was Supervisor of Women Agents. Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton
Allan Pinkerton was a Scottish American detective and spy, best known for creating the Pinkerton National Detective Agency.-Early life, career and immigration:...
said to his female prospective agents:
“In my service you will serve your country better than on the field. I have several female operatives. If you agree to come aboard you will go in training with the head of my female detectives, Kate Warne. She has never let me down (Rinaldi 133).”
Death
Kate Warne did not survive long after the Civil War.She suddenly caught pneumonia on New Year's Day, 1868,http://www.answers.com/topic/kate-warne and died on the 28th with Pinkerton at her bedside. She is buried in the Pinkerton Family Plot in Chicago Illinois' Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery is a large Victorian era cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park Road...
.http://www.sameshield.com/history/sshistory04.html The grave is marked in the Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery
Graceland Cemetery is a large Victorian era cemetery located in the north side community area of Uptown, in the city of Chicago, Illinois, USA. Established in 1860, its main entrance is at the intersection of Clark Street and Irving Park Road...
under the name of Kate Warn and that she died of congestion of the lungs at the age of 38. She was buried January 30, 1868.