Conspiracy Of Knaves

The Story

Some people called it 'the Northwest Conspiracy', others referred to it as 'the Chicago Conspiracy'. But Belle Rutledge, perhaps the only person who knew the whole truth, called it 'a conspiracy of knaves', and there were, from the outset, 'three sets of deceivers, each trying to flimflam the others'. It was a bold plot, cooked up by Confederates and Copperheats (Northerners who sympathized with the Southern cause), that would, if it worked, free Rebel soldiers held captive in Chicago and use them to force the Northwest Territories out of the Union.