On the night of the presidential election in 1876, a gang of counterfeiters out of Chicago attempted to steal the entombed, embalmed body of Abraham Lincoln and hold it for ransom. The custodian of the tomb was so shaken by the incident that he willingly dedicated the rest of his life to protecting the president’s corpse.

Thomas Craughwell returns to this bizarre and largely forgotten event with the first book to place the grave robbery in historical context. The planning and execution of the crime, and the outcome of the investigation are examined, as are the reactions of Mary Todd Lincoln and Robert Todd Lincoln to the theft — and the peculiar silence of the nation. What happened to Lincoln’s remains after the attempted robbery, and details of the plan devised by the Lincoln Guard of Honor to prevent a similar abominable recurrence, are revealed in Stealing Lincoln’s Bones.

Thomas Craughwell is a Bethel resident and has written more than a dozen books on history, religion, and popular culture. His articles have appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The American Spectator, Emmy magazine and Inside the Vatican. He has been a guest on CNN, the BBC, and CSPAN.

The public is invited to attend. Refreshments will be served. To reserve a place, call the library at 426-4533.