The grave robbing of one of the country's wealthiest Gilded Age merchants--Alexander T. Stewart, the "Merchant Prince of Manhattan"--set off a firestorm in the media, and one of the most celebrated police investigations in the city's history. Immortalized in Mark Twain's humorous story, "The Stolen White Elephant," this crime captured the imagination of the American public. Against the backdrop of high society Manhattan, and Gilded Age decadence, this book chronicles the case of the missing body of the Merchant of Manhattan and reveals some of the more unseemly and unusual sides of nineteenth century urban life. Along with the likes of Carnegie, Rockefeller, Vanderbilt, and Morgan, Alexander T. Stewart made his fortune during the years when America industrialized. By the time of his death in 1876, Stewart, known as the Merchant Prince of Manhattan, had amassed a fortune estimated between $40 and $50 million. Snubbed by other Manhattan elites, he died lonely and miserable, his body interred in a vault at St. Mark's churchyard in Manhattan, awaiting relocation to the Long Island suburb he had dreamed of planning. But on the morning of November 7, 1878, the vault was discovered to have been emptied, the body gone. Few clues remained at the scene, and the public and press began speculating about the identity of the culprits. Grave robbing was not uncommon in the 19th century, as medical schools needed cadavers for their experiments but were often barred from using them; grave robbers seized the opportunity. Others speculated that a ransom was the motive, or that the stunt was meant as a political statement, a backlash against the wealthy. The newspapers fought fiercely for exclusive coverageand stories that could outdo their rivals. Suspects were arrested, but released when it was revealed that publicity had motivated their false confessions. And local clergy took the opportunity to equate the grave robbery with other "sinful behavior," such as drinking and prostitution. Spiritualists and clairvoyants offered their services, but were quickly dismissed by the police and the press. The police continued to bungle the investigation, and ultimately the body was never recovered.

If Americans were asked to select the best known and most celebrated outlaws, from among the many bad men produced by the Wild West, chances are Frank and Jesse James would be the choice of most people. The infamous brothers from Missouri, sided with the Confederacy and rode with with maurading guerrillas during the Civil War. Having learned to shoot and kill without moral compunction, they quickly and easily transitioned from Rebel fighters to daring outlaws, making their living by stealing from others. The brothers and their gang, that often included Cole Younger, robbed stage coaches, banks and trains in Missouri and surrounding states. But was the bank robbery in Northfield, Minnesota, the bank robbery gone wrong, followed by an amazing and improbable escape through Minnesota, Dakota and Iowa, that changed the James brothers from ordinary outlaws to legendary characters. The long, hard ride home, was a journey that took them into both history and folklore. And from time to time, like galloping ghosts, they emerge with guns ablazing.

Thousands of men suffered and died in the massive orgy of gunfire and death that historians call the Civil War. Most have received little or no recognition for their service and sacrifice. On the other hand, the battle deaths of brothers Robert L. and Daniel McCook, Jr., from Ohio, got the full attention of an aroused nation, and the news media, because of the tragic and dramatic manner of their deaths along with their family's social status and political connections. The brothers came from a family that was known throughout the nation as "the Fighting McCooks." After serving at Shiloh and Chickamauga, Col. Daniel McCook was mortally wounded while leading his brigade, including the 52nd Ohio Infantry regiment, in an ill-advised and reckless assault up Georgia's Kennesaw Mountain in June of 1864. McCook was following the orders of his friend and former law partner, General W. T. Sherman. Brigadier General Robert L. McCook organized the 9th Ohio Infantry Regiment and distinguished himself in the western Virginia campaign. In the summer of 1862, he was shot and killed by a Rebel cavalryman while he was riding in an ambulance in northern Alabama. Because it was believed that his death was at the hands of a bushwhacker, it set off a firestorm of anger and outrage throughout the North.

Alexander M. McCook, was one of the youngest major generals in the Union army, was a member of a patriotic family from Ohio that became known as the ""Fighting McCooks."" He participated in some of the bloodiest campaigns of the Civil War, including Bull Run, Shiloh, Perryville, Stones River and Chickamauga. In battle, McCook could be rash and reckless, but his personal courage was beyond reproach, and his career was marked by controversy. He was subjected to an inquiry into his conduct at the battle of Chickamauga and while he was cleared of all charges, he was relived of command and spent the remainder of the war handling relatively minor assignments. Although he was forced to deal with criticism and accusations all his postwar life, McCook was able to look back on a lifetime of proud service.

In the 1850's, the American West was ablaze with land speculation. From Minnesota to Kansas, town site companies eagerly sought out the most desirable locations for new towns, taking advantage of an 1844 Act of Congress. This generous law was the impetus for ambitious men to create companies and send exploration parties into the prairie wilderness. Among the new breed of speculators were men from the Dakota Land Company from St. Paul and the Western Town Company from Dubuque, who later joined forces. Their sights were set on the Falls of the Big Sioux River. A rival company was organized in Sioux City, Iowa, with designs on the Yankton Sioux Indian village on the Missouri River slope. The two groups were soon locked in a fierce rivalry over the control of the political and economic destiny of wild land which all men considered to be the next bonanza. These men possessed a hazy vision to go with a haughty attitude and were risk takers, but they used the federal government fully and freely, counting on Uncle Sam to provide money, jobs and military protection. Both pushed and implored Congress to create a new territory. Impatient in the extreme, they set up their own extra-legal forms of government, hoping that Congress would take note. Their timing was bad, however, for the Panic of 1857 set in motion an economic downturn. This was followed by Indian attacks on the settlements and by the Civil War that distracted the attention of Washington, D.C. While Dakota Territory was created in 1861, development of towns was slower than the speculators expected and the great fortunes that were dreamed of never materialized. This book is a series of inter-connected essays and each essay is a narrative within a larger narrative. It features photos and illustrations never before published, a bibliography, and a comprehensive index to full names, places and subjects.