- Date:
- 1861
- Original Format:
- Carte de Visite
- Item#:
- MES20147
- Photographer:
- Mathew Brady
Albert D. Richardson (1833-1869)
Albert D. Richardson was an author, well-known journalist, and secret Union spy who covered the Civil War and the Western frontier for the "New York Tribune." He was captured by the Confederates and spent 20 months in prison. Richardson wrote about his experiences in the book "The Secret Service, The Field, The Dungeon and The Escape" (1865). He also wrote a biography of Ulysses Grant and "From Beyond the Mississippi "(1867). Richardson died tragically at the age of 36, shot by the jealous ex-husband of the actress Abby Sage McFarland. Daniel McFarland shot Richardson in the office of the "Tribune." On his deathbed Richardson was married to Abby McFarland by Henry Ward Beecher. A deliberate campaign to vilify Richardson caused McFarland to be acquitted, much to popular approval.