Thomas Nelson Conrad (August 1, 1837 – January 5, 1905) was the third president of

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

(then Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College) and served in the

Confederate Secret Service The Confederate Secret Service refers to any of a number of official and semi-official secret service organizations and operations conducted by the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Some of the organizations were under ...

during the Civil War.

Early life

Thomas Nelson Conrad was born to Nelson Conrad and Lavenia M. Thomas at

Fairfax Court House, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. At the 2010 census the p ...

. He received his bachelor's degree from

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

in 1857.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Conrad taught at the Georgetown Institute in Washington, D.C., who also bestowed a master's degree on him in 1860. While there, he openly expressed his sympathy for the Confederacy, and a few days after the June 1861 commencement, he was arrested and placed in the

Old Capitol Prison The Old Brick Capitol in Washington, D.C., served as the temporary Capitol of the United States from 1815 to 1819. The building was a private school, a boarding house, and, during the American Civil War, a prison known as the Old Capitol Priso ...

. Conrad was given a letter of recommendation from General Stuart to President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the United States Senate and the House of Representatives as a ...

to spy for the

. He met Davis, who endorsed the letter and referred him to other members of the Confederate government. Conrad received gold from

Judah Benjamin Judah Philip Benjamin, QC (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English ba ...

and his “name placed on the rolls of the secret service bureau”. He then saw Secretary of War Seddon for “papers and outfit”. Davis invited Conrad to his executive mansion to hear his plans. Captain Conrad went to Washington with his Dickinson roommate and

Phi Kappa Sigma Phi Kappa Sigma () is an international all-male college secret society and social fraternities and sororities, fraternity. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are Skulls, Skullhous ...

fraternity brother Daniel Mountjoy Cloud and M. B. “Tippie” Ruggles, son of General Daniel Ruggles as couriers. His slave William also accompanied them Conrad set up his covert intelligence gathering operation in a large home in the heart of

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

His wartime exploits included among other things, hatching a plot to assassinate the

Commanding General of the United States Army The Commanding General of the United States Army was the title given to the service chief and highest-ranking officer of the United States Army (and its predecessor the Continental Army), prior to the establishment of the Chief of Staff of the ...

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

, that was vetoed by the Confederate government who feared that the elderly and infirm Scott would be replaced by someone more fit for command; sneaking into the

War Office The War Office was a department of the British Government responsible for the administration of the British Army between 1857 and 1964, when its functions were transferred to the new Ministry of Defence (MoD). This article contains text from ...

during lunch hour to lift copies of documents describing General McClellan's battle plans for the Peninsula Campaign, a large-scale offensive by the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

to capture the Confederate capitol at

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

from the desk of a friend who was a

double agent In the field of counterintelligence, a double agent is an employee of a secret intelligence service for one country, whose primary purpose is to spy on a target organization of another country, but who is now spying on their own country's organi ...

; and conspiring to kidnap

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. In September 1864, Conrad and a team went to Washington in an attempt to kidnap President

. The members of the team were “Bull” Frizzell (who had been in the Old Capitol Prison with him), Cloud, and slave William. The plan was abandoned because Lincoln was well protected. Conrad denied that the Confederate government knew of his plot except the military secretary of General

Braxton Bragg Braxton Bragg (March 22, 1817 – September 27, 1876) was an American army officer during the Second Seminole War and Mexican–American War and Confederate general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in the Weste ...

. However, Seddon wrote an order for

John S. Mosby John Singleton Mosby (December 6, 1833 – May 30, 1916), also known by his nickname "Gray Ghost", was a Confederate army cavalry battalion commander in the American Civil War. His command, the 43rd Battalion, Virginia Cavalry, known as Mosb ...

and Lieutenant Cawood to “aid and facilitate the movements of Capt. Conrad.” Conrad’s courier Ruggles assisted

John Wilkes Booth John Wilkes Booth (May 10, 1838 – April 26, 1865) was an American stage actor who assassinated United States President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., on April 14, 1865. A member of the prominent 19th-century Booth th ...

by giving him a ride on his horse shortly before Booth was killed. Conrad was also a frequent visitor to Mary Surratt's tavern. Conrad was arrested by a landing party of the Union vessel Jacob Bell on the night of April 16, 1865. He was put aboard a train bound for a Union

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...

camp but managed to escape by jumping from the moving train after the soldiers guarding him fell asleep. In May 1887 Conrad wrote several articles about his activities as a spy for a Philadelphia newspaper. He later reworked these into the 1892 autobiography ''A Confederate Spy: A Story of the Civil War'', which he later revised into the 1904 work ''The Rebel Scout: A Thrilling History of Scouting Life in the Southern Army''.

Post-War Career

In 1871, Conrad was appointed principal of the

Preston and Olin Institute The Preston and Olin Institute was a Methodist academy for boys in Blacksburg, Virginia which operated from 1851 to 1872. They chose the name Preston for Colonel William Ballard Preston, of nearby Smithfield Plantation, a well-known Montgomery Cou ...

in Blacksburg, Virginia, until it reorganized the next year as Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College (now Virginia Tech). He then purchased the ''Montgomery Messenger'' newspaper. Conrad served as the mayor of Blacksburg for three months in 1882 and was appointed president of Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College the same year. During his tenure, the college switched from semesters to the quarter system, which remained in place until the late 1980s. The college spent $2,229.96 on books of fiction and poetry, and a museum was opened. For the first time, the school’s farm became financially successful. In 1886, the Board of Visitors removed all officers and faculty of the college, including Conrad. Conrad once again became mayor of Blacksburg, this time for one month in 1887. He then joined the faculty of the

Maryland Agricultural College Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...

, resigning in 1890 to accept a position with the

Census Office The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...

in Washington D.C. He later retired to a farm in

Prince William County Prince William County is located on the Potomac River in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population sits at 482,204, making it Virginia's second-most populous county. Its county seat is the independent city of Manassas ...

. He died in Washington, D.C., on January 5, 1905, and was buried in

Montgomery County, Virginia Montgomery County is a county located in the Valley and Ridge area of the U.S. state of Virginia. As population in the area increased, Montgomery County was formed in 1777 from Fincastle County, which in turn had been taken from Botetourt Count ...

Personal life

Thomas Nelson Conrad married Emma “Minnie” Ball on October 4, 1866, and the couple had seven children.

Legacy and Honors

The Conrad Cavalry, the equestrian unit of the

Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets The Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets (VTCC) is the military component of the student body at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Cadets live together in residence halls, attend morning formation, wear a distinctive uniform, and recei ...

, is named for Conrad who was an expert horseman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conrad, Thomas Nelson Presidents of Virginia Tech Dickinson College alumni 1837 births 1905 deaths American Civil War spies