Death of an Assassin : The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee

Ackermann

30 ratings by Goodreads

Language: English

Published by Kent State University Press Sep 2017, 2017

1606353047 / 9781606353042

  • Hardcover
  • New
See all details

Seller: AHA-BUCH GmbH, Einbeck, GermanyAHA-BUCH GmbH

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since August 14, 2006

View this seller's items
Hardcover

Condition: New

£ 40.13

£ 26.21 shipping 
Ships from Germany to U.S.A.

Quantity: 2 available

Add to basket
Free 30-day returns

Item description from seller

Neuware - From the depths of German and American archives comes a story one soldier never wanted told. The first volunteer killed defending Robert E. Lee’s position in battle was really a German assassin. After fleeing to the United States to escape prosecution for murder, the assassin enlisted in a German company of the Pennsylvania Volunteers in the Mexican-American War and died defending Lee’s battery at the Siege of Veracruz in 1847. Lee wrote a letter home, praising this unnamed fallen volunteer defender. Military records identify him, but none of the Americans knew about his past life of crime.Before fighting with the Americans, Lee’s defender had assassinated Johann Heinrich Rieber, mayor of Bönnigheim, Germany, in 1835. Rieber’s assassination became 19th-century Germany’s coldest case ever solved by a non–law enforcement professional and the only 19th-century German murder ever solved in the United States. Thirty seven years later, another suspect in the assassination who had also ed to America found evidence in Washington, D.C., that would clear his own name, and he forwarded it to Germany. e German prosecutor Ernst von Hochstetter corroborated the story and closed the case file in 1872, naming Lee’s defender as Rieber’s murderer.Relying primarily on German sources, Death of an Assassin tracks the never-before-told story of this German company of Pennsylvania volunteers. It follows both Lee’s and the assassin’s lives until their dramatic encounter in Veracruz and picks up again with the surprising case resolution decades later. This case also reveals that forensic ballistics— firearm identification through comparison of the striations on a projectile with the rifling in the barrel—is much older than previously thought. History credits Alexandre Laccasagne for inventing forensic ballistics in 1888. But more than 50 years earlier, Eduard Hammer, the magistrate who investigated the Rieber assassination in 1835, used the same technique to eliminate a forester’s rifle as the murder weapon. A rearms technician with state police of Baden-Württemberg tested Hammer’s technique in 2015 and confirmed its efficacy, cementing the argument that Hammer, not Laccasagne, should be considered the father of forensic ballistics.The roles the volunteer soldier/assassin and Robert E. Lee played at the Siege of Veracruz are part of American history, and the record breaking, 19th-century cold case is part of German history. For the first time, Death of an Assassin brings the two stories together.

Seller Inventory # 9781606353042

Title
Death of an Assassin : The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee
Author
Ackermann
Publisher
Kent State University Press Sep 2017
Publication year
2017
Condition
Neu
Binding
Buch
Language
English
ISBN 10
1606353047
ISBN 13
9781606353042
Item weight
487 grams
Dimensions
236x159x25 mm

AHA-BUCH GmbH

Einbeck, Germany

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since August 14, 2006

Shipping rates from Germany to U.S.A.

Item5 to 7 business days7 to 10 business days
First item£ 26.21£ 26.21
Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.

Payment methods

  • Visa
  • Mastercard
  • American Express
  • Apple Pay
  • Google Pay
  • Bank Wire Transfer
  • Check
  • Paypal

Store description

Das Unternehmen AHA-BUCH GmbH: Seit der Gründung von AHA-BUCH im Juli 2005 ist unser Hauptziel, zufriedenen Kunden so schnell und so preisgünstig wie möglich ihren Bücherwunsch zu erfüllen. Unsere Firma beschäftigt 16 Mitarbeiter, die nur ein Ziel kennen: den Kunden und seine Wünsche! Auf über 3700 m2 Fläche haben wir über 100.000 Bücher, Modernes Antiquariat und Spiele auf Lager.

Specialty

Kinderbücher & Kinderhör Casetten, German Books, Software, Natur & Tiere, Ratgeber, Sachbücher, Englische Bücher, Medizin & Gesundheit, Universität & Studium

Seller's business information

AHA-BUCH GmbH

Garlebsen 48
Einbeck, Germany 37574