Coxey’s Army
Hattie Davish is met with a gruesome murder. A killing of a number of members of “Coxey’s Army,” a protesting group coming to Washington D.C. to combat oppression during a terrible economic depression. This army, however, truly did make such a march on Washington in 1894. They were protesting unemployment that was caused by by the Panic of 1893. This panic began because of a series of bank failures, prompted by shoddy railroad financing and collapse.
The “army” was lobbying the government to create jobs to rebuild roads and other public fixtures, paying its workers with paper currency. They wanted to increase the amount of currency in circulation and create jobs to boost the economy.
The march began in Ohio on March 25, 1894. By the time the march reached D.C. on May 1, it had amassed almost 500 participants. The project itself was unsuccessful. Jacob S. Coxey, the march’s leader, was arrested for trespassing on the Capitol Building’s lawn, and the program quickly lost steam, never seeing its goals achieved. See if Hattie Davish can achieve her own dreams of uncovering a murderous conspiracy reaching as far up as the United States government.
About the book:
Traveling secretary Hattie Davish is taking her singular talents to Washington, D.C. to help Sir Arthur Windom-Greene research his next novel. But in the winding halls of the nation’s capital, searching for the truth can sometimes lead to murder . . .
Hattie is in her element, digging through dusty basements, attics, and abandoned buildings, not to be denied until she fishes out that elusive fact. But her delightful explorations are dampened when she witnesses a carriage crash into a carp pond beneath the shadow of the Washington Monument. Alarmingly, one of the passengers flees the scene, leaving the other to drown. The incident only heightens tensions brought on by the much publicized arrival of “Coxey’s army,” thousands of unemployed men converging on the capital for the first ever organized “march” on Washington. When one of the marchers is found murdered in the ensuing chaos, Hattie begins to suspect a sinister conspiracy is at hand. As she expands her investigations into the motives of murder and closes in on the trail of a killer, she is surprised and distraught to learn that her research will lead her straight to the highest levels of government . . .
About the author:
As a librarian and information specialist, Anna Loan-Wilsey tracks down information every day that helps to solve mysteries. She earned her B.A. at Wells College and had several poems published in their literary magazine, The Chronicle. Readers can visit her website at www.annaloanwilsey.com.
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