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A page-turner of historical scholarship, Death of an Assassin takes a little known German cold case murder from 1835 and turns it into an intriguing mystery. Using a style reminiscent of Case Closed, author Ann Marie Ackermann puts you in Bonnigheim when the assassin pulls the trigger and later Mexico, where the fleeing assassin engulfs Robert E. Lee in tragedy, long before Lee ever heard the canon near Appomattox Court House. --Fred Rosen, author of Murdering the President: Alexander Graham Bell and the Race to Save James Garfield Death of an Assassin is not only a startling historical discovery but a poignant tale of heroism and redemption. With a marvelous eye for detail, Ann Marie Ackermann has navigated through long-forgotten records on both sides of the Atlantic to unearth a new and complex kind of hero -- a brutish, vengeful man who, perhaps out of remorse, was anxious to start a new life and redeem himself in his adopted home. It's a great story, bolstered by solid research and told by one who is uniquely qualified to bring it to the public. --Michael W. Kauffman, author of American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies Ann Marie Ackermann has marvelously weaved a story of diverse themes into a single fabric of historical research and investigation. Written in a conversational style and drawing the reader into the web of mystery produces a story of high interest and adventure. --Anthony Waskie, assistant professor, Temple University, author of Philadelphia and the Civil War In her excellent work, Death of an Assassin, Ann Marie Ackermann has penned a fascinating account of a long-ago murder; a murder that should have remained tucked away somewhere in the dark archived files of history, never again to see the light of day. Thankfully for us, however, the author has not only rescued this strange tale from obscurity, but has brought to light a story that begins with the murder in Germany, and ends up in the pre-Civil War America of Robert E. Lee, where the killer begins an eventful new life. With a sharp eye for detail, Ackermann painstakingly reconstructs the lives of the participants from long-hidden facts, and then, having breathed life back into them, paints a vivid literary picture throughout the pages of her riveting book. It's a tale that will pull you in from the very first page.--Kevin M. Sullivan, author of The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History and Custers Road to Disaster: The Path to Little Bighorn Death of an Assassin by Ann Marie Ackermann is a well plotted and researched book of crime, war, and intrigue. The pages are filled with historical facts as well as reenactments of events as they are thought to have occurred. The solving of one of the oldest cold cases in history and the link to the USA's past is fascinating. --The Cozy Review Death of an Assassin recounts one of the most curious tales in history: a murder committed in Germany but solved in America years later. --Glenn Dallas, San Francisco Book Review Death of Assassin is an entertaining look at very human characters in a world on the edge of radical change. --Robert Davis, New York Journal of Books An engaging piece of history. --Tim Gebhart, Progressive on the Prairie Death of an Assassin is a great, fun read, spinning intrigue with historical facts. Ackermann is an excellent writer, who knows how to spin a good tale, and this resulting monograph is the proof. --Ryan Quint, Emerging Civil War It takes a true crime historian to track down such an obscure incident and grasp its significance. It takes a true storyteller to convey it with skillfully drawn suspense. --Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Psychology Today An Edgar-worthy true crime masterpiece of astonishing investigative skill and irresistible narrative flow. I know the term must read is overused, but I'm going to use it again -- Ann Marie Ackermann's new book is a must read! --Burl Barer, NYT-best-selling author of Murder in the Family and Man Overboard History is full of odd, seemingly unrelated events combining to produce a fortuitous result. To those who analyze such things, coincidences are easily explained by the laws of mathematics. Some contend that the most incredible coincidence would be if there were no coincidences. (https: //www.edge.org/response-detail/11719) Others, though, believe that meaningful coincidences happen so frequently that math and science cannot explain them. For them, these events are examples of Carl Jung's concept of synchronicity, two unconnected events appearing to occur purposefully. No matter what they're called, such circumstances are fodder for plenty of narratives. On its surface, it would appear to be the basis of Death of an Assassin: The True Story of the German Murderer Who Died Defending Robert E. Lee. Yet author Ann Marie Ackerman unravels a real life mystery. Not only is this an engaging piece of history, the former prosecutor uses an appendix to present the compelling evidence and reasoning behind her identification of a 19th century German murderer. Ackerman also makes a strong case that the initial investigation may have seen the first use of forensic ballistics as a law enforcement tool. (And for those who believe in it, is it synchronicity that Death of an Assassin is being released when the nation is debating Confederate statues?) Death of an Assassin begins on the night of October 21, 1835, when the mayor of Bonnigheim, Germany, was shot just a few steps from his front door. The mayor did not see his assailant and died about 30 hours later. Using the original investigative file, Ackerman details the investigation, providing a rare look inside the techniques and legal standards of the time. Despite a thorough investigation and examination of several potential suspects, the case was essentially closed without resolution in 1837. At some point, the actual assassin emigrated to the U.S. illegally. (Ackerman doesn't identify him until approximately halfway through the book so his name isn't used here.) In January 1840, he enlisted in the U.S. Army, then a force of only 7,000 men. At the time of the assassination, Robert E. Lee was 28, a lieutenant in the Army Corps of Engineers. That same month, the Texas Revolution against Mexican rule began, eventually leading to the Mexican-American War a decade later. And, Ackerman maintains, that would bring Lee and the German assassin together during the siege of Veracruz in March 1847, Lee's first battle experience. In April 1847, Lee would write his 15-year-old son about his experiences. He described a soldier in a company protecting him and the battery he commanded during the bombardment of Veracruz. The soldier's thigh was shattered by a Mexican cannonball and he lay in agony most of the day. When finally being borne off in a litter, he was killed by an incoming shell. I doubt whether all Mexico is worth to us the life of that man, Lee wrote. Currently living in Germany, Ackerman's experience as an American prosecutor shows through. Poor military record-keeping at the time forces her to say the assassin probably was the soldier mentioned in Lee's letter. Yet she musters and builds a strong case for naming him. Although there are a few instances of repetition and the actual events surrounding the man's death are muddied by time, Death of an Assassin is a cogent work. In 1872, the assassin was identified, ironically, by a Bonnigheim resident who emigrated to the U.S. in 1836 after unfounded rumor said he killed the mayor. In a letter to authorities, he relayed that a friend told him that shortly after arriving in the U.S., the assassin admitted to killing the mayor for rejecting his application to be a game warden. While aware of the killer died in combat in Mexico, it took Ackerman to make the connection to American history.--Blogcritics.org (08/28/2017) Recently in the news, we've been reminded of General Robert E. Lee's role in the Civil War. Whether or not we should keep statues to him that represent the cause for which he fought, there's no question that he has a significant place in history. But I'm not going to address Lee's role in the Civil War. I'm more interested in a true crime incident that had an association with Lee during the Mexican-American War. It features a German man who fled his homeland to escape prosecution for the murder of the mayor of Bonnigheim in 1835. He ended up in the same place as Lee during his first battle. This man, just one of many soldiers there, made such a distinct impression on Lee that he mentioned him in a letter. As Lee watched this member of the Pennsylvania Volunteers suffer from a serious wound, it gave him a stark perspective on war. And this same person turned out to be the solution to a cold case that had perplexed Bonnigheim for nearly four decades. In fact, it was the oldest cold case ever to be solved in nineteenth-century Germany, and the man who finally accomplished this was himself an initial suspect. This strange tale is the subject of Ann Marie Ackerman's meticulously researched and poetically told account, Death of an Assassin. It takes a true crime historian to track down such an obscure incident and grasp its significance. It takes a true storyteller to convey it with skillfully drawn suspense. I asked her how she knew about it, and this, too, is an interesting tale. I first found out about this case, said Ackerman, while researching the birdlife in my German town. I was writing an article for the historical society and the chair gave me a 19th-century diary from a local forester. He thought the forester might have mentioned birds. He did, but he also talked about having helped solve a 37-year-old murder case. The solution came from America, and he found the crucial corroborating evidence in the forestry archives. I used to practice criminal law in the US and was immediately struck by how odd this case was. In the 19th century, and especially before the advent of DNA testing, murder cases were usually solved within several weeks or not at all. Thirty-seven years was a record-breaker for 19th-century Germany. And that piqued my curiosity enough to start tracking the murderer through the archives. He fled to America. But when I started the research, I didn't yet know that Robert E. Lee had written a letter about him. That's what makes this book so readable. The way a figure like Lee crossed paths with a German immigrant who inspired a notation in one of Lee's letters is a remarkably twisted tale. Just as interesting is how Ackerman found resources to fully support the facts. The hardest part about the research, she said, was learning to read the old German handwriting in the German archives. It's Gothic and the letters are all different. I used some study books to help me and the archivists were incredibly helpful, and eventually I got to the point where I could read the texts. It was also hard to straddle research on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. I did travel to the US twice in the course of my research to read material in German housed at the Pennsylvania German Society. I also hired a talented archivist in Washington, DC who was a genius in turning up material at the National Archives. In addition to the Robert E. Lee angle, Ackerman found that, contrary to current accounts about the birth of forensic ballistics, this case beats that date by several decades. In France in 1888, Alexandre Lacassagne, a pathologist and professor of medicine at the University of Lyon, had removed a bullet from a homicide victim during an autopsy. On the projectile's surface, he'd noticed seven longitudinal grooves. He'd examined the barrels of pistols that belonged to suspects, and by matching the grooves to the barrel, he identified the one he believed had been used - the only one that could have made seven grooves. Its owner was convicted. Yet German magistrate Eduard Hammer, who investigated the mayor's murder in 1835, had used a similar approach. Collecting 48 firearms, he examined striations and managed to eliminate a suspect. It wasn't a case-resolving discovery like Lacassagne's, but the technique was in place well before Lacassagne used it. Having written Beating the Devil's Game, a history of forensic science, I enjoy seeing crime historians add new chapters and correct official accounts. With this book, Ackerman establishes her place in this field. I look forward to seeing what she produces next.--Psychology Today (08/28/2017) In her excellent work, Death of an Assassin, Ann Marie Ackermann has penned a fascinating account of a long-ago murder; a murder that should have remained tucked away somewhere in the dark archived files of history, never again to see the light of day. Thankfully for us, however, the author has not only rescued this strange tale from obscurity, but has brought to light a story that begins with the murder in Germany, and ends up in the pre-Civil War America of Robert E. Lee, where the killer begins an eventful new life. With a sharp eye for detail, Ackermann painstakingly reconstructs the lives of the participants from long-hidden facts, and then, having breathed life back into them, paints a vivid literary picture throughout the pages of her riveting book. It's a tale that will pull you in from the very first page. --(Kevin M. Sullivan, author of The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History and Custer's Road to Disaster: The Path to Little Bighorn) (08/18/2017) A page-turner of historical scholarship, Death of an Assassin takes a little known German cold case murder from 1835 and turns it into an intriguing mystery. Using a style reminiscent of Case Closed, author Ann Marie Ackermann puts you in Bonnigheim when the assassin pulls the trigger and later Mexico, where the fleeing assassin engulfs Robert E. Lee in tragedy, long before Lee ever heard the canon near Appomattox Court House. --(Fred Rosen, author of Murdering the President: Alexander Graham Bell and the Race to Save James Garfield) (08/18/2017) An Edgar-worthy true crime masterpiece of astonishing investigative skill and irresistible narrative flow. I know the term must read is overused, but I'm going to use it again -- Ann Marie Ackermann's new book is a must read! --(Burl Barer, NYT-best-selling author of Murder in the Family and Man Overboard) (08/18/2017) A page-turner of historical scholarship, Death of an Assassin takes a little known German cold case murder from 1835 and turns it into an intriguing mystery. Using a style reminiscent of Case Closed, author Ann Marie Ackermann puts you in Bonnigheim when the assassin pulls the trigger and later Mexico, where the fleeing assassin engulfs Robert E. Lee in tragedy, long before Lee ever heard the canon near Appomattox Court House. --Fred Rosen, author of Murdering the President: Alexander Graham Bell and the Race to Save James Garfield (08/18/2017)

A page-turner of historical scholarship, Death of an Assassin takes a little known German cold case murder from 1835 and turns it into an intriguing mystery. Using a style reminiscent of Case Closed, author Ann Marie Ackermann puts you in Bonnigheim when the assassin pulls the trigger and later Mexico, where the fleeing assassin engulfs Robert E. Lee in tragedy, long before Lee ever heard the canon near Appomattox Court House. --Fred Rosen, author of Murdering the President: Alexander Graham Bell and the Race to Save James Garfield Death of an Assassin is not only a startling historical discovery but a poignant tale of heroism and redemption. With a marvelous eye for detail, Ann Marie Ackermann has navigated through long-forgotten records on both sides of the Atlantic to unearth a new and complex kind of hero -- a brutish, vengeful man who, perhaps out of remorse, was anxious to start a new life and redeem himself in his adopted home. It's a great story, bolstered by solid research and told by one who is uniquely qualified to bring it to the public. --Michael W. Kauffman, author of American Brutus: John Wilkes Booth and the Lincoln Conspiracies Ann Marie Ackermann has marvelously weaved a story of diverse themes into a single fabric of historical research and investigation. Written in a conversational style and drawing the reader into the web of mystery produces a story of high interest and adventure. --Anthony Waskie, assistant professor, Temple University, author of Philadelphia and the Civil War In her excellent work, Death of an Assassin, Ann Marie Ackermann has penned a fascinating account of a long-ago murder; a murder that should have remained tucked away somewhere in the dark archived files of history, never again to see the light of day. Thankfully for us, however, the author has not only rescued this strange tale from obscurity, but has brought to light a story that begins with the murder in Germany, and ends up in the pre-Civil War America of Robert E. Lee, where the killer begins an eventful new life. With a sharp eye for detail, Ackermann painstakingly reconstructs the lives of the participants from long-hidden facts, and then, having breathed life back into them, paints a vivid literary picture throughout the pages of her riveting book. It's a tale that will pull you in from the very first page.--Kevin M. Sullivan, author of The Bundy Murders: A Comprehensive History and Custers Road to Disaster: The Path to Little Bighorn Death of an Assassin by Ann Marie Ackermann is a well plotted and researched book of crime, war, and intrigue. The pages are filled with historical facts as well as reenactments of events as they are thought to have occurred. The solving of one of the oldest cold cases in history and the link to the USA's past is fascinating. --The Cozy Review Death of an Assassin recounts one of the most curious tales in history: a murder committed in Germany but solved in America years later. --Glenn Dallas, San Francisco Book Review Death of Assassin is an entertaining look at very human characters in a world on the edge of radical change. --Robert Davis, New York Journal of Books An engaging piece of history. --Tim Gebhart, Progressive on the Prairie Death of an Assassin is a great, fun read, spinning intrigue with historical facts. Ackermann is an excellent writer, who knows how to spin a good tale, and this resulting monograph is the proof. --Ryan Quint, Emerging Civil War It takes a true crime historian to track down such an obscure incident and grasp its significance. It takes a true storyteller to convey it with skillfully drawn suspense. --Dr. Katherine Ramsland, Psychology Today An Edgar-worthy true crime masterpiece of astonishing investigative skill and irresistible narrative flow. I know the term must read is overused, but I'm going to use it again -- Ann Marie Ackermann's new book is a must read! --Burl Barer, NYT-best-selling author of Murder in the Family and Man Overboard

""An Edgar-worthy true crime masterpiece of astonishing investigative skill and irresistible narrative flow. I know the term ""must read"" is overused, but I'm going to use it again -- Ann Marie Ackermann's new book is a must read!""

Author Information

Ann Marie Ackermann is a former attorney with focuses on criminal and medical law. Eighteen years ago she moved to Bönnigheim, Germany, the town in which the assassination occurred, and is a member of its historical society. Ackermann’s intimate knowledge of the town and of the German language enabled her to bring the German and American sides of this story together. She has a number of academic publications in law, ornithology, and history.

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