On Wednesday, McTague pleaded guilty to stealing 164 pieces of government property valued into the tens of thousands. “But they are of incalculable value to historians,” says U.S. Attorney Patrick Meehan. The pilfered documents include the May 4, 1865, telegram from the secretary of War’s office ordering gun salutes in honor of President Lincoln, whose funeral was that day, and a letter from the war’s most notable cavalryman, J.E.B. Stuart.
At 40, McTague was old for an intern. But that didn’t arouse suspicion, says archives spokeswoman Susan Cooper: “McTague had several advanced degrees and perhaps he was interested in securing a permanent job at the archives.” McTague told investigators he would hide documents in a yellow notepad and walk out with them at the end of the workday.
An avid collector, McTague was caught by another Civil War buff. Gettysburg resident Dean Thomas was bidding on three documents when he realized he had photocopied them at the archives 20 years earlier. McTague helped agents track down most of the letters sold on eBay, but still missing are three dated 1862. National Archives investigator Ross Weiland says eBay buyers claim two were never received and “may just be lost in the wind.”
