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On April 14, 1861, following the surrender of Fort Sumter, Washington was "put into the condition of a siege," declared Abraham Lincoln. Located sixty miles south of the Mason-Dixon Line, the nation's capital was surrounded by the slave states of Maryland and Virginia. With no fortifications and only a handful of trained soldiers, Washington was an ideal target for the Confederacy. The South echoed with cries of "On to Washington!" and Jefferson Davis's wife sent out cards inviting her friends to a reception at the White House on May 1.
Lincoln issued an emergency proclamation on April 15, calling for 75,000 troops to suppress the rebellion and protect the capital. One question now transfixed the nation: Whose forces would reach Washington first: Northern defenders or Southern attackers?
For 12 days, the city's fate hung in the balance. Washington was entirely isolated from the North--without trains, telegraph, or mail. Sandbags were stacked around major landmarks, and the unfinished Capitol was transformed into a barracks, with volunteer troops camping out in the House and Senate chambers. Meanwhile, Maryland secessionists blocked the passage of Union reinforcements trying to reach Washington, and a rumored force of 20,000 Confederate soldiers lay in wait just across the Potomac River.
Drawing on firsthand accounts, The Siege of Washington tells this story from the perspective of leading officials, residents trapped inside the city, Confederates plotting to seize it, and Union troops racing to save it, capturing with brilliance and immediacy the precarious first days of the Civil War.
The Siege of Washington: The Twelve Days That Shook the Union
A Timeline
April 14, 1861 The Union flag is lowered over Fort Sumter in surrender. In Washington, President Lincoln drafts an emergency proclamation calling for 75,000 Union volunteer troops to suppress the rebellion and defend the capital. Lincoln tells his cabinet, “If I were Beauregard, I would take Washington.”
April 15 Lincoln formally issues his emergency proclamation. Americans in both the North and South are transfixed by a single question: Who will reach the capital first? Confederate attackers? Or Union defenders?
April 16 As militiamen begin to mobilize across the North, General Winfield Scott has only 900 U.S. Army troops and 600 District Militia under his command to defend Washington.
April 17 Virginia votes to secede from Union. South Carolina Governor Pickens writes to Jefferson Davis that the “true course is to take Washington city immediately.”
April 18 The First Pennsylvania Volunteers arrive in Washington—without weapons—and are quartered in the empty Capitol building. The danger is so extreme that emergency volunteer troops are stationed in the East Room of the White House. An assault on the city is expected that night.
April 19 The Sixth Massachusetts are attacked in a bloody riot in Baltimore as they change trains on their way to Washington. Baltimore leaders bar further Union troops from passing through the city, imperiling the arrival of reinforcements for days.
April 20 Baltimore secessionists rip up rail lines to Washington. Meanwhile, the Eighth Massachusetts and Seventh New York regiments are stalled in Philadelphia as their leaders debate the best route to the capital. One prominent Virginian telegraphs the Confederate secretary of war: “Lincoln is in a trap.”
April 21 Panic seizes Washington, particularly among free blacks, who fear that they will be re‐enslaved if the South takes the capital. Thousands of people flee.
April 22 Washington is entirely cut off by rail and telegraph. Food supplies dwindle. According to journalist Henry Villard, it seemed “as though the government of a great nation had been suddenly removed to an island in mid ocean in a state of entire isolation.”
April 23 Secessionist forces in Maryland plot an attack on Union troops moving toward Washington. The Baltimore Sun reports that “armed men [are] stationed everywhere, determined to give the Northern troops a fight in their march to the capital.”
April 24 The Seventh New York and Eighth Massachusetts set out on an epic march from Annapolis to rescue Washington.
April 25 The Seventh New York arrives in Washington and stages a spontaneous parade down Pennsylvania Avenue amid cheering residents and ringing church bells. Washingtonians exclaim their joy that the “Capitol of the Nation is Safe!”
From Publishers Weekly
Historians have long been perplexed over why the South didn't attack Washington, D.C., in the early days of the Civil War. In this absorbing history, the siege of the Union capital and the panic over an expected Confederate attack that never came—offer significant insights into the long conflict. The Lockwoods, both historians, examine the two weeks after Fort Sumter, when everyone from Southern firebrands to Abraham Lincoln thought the rebels would seize the isolated and virtually defenseless Union capital, which was surrounded by slave states and had a substantial pro-Confederate population. The rail and telegraph lines were cut by Maryland secessionists, and the capital waited anxiously for Northern soldiers to push through hostile territory to its rescue while enduring food shortages, bank runs, and rumors of approaching rebel armies bent on hanging federal officials. The authors' well-paced narrative captures the suspense of the ordeal and the Union's achievement in improvising a defense from scratch. This vivid portrait of a weak and jittery Washington turns into a story of how Northern vigor and organization trumped Southern élan, presaging the larger war. 40 b&w illus.; 1 map. (Apr.)
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Product Details
Format: Kindle Edition
File Size: 2189 KB
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (March 16, 2011)
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
Language: English
ASIN: B004UA4CPU
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Lending: Enabled
Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
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47 of 48 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A real page-turner!, March 3, 2011
By P. B. Sharp (NM) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Siege of Washington: The Untold Story of the Twelve Days That Shook the Union (Hardcover)
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This play-by-play description to the turmoil that followed the capture of Fort Sumter on April 13, 1861 is exciting and comprehensive, but it is the vignettes of people north or south, famous or unknown, who put their stamp on history that I found the most intriguing elements of the book. Was it providential that in her darkest hours America had the two most perfect leaders possible- Washington during the Revolution and Lincoln during the Civil War?
The siege of Washington was highly psychological as nobody from the President on down could understand why the rebel armies did not attack Washington which was a sitting duck. Communications and railroad lines were disrupted, essential supplies ran out, stores and homes were boarded up when people fled the city. There were riots everywhere and still the rebel army did not come. Washington City was holding its breath. Finally on April 23 the Sixth and Seventh New York Regiments with enough men to defend the city managed to enter Washington and the citizens went berserk with joy. Said Theodore Winthrop "Our Uncle Sam was still a resident of the capitol."
We follow Lincoln as he orders 75,000 troops. Inside the White House two astonishingly young men, Lincoln secretaries John Nicolay at twenty nine and John Hay at twenty two not only screened all of the hundreds of letters pouring into the White House but also selected who in the hoards of people tramping in and out and right by Lincoln's office got to see the President. The White House even became a barracks with men sleeping on the floor of the East room. Nicolay and Hay were a highly effective buffer that not only protected the President but kept things rolling and things in order. Lincoln knew how to choose men, one of his greatest attributes .Nicolay and Hay were fiercely loyal and really an extension of Lincoln's family.
The women are not to be outshone: incredibly, when Fort Sumter was captured, Varina Davis, the wife of Confederate president Jefferson Davis, actually had the audacity to invite her friends on the future May 1 ( three weeks away) to attend a tea after Jefferson Davis had licked the North and was the new occupant of the White House. No bird in the hand there.
In Concord, Mass, Louisa May Alcott, the author of the incomparable "Little Women" wished fervently she was a man so she could join Lincoln's army. The closest she could come was being a nurse. Another famous nurse who was very adept with a pistol and could hit the bulls eye of a target fifty feet away, was five feet tall Clara Barton of Oxford, Mass. Clara, of course, couldn't join the army, either, but nursed the wounded soldiers and went on to found the American Red Cross. In Baltimore, where fierce rioting had broken out, Ann Manley, who was the owner of the city's biggest brothel, secreted soldiers in her establishment, fed them, nursed them and gave them various disguises so they could move around the city undetected as they tried to find the means to go south to Washington.*
The backbone of any society is ordinary citizens who really carry the weight of the world on their shoulders and it was the young men, mostly unknown, who had to die by the thousands in the Civil War. When soldiers trickling into Washington were housed in the House of Representatives, they were flabbergasted when in walked Abraham Lincoln and two cabinet members. There was total astonished silence for a moment or two, then the men burst into applause, then stamped and yelled. One young man, 22 year old Private Oliver C. Bosbyshell wrote this wonderful description of Lincoln years later:
"Yes, here, towering over all in the room was the great central figure of the war... I was impressed by the kindliness of his face and awkward hanging of his arms and legs, his apparent bashfulness in the presence of these first soldiers of the Republic, and with it all a grave, rather mournful bearing in his attitude."
It was a near thing. If rebel armies had captured Washington, the Union would have been dissolved. Authors (and brothers ) John and Charles Lockwood lay the siege of Washington right in your lap. The book is a very valuable addition to the huge amount of literature on the Civil War. Highly recommended.
*Women's Civil war contributions included "Uncle Tom's Cabin" the war's incredibly powerful propaganda piece penned by Harriet Beecher Stowe. And there's "Mine Eyes have seen the Glory" the stirring "Battle Hymn of the Republic" that can still bring tears to the eyes of a modern listener. The words were written by Julia Ward Howe.
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24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb historical analysis..., March 5, 2011
By Jill Meyer (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Siege of Washington: The Untold Story of the Twelve Days That Shook the Union (Hardcover)
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One of most asked questions by Civil War buffs is why the South didn't invade and capture the Union capital, Washington DC when they had the chance. Brothers/writers John and Charles Lockwood answer that question in their detailed, but lively written book, "The Siege of Washington".
In April, 1861, Confederate forces captured Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina. The Civil War began and the logical first step for the Confederate Army would be to march north and capture Washington. The city, surrounded by Maryland and Virginia, both slave-owning states, was ripe for the picking because it had inadequate protection by Union forces. For twelve days, the citizens of Washington waited for the coming attack. Some residents with southern sympathies and allegiances would have welcomed Confederate takeover, while most others - with Union ties - had real cause for concern. The capture of Washington by southern forces would have dealt a crippling blow to the Union cause, both psychologically and in actual terms of warfare.
But if the citizens of Washington were of mixed loyalties, the Union forces in the north were not entirely united. Newly inaugurated president Abraham Lincoln sent pleas to the northern states to send men and materiel south to defend the city. Some governors answered the call, along with men who enlisted for a special 90 day period and troops began to move toward the capital. But, many were stopped north of Baltimore, where Confederate sympathisers had destroyed the railroad track that would give passage through the city. The story of how these Union forces reached Washington is told beautifully in the Lockwood book. Hint: find Annapolis on the map.
Why didn't the invasion take place in that two or three day period open to southern forces? Politics and dithering and actual Confederate army locations far from the capital all factored into the failure of the South to invade and capture Washington.
The Lockwood brothers' book is an excellent example of readable history. It's a great addition to the books being published in this 150th anniversary of the beginning of the Civil War.
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20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars It reads like a political thriller, February 28, 2011
By CGScammell (Cochise County, AZ) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Siege of Washington: The Untold Story of the Twelve Days That Shook the Union (Hardcover)
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This is one of those books I couldn't stop reading. John and Charles Lockwood wrote a fast-paced narrative that gives the whole visual of what Washington DC was like after Fort Sumter was taken by the Confederates: chaotic on both sides. Its 214 pages make this just long enough to be interesting and short enough not to be repetitive or boring. It covers the political, social, economical and military history of these twelve crucial days, broken down by each of the twelve days.
Those twelve days after the shelling of Fort Sumter were trying times for the city of Washington, DC.
There's a lot going on in this narrative. The authors introduce the lead characters of this story, namely President Lincoln and General Scott (Mexican War hero), Governor Wiles of Virginia and Lincoln's secretarys Nicolay and Hay. Union state militia commanders also have a roll in this story, as well as Union sympathizers in and around DC, and various businessmen.
What makes this story so compelling are the many memoirs the authors used to compile this. Memoirs of eye witnesses that were published after the war, old New York Times articles of 1861, personal letters, soldiers, civilian volunteers, former slaves and freed blackmen all had a bit part in this urban defense that so easily could have failed. Troops were promised but there was no place for them outside of government homes and private estates. Few arriving soldiers had arms let alone combat experience. The city was open on all sides and it was surrounded by Southern secessionists. There were personal animosities among the commanding officers. Vicious rumors spread to distract either side. Cut telegraph wires and blocked railroad tracks were major concerns for transportation.
And then riots broke out in Baltimore as troops from New York came through. Victory didn't look good for the Union.
What saved the day? General Lee didn't officially resign from the Union army until 20 April. Maryland was hesitant to secede from the Union until 1865. The quick destruction of military arsenals in southern regions by the Union army, taking over boats, ferrys etc in the waters and a patriotic campaign to rouse young volunteers to defend the nations' capital. And then there was Gen. Beauregard who expected a counter-attack at Fort Sumter and kept many forces there too long.
In the end Union forces united to save the city and the efforts were both fromm the military and the civilian population. The city was saved, troops were sent elsewhere and the first battle happened later at Bulls Run.
Filled with old vintage photographs, personal letters and documents, this well-researched and well-written book is a must read for civil war buffs, history fans, and lovers of good historical writing.
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Historians have long been perplexed over why the South didn't attack Washington, D.C., in the early days of the Civil War. In this absorbing history, the siege of the Union capital and the panic over an expected Confederate attack that never came—offer significant insights into the long conflict. The Lockwoods, both historians, examine the two weeks after Fort Sumter, when everyone from Southern firebrands to Abraham Lincoln thought the rebels would seize the isolated and virtually defenseless Union capital, which was surrounded by slave states and had a substantial pro-Confederate population. The rail and telegraph lines were cut by Maryland secessionists, and the capital waited anxiously for Northern soldiers to push through hostile territory to its rescue while enduring food shortages, bank runs, and rumors of approaching rebel armies bent on hanging federal officials. The authors' well-paced narrative captures the suspense of the ordeal and the Union's achievement in improvising a defense from scratch. This vivid portrait of a weak and jittery Washington turns into a story of how Northern vigor and organization trumped Southern élan, presaging the larger war. 40 b&w illus.; 1 map. (Apr.)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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