In this book by authors John and Charles Lockwood, history comes alive as they explore these crucial questions, as well as the relationship his 2 key aides played during the 12 days between April 15th and April 25th, 1861; a mere 6 weeks after Lincoln had assumed the Presidency in March. These 2 remarkable men; John Nicolay; aged 29, from Springfield, where he had worked as Lincoln’s assistant; and John Hays, aged 22, who was hired as Nicolay’s assistant in Washington; were instrumental throughout Lincoln’s Presidency. But they were never more effective than they were in the crucial first days of the War Between the States, as the new President struggled to come to grips with the enormity of the task before him.
Calling upon General Winfield Scott, the General in Chief of the nation’s Army, plans were immediately put into effect to secure the roads and railways entering the city. Washington was; at that time, and on into my own youth; a decidedly “southern” town. Segregation existed there openly up until the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The threat of hostilities breaking out within the city itself was a real and constant danger that had to be dealt with. To that end, the President called upon 75,000 Union volunteers, each of whom would serve for 3 months. Just as the South expected to crush the North in a short while, the North fully expected the same of themselves.
Also at stake were the territories out west. California
talked openly of leaving the Union, and rather than join forces with the far
distant Southern states, form a Republic of her own with Oregon and the Pacific
Northwest territory which would later become the state of Washington.
Back in New York the same idea was forming. With New York
City alone generating 2/3 of the nation’s import taxes on all goods which
passed through its port, it was a “no-brainer” to figure out who would be
paying the bulk of the cost of a war with the South. Also at stake for the
merchants in New York was the 40 cents per dollar which they received from the
export of cotton to England. Should the South be successful in establishing her
own nation, the middle man in New York would be left with no percentage at all.
Added to that was the threat of the “free negro”; 4 million to be exact; who
would eventually move to the Northern cities, competing with white immigrant
workers for the same jobs. That feeling alone led to the Draft Riots of July
1863, just as the Battle of Gettysburg was raging; causing valuable troops to
be diverted to New York to fight in what was almost a “rear guard” action,
rather than a mere riot.
Also threatening Washington was the City of Baltimore, with
its own peculiar mixture of feelings concerning slavery. The city was also home
to the Union Trust Bank, which held considerable reserves for the North. This
made it imperative to hold onto Maryland, and after the events of April 18th,
during which mobs in the city attacked the Union soldiers as they marched along
Pratt Street, the city was under occupation for the remainder of the war. The
troops had been marching from the old train station; which stood on President
Street, at the Eastern end of today’s Harborplace; to the Camden Street
Station, the site of today’s Camden Yards, home to the Baltimore Orioles
baseball team. At the intersection of Charles and Pratt Streets the mob had
grown to over 2,000 strong, and, armed with clubs and paving stones, attacked
the troops.
In this wide ranging account, the author gives new thought to
the importance of these 12 most perilous days of the war. Until now, the most
engaging story of Lincoln’s assumption of the Presidency has always been the
attempted assassination which occurred before he even took office. And,
although the story of the Baltimore riot; and the later New York Draft Riot;
have been told many times, this is the first book which I have read that puts
all of these pieces together. The author has successfully re-created the
excitement; and fear; of a time when our nation was at war, and the seat of
government surrounded by her enemies.
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