by Tony Silber
Lincoln: Potomac Books / Nebraska, 2023. Pp. xxii, 348.
Illus., maps, tables, notes, biblio. index. $25.30. ISBN: 1640125485
Washington Besieged
In this book journalist Tony Silber, having sifted through an “enormous trove of primary sources,” gives us a look at the rather neglected subject of the fate of Washington during the opening days of the Civil War. In the aftermath of Lincoln's call for 75,000 volunteers to suppress the first wave of secession, Virginia and other states opted to join the Confederacy as well, while Maryland wavered, thus leaving the virtually undefended capital at enormous risk, its fate dangling in the balance.
As some citizens fled the city, many of those who remained held secessionist views, as did most of the local militia. Lincoln and his cabinet grew fearful of a Confederate coup or attack on the city. The fall of Washington to the Confederates might end the war almost as soon as it had begun. While General-in-Chief Winfield Scott made preparations to use the handful of soldiers, sailors, and marines stationed in the city, plus some 2,000 untrained volunteers, to prepare for defense, Lincoln and the city anxiously awaited reinforcements from the North.
Silber's fast-moving account offers readers a thorough look at those days of danger. His narrative moves back and forth between Washington, Baltimore, Richmond, New York, Charleston, Annapolis, and so forth.
A handful of troops from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts arrived by April 19th via Baltimore, where they were harassed with bloodshed. Secessionist mobs and venal politicians in Maryland blocked troop movements south from that city. Brig. Gen. Benjamin Butler of Massachusetts bypassed Baltimore by water, seized Annapolis, and opened the way for more troops to reach the capital. By April 26th some 5,500 troops -- militiamen, volunteers, regulars -- were in Washington, and by the end of the month there were 10,415, ending the threat of a sudden Confederate descent on the city.
We also get to see Lincoln taking steps such as authorizing the suspension of the writ of Habeas Corpus in selective areas of Maryland and the detention of certain Maryland officials, measures within the war powers embodied in the Constitution, to insure that the minority did not have the right to break up the government.
Combining meticulous research, clear expository writing, and authoritative documentation, Silber offers a clear account of the events of this surprisingly overlooked period in the Civil War.
Twelve Days is highly recommended.
Our Reviewer: David Marshall has been a high school American history teacher in the Miami-Dade School district for more than three decades. A life-long Civil War enthusiast, David is president of the Miami Civil War Round Table Book Club. In addition to numerous reviews in Civil War News and other publications, he has given presentations to Civil War Round Tables on Joshua Chamberlain, Ulysses S. Grant, Abraham Lincoln, the Battle of Gettysburg, and the common soldier. His previous reviews here include Navigating Liberty: Black Refugees and Antislavery Reformers in the Civil War South, Gettysburg In Color, Vol 1, "The Bullets Flew Like Hail", John Brown's Raid, Searching For Irvin McDowell, A House Built by Slaves, They Came Only To Die, General Grant and the Verdict of History, Gettysburg In Color, Vol 2, Man of Fire, To the Last Extremity, Hood's Defeat Near Fox's Gap, "If We Are Striking for Pennsylvania", Vol. 2, Outwitting Forrest, All That Can Be Expected, Force of a Cyclone, Lincoln and Native Americans, Detour to Disaster, Lincoln in Lists, and A Wilderness of Destruction
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Note: Twelve Days is also available in audio- and e-editions.
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