The Siege of Washington

The Untold Story of the Twelve Days That Shook the Union

Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, State & Local, Civil War Period (1850-1877)
Cover of the book The Siege of Washington by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood, Oxford University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood ISBN: 9780199832002
Publisher: Oxford University Press Publication: April 11, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press Language: English
Author: John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
ISBN: 9780199832002
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Publication: April 11, 2011
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Language: English

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.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

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.

More books from Oxford University Press

Cover of the book Preventing Hospital Infections by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Lions of the North by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Muslims in the Western Imagination by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book The Tibetan Book of the Dead : Or The After-Death Experiences on the Bardo Plane according to Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup's English Rendering by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book The Future of Imprisonment by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book From Morality to Virtue by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Handbook of Girls' and Women's Psychological Health by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Donald Davidson by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Christmas in America by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book John Scottus Eriugena by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Mindful America by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Evangelical Christianity and Democracy in Asia by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Empiricism and Experience by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book Hindu Christian Faqir by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
Cover of the book The Complete American Constitutionalism, Volume Five, Part I by John Lockwood, Charles Lockwood
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy