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3. Alexandria, a Graphic Account of Its Capture
- University of Illinois Press
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28 3 Alexandria, a Graphic Account of Its Capture Orlando B. Willcox, Brigadier General, U.S.A. the firing upon Fort Sumter having cleared the political atmosphere, President Lincoln issued his first call for volunteers on April 15, 1861. But the occupation of the nearest points in Virginia, opposite Washington, by Federal troops did not take place until late in May. Meantime the capital of the Union was endangered and more or less in a state of siege. There were various hostile designs upon Baltimore,which,if they had prospered , would have isolated Washington from the North and possibly paved the way for its fall. There was constant correspondence between Baltimore and Charleston, and afterwards with Richmond.There were conspiracies and secret meetings.A recruiting office was opened by Louis T.Wigfall in March, and not only recruits, but cannon, arms, and ammunition were shipped South, while attempts were made to carry the state out and to obstruct the passage of Union troops. In fact, Baltimore and Maryland were nearly engineered into the rebellion . Fortunately the governor of the state, Thomas Holliday Hicks, and the majority of the people were Union-loving men. Nevertheless, Washington was long in great danger. OnApril 19,the same day that the Sixth Massachusetts was assaulted by a mob in Baltimore on the one side of Washington, Harper’s Ferry arsenal, on another side, had to be burned by Lieutenant Roger Jones to prevent its falling into the hands of the Virginia troops, with all its arms and military stores. These two events, with the blockade of both the Philadelphia and the Harrisburg routes,raised a loud cry all over the North—“the capital is in danger”— and quickened the impulse and movements of volunteers towards the threatened point. On came the Seventh New York and Eighth Massachusetts, by way of Annapolis and Annapolis Junction, and “Tim Sherman’s Battery” of Regulars to reinforce the beleaguered garrison, and Washington breathed a little more freely. 02.27-74_Cozz 12/2/03, 8:45 AM 28 By April 28 there were ten thousand troops present for duty, and the Military Department of Washington was formed. [Brigadier General] Joseph K. F. Mansfield assumed command of it. Still it was considered that ten thousand more troops would be necessary to give security to the capital. On April 26 [Lieutenant General Winfield] Scott issued an order from [the] headquarters of the army stating that “from the known assemblage near this city of numerous hostile bodies of troops, it is evident that an attack upon it may be expected any moment.” And the commander-in-chief proceeds to detail measures and posts of officers to be taken “for the defense of the government, the peaceable inhabitants of the city, their property, the public buildings, and public archives.” The dangers increased on all sides faster than the Union troops could musThe Defenses of Washington, D.C. (Century) Alexandria • 29 02.27-74_Cozz 12/2/03, 8:45 AM 29 [3.144.102.239] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 20:26 GMT) 30 • part 2: the war in 1861 ter until May 13, when [Brigadier General Benjamin F.] Butler, with the identical Sixth Massachusetts and other troops, numbering, however, only one thousand men, seized Baltimore, fortified Federal Hill, was quickly reinforced, and Baltimore was “corralled.” “My Maryland” began to show a sweeping reaction, and to give independent regiments of volunteers to the Union, and all the routes by Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Annapolis at last were safe. Now it became high time to pay attention to theVirginia side.Danger threatened from Fredericksburg,Culpeper Courthouse,Harper’s Ferry,Fairfax Courthouse , and finally from Alexandria and Arlington Heights, just across the river, at all of which points Southern troops were reported. Fortunately their armament and organization were not equal to their spirit and numbers, and no attempt was allowed to be made to capture the government from theVirginia side. [Brigadier General Robert E.] Lee, who commanded the Virginia forces “under a governor and a council,” adopted a “defensive policy and methodical and thorough military preparation.” [Brigadier General] Philip St. George Cooke first commanded on the Potomac , with headquarters at Culpeper Courthouse. His department included the whole line of the Potomac, and, of course, included the forces opposite Washington. On May 5 there had been a scare at Alexandria,which for various causes and reasons induced Lieutenant Colonel A.B.Taylor,commanding,to evacuate that point with his forces, among which were...