Dissonance: The Turbulent Days Between Fort Sumter and Bull Run – A History of Lincoln's Isolated Capital and the Panic Before War Began

Dissonance: The Turbulent Days Between Fort Sumter and Bull Run – A History of Lincoln's Isolated Capital and the Panic Before War Began

For two weeks in 1861, Washington, D.C., was locked in a state of panic. Would the newly formed Confederate States of America launch its first attack on the Union by capturing the nation’s capital? Would Lincoln’s Union fall before it had a chance to fight? Wedged between Virginia and Maryland―two states bordering on secession―Washington was isolated; its communications lines were cut, its rail lines blocked. Newly recruited volunteers were too few and were unable to enter the city. A recently inaugurated Lincoln struggled to form a plan―defense or attack? In this final chapter of his trilogy on the Civil War, David Detzer pulls the drama from this pivotal moment in American history straight from the pages of diaries, letters, and newspapers. With an eye for detail and an ear for the voices of average citizens, he beautifully captures the tense, miasmic atmosphere of these first chaotic days of war. PRAISE FOR DONNYBROOK "Detzer establishes himself as the premier historian of the war's first months, as Donnybrook follows his thoughtful, much acclaimed Allegiance. The result: an elegantly written book that engages from first word to last . . . First-rate history presented with great literary merit."-AMERICA'S CIVIL WAR "This is history as it should be written."-THE SEATTLE TIMES On April 13th, Fort Sumter fell.Soon, the capital of the United States would be under siege....For two weeks in 1861, Washington, D.C., was locked in a state of panic. Would the newly formed Confederate States of America launch its first attack on the Union by capturing the nation's capital? Would Lincoln's Union fall before it had a chance to fight? Wedged between Virginia and Maryland-two states bordering on secession-Washington was isolated; its communications lines were cut, its rail lines blocked. Newly recruited volunteers were too few and were unable to enter the city. A recently inaugurated Lincoln struggled to form a plan-defense or attack? Intelligence rumors and incendiary headlines revealed Norfolk and Harpers Ferry fallen to rebels, and the notorious "mobtown" Baltimore ignited by riots. David Detzer pulls the drama from this pivotal moment in American history straight from the pages of diaries, letters, and newspapers. With an eye for detail and an ear for the voices of average citizens, he beautifully captures the tense, miasmic atmosphere of these first chaotic days of war. " On April 13th, Fort Sumter fell. Soon, the capital of the United States would be under siege.... For two weeks in 1861, Washington, D.C., was locked in a state of panic. Would the newly formed Confederate States of America launch its first attack on the Union by capturing the nation's capital? Would Lincoln's Union fall before it had a chance to fight? Wedged between Virginia and Maryland-two states bordering on secession-Washington was isolated; its communications lines were cut, its rail lines blocked. Newly recruited volunteers were too few and were unable to enter the city. A recently inaugurated Lincoln struggled to form a plan-defense or attack? Intelligence rumors and incendiary headlines revealed Norfolk and Harpers Ferry fallen to rebels, and the notorious "mobtown" Baltimore ignited by riots. David Detzer pulls the drama from this pivotal moment in American history straight from the pages of diaries, letters, and newspapers. With an eye for detail and an ear for the voices of average citizens, he beautifully captures the tense, miasmic atmosphere of these first chaotic days of war. David Detzer is professor emeritus of history with Connecticut State University. He is the author of several books, including Allegiance: Fort Sumter, Charleston, and the Beginning of the Civil War; and The Brink: Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962. He lives in Connecticut with his wife and several dogs. City ­of Magnificent ­Intentions The Ball has ­opened. — Hartford Courant, April 13, ­1861 When Charles Dickens visited Washington, D.C., during the 1840s, he was unimpressed. “It is sometimes called the City of Magnificent Distances,” he said, “but it might with greater propriety be termed the City of Magnificent Intentions.” He considered it characterized by “spacious avenues, that begin in nothing, and lead nowhere; streets, mile­-­long, that only want houses, roads, and inhabitants; public buildings that need but a public to be complete; and ornaments of great thoroughfares, which only lack great thoroughfares to ornament.” A few years after Dickens wrote these caustic lines, America, puffed up with pride, in light of her successful war with Mexico and expansion to the Pacific, happily threw tax dollars into federal construction. Workmen began building an obelisk to honor George Washington, Father of His Country. According to its design, it would, when completed, soar to a height of 600 feet—making it the tallest man­-­made structure in the world. The Treasury Building underwent major expansion. Also, two massive wings were added t