Fortunately for all, nobody at the beginning dreamed of the
length of the struggle. Even Lincoln's stout heart would have
been dismayed if he could have foreseen all that lay before him.
The task that he could see was hard and perplexing enough.
Everything in Washington was in confusion. No President ever had
such an increase of official work as Lincoln during the early
months of his administration. The halls and ante-rooms of the
Executive Mansion were literally crowded with people seeking
appointment to office; and the new appointments that were
absolutely necessary were not half finished when the firing on
Fort Sumter began active war. This added to the difficulty of
sifting the loyal from the disloyal, and the yet more pressing
labor of organizing an immense new army.
Hundreds of clerks employed in the Government Departments left
their desks and hurried South, crippling the service just at the
time when the sudden increase of work made their presence doubly
needed. A large proportion of the officers of the Army and Navy,
perhaps as many as one-third, gave their skill and services to
the Confederacy, feeling that their allegiance was due to their
State or section rather than to the general government. Prominent
among these was Robert E. Lee, who had been made a colonel by
Lincoln, and whom General Scott had recommended as the most
promising officer to command the new force of 75,000 men called
out by the President's proclamation.
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