He chose instead to resign
and cast his fortunes with the South, where he became the head of
all the Confederate armies. The loss to the Union and gain to the
Confederate cause by his action is hard to measure, since in him
the Southern armies found a commander whose surpassing courage
and skill inspired its soldiers long after all hope of success
was gone. Cases such as this gave the President more anxiety than
all else. It seemed impossible to know whom to trust. An officer
might come to him in the morning protesting devotion to the
Union, and by night be gone to the South. Mr. Lincoln used to say
at this time that he felt like a man letting rooms at one end of
his house while the other end was on fire.
The situation grew steadily worse. Maryland refused to allow
United States soldiers to cross her territory, and the first
attempt to bring troops through Baltimore from the North ended in
a bloody riot, and the burning of railroad bridges to prevent
help from reaching Washington. For three days Washington was
entirely cut off from the North, either by telegraph or mail.
General Scott hastily prepared the city for a siege, taking
possession of all the large supplies of flour and provisions in
town, and causing the Capitol and other public buildings to be
barricaded. Though President Lincoln did not doubt the final
arrival of help, he, like everyone else, was very anxious, and
found it hard to understand the long delay.
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