Siege of Washington, D.C., written expressly for little people

by F. Colburn Adams

And now, my son, we come to this remarkable siege of Washington. I say remarkable, for it is destined to stand on the pages of military history without anything to compare with it. Not that it was as bloody, or that the city was as obstinately attacked and defended as heroically, as some other cities that have been besieged, in ancient as well as modern times. But you must know that sieges, like battles, derive their great importance and all that makes them remembered hereafter, not so much from the amount of blood that has been shed during them, not so much from the impetuosity of the attacks made or the heroic defences, as from the manner in which they affect the fate of nations. Some sieges are remarkable for one thing, some another. The siege of Washington was more remarkable for the manner in which the city was defended than the manner in which it was attacked. No fields were fertilized with carnage, nor banners bathed in blood.

You, remember, my son, the tale of storied Troy, with all its "pomp and circumstance of glorious war." But, my son, it has never seemed to me more interesting than the passage of Thermopylæ. Nor will Agamemnon live in history after Leonidas is forgotten. And yet these events in ancient war were small compared with the battles our Grant fought. His deeds will brighten as you read of them in history, and become greater than them all.

And now, my son, let us hie to the siege of Washington. Washington was besieged and Washington was saved; and the history of its salvation must not perish. Rome, you know, was saved by the cackling of a goose. And when I tell you that Washington, the capital city of this great nation was saved by the too free use of a barrel of whisky, you must not be surprised. When its great circle of fortifications, now bristling with cannon, and filled with busy soldiers, shall become so many grassy mounds, their history must still live to excite the patriotism of those who come after us.

Remember, my son, that had Washington fallen the nation had perished. To this remarkable siege, then, and its results, let all the succeeding glories of this great Republic be attributed.

As I have told you before, my son, after the first battle of Manassas, when our militia did such good running, there was nothing to prevent the rebels from entering and capturing it but the few hastily constructed forts, or têtes de pont, on the Virginia side. Nor could these have offered any resistance worth naming. Our demoralized troops, however, never halted until they got safe inside of them. And but for these forts, weak as they were, the city would have fallen. When General McClellan assumed command, he saw at once the necessity of properly fortifying the city. And the nation ought never to forget him for his decision. Experienced engineers, with large gangs of laborers, were set to work throwing up these huge masses of earthwork. To this was added the labor of a large number of the troops of the Army of the Potomac, during its organization in the autumn and winter of 1861 and 1862. When, therefore, the army moved for the Peninsula in the spring of 1862, the city was so strongly fortified that it was considered safe by General McClellan and his corps commanders. That is, my son, if its forts were properly garrisoned, and there was a working force of forty thousand men. But nothing was safe against the fears of a timid administration.

But forts, my son, however strong, are only inert masses. They cannot fight themselves; and to give them strength and action they require to be properly and fully garrisoned. And the troops in them require to be properly instructed in all their duties. Now, my son, it was a question with the government, which was very timid at that time, whether General George had left, in and around Washington, a force sufficient to make the city perfectly safe when he started on his memorable campaign. It is the opinion of nearly all our best military men that he did. But the politicians got frightened, the government got frightened, and the political generals got frightened. And all the frightened people got their heads together; and they made the President and Secretary of War believe just as they believed—that Washington had been "unarmed," and that Washington was in danger. Yes, my son, our good-hearted President, who was no coward, was sorely troubled about the safety of Washington. And his Secretary of War was also much troubled, as was common with him on the appearance of danger. And the "Chief of Staff" was also in trouble, and went to issuing orders, of a memorable kind, few of which were understood, much less obeyed. The result of all this was that there was great conflict of action. I have no better name to call it by, my son. Hence it was, my son, that our good President halted McDowell, and McDowell's corps. And both looked on from a distance while General George was fighting desperate battles with the enemy. This was the way the War Department carried on the war at that time. Now, my son, it is my purpose to so instruct you that you will know the whole truth concerning the way the war was carried on.

The detention of General McDowell and his corps, while it illustrated the great anxiety of the President and Secretary of War for the safety of Washington, caused the failure of the campaign on the Peninsula. All the sophistry in the world, my son, cannot change that decision.

General George, with his army, was driven to the James River, and as the enemy, then at Richmond, was between him and General Pope, and might strike either at his pleasure, the government's fears about Washington so increased that General George was finally recalled from the James, to save the capital. The result was, as I have told you before, that General Pope was driven back with the wreck of his army to the very gates of the capital, and General George arrived barely in time to save it. Yes, my son, General George, not only so saved the capital, but extricated the government and the Chief of Staff out of the difficulties they had brought on themselves.

When, then, the victorious rebel army turned aside from the fortifications of Washington, and marched triumphantly into Maryland, strong garrisons were left in the forts, and more troops were poured into the city to insure its safety. It was, indeed, resolved by the government, which began now to profit by experience, and by the fact that the capital of the nation had twice been placed in extreme peril, that for the future, come what might, it should at least be made secure. Experienced officers of rank were placed in command of the defenses, north as well as south of the Potomac. The troops were drilled constantly, and soon became good artillerists. They were also instructed in and soon became efficient in the art of defending forts. They studied well, and became familiar with the ground in their front; and, what was more than all, they knew their guns, and how to fight them. I have been very particular concerning these things, my son, because I desire to impress you with their future importance.

But alas for the instability of human resolutions! Washington was to be exposed, after all.