In ev-er-y cit-y and town there were drum beats and the cry of “To arms! To arms!” Men were in haste to give their help to the great Chief, A-bra-ham Lin-coln, whose call they had heard.
Ste-phen A. Doug-las, now that the ver-y life of the Un-ion was at stake, left no doubt as to where he stood. He made it plain-ly known that he was “For the Un-ion,” and he led the loy-al Dem-o-crats of the North to up-hold the Un-ion, and they went glad-ly with him to the task.
Much as the men who led the South to try to go out of the Un-ion were to blame, it was well known that man-y in the South were loath to go and did so on-ly when their states said they must.
Some of the best gen-er-als on the side of the South, such as Lee, were of those un-will-ing men. Each of them fought the North be-cause his own state told him to. The bad “doc-trine of State Rights,” brought this a-bout. Un-der it the state was held to have a claim up-on those who lived in it high-er than the claim which the na-tion had up-on them.
The men who stood for the cause of the South burned the bridg-es on the rail-roads lead-ing north from Bal-ti-more so that no more troops might reach Wash-ing-ton from that side.
Cit-i-zens, un-der the com-mand of Maj-or Da-vid Hun-ter, kept guard o-ver the White House and Treas-u-ry.
DEFENCES OF WASHINGTON.
All through the long, sad hours Pres-i-dent Lin-coln stood at the helm and was the pi-lot who, un-der the Lord, took the Ship of State through the most aw-ful storm in which she had ev-er sailed.
It was, in-deed, a glad hour when the 8th Mas-sa-chu-setts reg-i-ment and the 7th New York reached Wash-ing-ton. This made the Cap-i-tol safe.