Most Civil War buffs are aware that Lincoln came under Confederate fire, and this work presents all the details they could wish to learn about the incident. It occurred in July 1864, when the president traveled to one of Washington’s forts to see the combat that erupted when a Confederate force attacked. To prepare his readers for the narrative of ... Read morethe battle that Lincoln witnessed, Cooling describes the military preliminaries, which began with General Robert E. Lee’s dispatching a force to threaten Washington. Recounting its progress under its commander, Jubal Early, Cooling runs through its march through Maryland, victory at the Battle of Monocacy, and approach toward the defenses of the federal capital. Noting the anxieties Early provoked among government leaders, Cooling recounts the reinforcements they summoned and the battle that occurred at Fort Stevens before delving into such questions as the precise location from which Lincoln observed the proceedings. After balancing witnesses’ recollections, Cooling describes the postwar memorialization of the battle site, which can be visited today—indeed, battlefield tourists will be Cooling’s best customers.
Booklist
This is a detailed and skilled account of a faded chapter in the annals of Civil War history that should not be ignored.
Publishers Weekly
Cooling fills the book with interesting and arcane anecdotes, using participants' words to move the narrative. . . .This is a colorful and unusual tale.
America's Civil War
Cooling has produced a work well worth buying and reading.
On Point: The Journal of Army History
Cooling presents an exhaustive history of pre-battle events, Lincoln’s activities at the fort, and Union troops’ courageous actions defending the capital. . . .Cooling has written what should stand as the definitive treatment of the Fort Stevens story for years to come.
Thomas A. Horrocks, John Hay Library at Brown University, Director
Civil War News
Show Less