The general is older than the capital -- The union, sir, is dissolved -- Arrival of a westerner -- Deserted village -- Home of the brave -- Excursion in Virginia -- All quiet on the Potomac -- Ladies in durance -- Two civilians and General Halleck -- Lost leaders -- The great army of the wounded -- Black, copper and bright -- Winter of security -- Madam president -- Bloodshed in the spring -- Siege in the suburbs -- Portents of a second term -- Star-spangled capital -- Victory, with harshness.
Summary:
1860: The American capital is sprawling, fractured, squalid, colored by patriotism and treason, and deeply divided along the political lines that will soon embroil the nation in bloody conflict. Chaotic and corrupt, the young city is populated by bellicose congressmen, Confederate. Conspirators, and enterprising prostitutes. Soldiers of a volunteer army swing from the dome of the Capitol, assassins stalk the avenues, and Abraham Lincoln struggles to justify his presidency as the Union heads to war. Reveille in Washington focuses on the everyday politics and preoccupations of Washington during the Civil War. From the stench of corpse-littered streets to the plunging lace on Mary Lincolns evening gowns, Margaret Leech illuminates the city and its familiar figuresamong them Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, William Seward, and Mary Surrattin intimate and fascinating detail. Leechs book remains widely recognized as both an impressive feat of scholarship and an uncommonly engrossing work of history.
This resource is supported by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by State Library of Iowa.