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Eyewitness Account of Civil War UACC PADA

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Civil War DEFENCE OF WASHINGTON DC. ALS 4 pages octavo, Washington DC, April 16th, 1861. Eyewitness account of the frenzied defence preparations and troops rushing to protect the nation's capital three short days after the fall of Ft Sumter and the beginning of the Civil War, written by a man in Washington who had just volunteered in the militia. President Lincoln had called for 75,000 volunteers for three months' service the day before, and our author has apparently heeded the call. He writes in part: "We have been in a feverish state of excitement here for a week, but things are becoming more settled. People are making up their minds that war must come, and governing themselves accordingly and in stead of being afraid many are eager for the contest... If there is fighting here it will not be in the city but outside and no hostile army can invade it. I consider myself Personally about as safe here as I should be in Appleton... there are soldiers constantly on duty in all parts of the city ready to quell any outbreak, so you need not be anxious about my own safety." The letter includes some grousing that the author (A. B. Jackson, as determined by other letters in the acquired lot) did not get an officer's appointment in the newly-formed militia unit due to some friction with someone involved. He declares his determination that he will get that appointment "if it takes all summer". Fine contrast with practically no wear aside from a small damp spot on the outside edge of the letter as folded, not affecting any words. A marvelous eyewitness account of the fevered preparations in the first 72 hours of the Civil War.

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