Sarasota's Hidden Connections to the Civil War

My family and I recently took a min-vacation in Sarasota, Florida. The sunshine and clear blue waters were a welcome break from the bleak and cold weather back in Washington. Sarasota is known for gorgeous Gulf Coast beaches, luxury hotels, and charming St. Armands Circle. This is probably the one of last places that would come to mind when thinking about Civil War history. However, given the city’s location along the Florida coast (think Union blockade), I knew there had to be something that would appeal to my curiosity. In the end, I found plenty of interesting connections to the war.  Most of the Civil War-related historic sites are long gone, although one marker in particular tells the captivating story of a Confederate Cabinet member's escape from the United States.

A view of the Gulf of Mexico from the beach on Lido Key, Sarasota

Sarasota and the surrounding region were settled in the decades prior to the Civil War. William Whitaker, a Georgia native and veteran of the Second Seminole War, is considered Sarasota's first permanent white settler. He profited from a Federal homesteading law known as the Armed Occupation Act, which promised up to 160 acres of land in Florida to any head of household who cultivated at least five acres and lived there for five years. Arriving in 1842, Whitaker built a cabin at Yellow Bluffs along Sarasota Bay. He started as a fisherman and later turned to cattle ranching and citrus farming.  Seminole Indians burned Whitaker's home in the late 1850s, but he remained and re-built near present-day 12th Street and Tamiami Trail (U.S. 41). Two historical markers commemorate Whitaker's role in the establishment of Sarasota.  (See here and here.)


William Whitaker, shortly after the Civil War (courtesy of Wikipedia)

On the eve of the Civil War, slaves comprised around 44 percent of Florida's population of just over 140,000. In Manatee County, where Sarasota was then located, 30 percent of the inhabitants, or 253 out of 854 persons, were listed as slaves in the 1860 Census. Whitaker himself owned a handful of slaves, including a runaway from North Carolina whom he had found and purchased in 1857.

Florida was an early and strong supporter of secession. Only a few weeks after Abraham Lincoln's election, the state's governor signed legislation calling for a convention to consider the question of secession. On January 10, 1861, the delegates adopted an Ordinance of Secession by a vote of 62 to 7. Florida was the third state to leave the Union after South Carolina and Mississippi.

Following the outbreak of war in April 1861, the Union imposed a naval blockade on the Confederacy. Federal vessels patrolled Florida's extensive coastline in an effort to stop trade. As the noose tightened, the Sarasota region experienced a shortage of goods, but resourceful locals found ways to deal with the resulting hardship. Whitaker, for instance, traveled all the way to Gainesville to buy grain for use in area gristmills.  

Union raiding parties sometimes landed along the coast in search of supplies. They took garden vegetables, citrus fruits, cows, and chickens from the settlers. Whitaker, who sold cattle to the Confederate Army, maintained his herd in the eastern part of Manatee County and away from Union hands. Incidentally, Florida contributed a substantial number of cattle to the Confederacy, and authorities established the so-called "Cow Cavalry" in south Florida to prevent Union raiders from seizing livestock.

This engraving from the November 15, 1862 edition of Harper's Weekly depicts a Union movement against a large salt factory on the north Gulf Coast of Florida (courtesy of soneofthesouth.net). 

Florida also became a key supplier of salt to the Confederate war effort. Salt was made by evaporating sea water, mainly through boiling. Union expeditions aimed to disable the salt works along the Gulf Coast. Whitaker was involved with salt production, but unlike others, his own works escaped harm. 

Judah P. Benjamin (courtesy of Wikipedia).  Benjamin was one of the most prominent American Jews of the 19th century.  

Sarasota's most fascinating connection to the Civil War actually came after hostilities had ended. Judah P. Benjamin, a former U.S. Senator from Louisiana, served as the Confederate Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. When Richmond fell in April 1865, he fled to the Deep South with President Jefferson Davis and the Confederate Cabinet. Benjamin left Davis in Georgia and headed to Florida, where he intended to slip out of the country. Fearing arrest for treason, Benjamin disguised himself as a farmer looking to purchase land in Florida. Confederate sympathizers assisted Benjamin as he made his way through the state. One stay included the Gamble Mansion in Ellenton. Finally, Benjamin arranged for Capt. Frederick Tresca to take him to the Bahamas aboard a sixteen-foot sloop. Tresca hid the small boat in Whitaker Bayou in Sarasota. Meanwhile, the former Confederate Secretary of State was smuggled to Whitaker's home in a wagon filled with fresh beef. On June 23, 1865, Benjamin finally set sail with Tresca and reached Bimini on July 10. Benjamin eventually traveled to England, where he rose to prominence as a barrister.

The antebellum Gamble Mansion in Ellenton, Florida, not far from Sarasota (courtesy of Gamble Plantation Historic State Park). Built between 1845 and 1850, the mansion is considered the only surviving plantation house in South Florida.  Maj. Robert Gamble cultivated sugar here until the late 1850s.  The mansion is now part of a state park.  I didn't have an opportunity to visit during my trip to Florida, but hope to get there the next time around.  For information about touring the Gamble Mansion, see here.

In the early 1940s, the United Daughters of the Confederacy led an effort to erect a marker in Sarasota to commemorate Benjamin's escape. On January 22, 1942, the new marker was unveiled with great pomp and circumstance, including a parade, patriotic music, a luncheon at the John Ringling Hotel, and a program at the Municipal Auditorium. Florida Governor Spessard L. Holland, Congressman J. Hardin Peterson, and Sarasota Mayor E.A. Smith delivered remarks.

The original Judah P. Benjamin marker is located at a pull-off on the corner of 10th Street and U.S. 41, not far from the Sarasota County Visitor Information Center. Dedicated in 1942, the marker is made of pink Georgia marble.   

A second marker dedicated to Judah P. Benjamin and his escape at Sarasota Bay. It is located next to the original marker (above). For more information, see here.

The reverse side of the above historical marker. 

A view of Yellow Bluffs along Sarasota Bay.  Benjamin set out from these waters on June 23, 1865.

My trip to Sarasota proved once again that the Civil War is never far from the surface in this country. If you look hard enough, you can usually find a connection, even in paradise. I haven't much considered Florida's role in the Civil War, so I welcomed the opportunity to learn more. Now if I can only convince my family to take a trip to Olustee!

Sources

Pierce Butler, Judah P. Benjamin (1907); David J. Coles & Richard J. Ferry, "The Smallest Tadpole," Florida in the Civil War (from Florida Memory); Florida Center for Instructional Technology, College of Education, University of South Florida, "Florida's Role in the Civil War: 'Supplier of the Confederacy,'" Exploring Florida; Florida Department of State, Florida in the Civil War: 1861-1865;  History of Sarasota Country (website); Jeff Lahurd, "Civil War leader escaped through Sarasota," Sarasota Herald-Tribune, June 26, 2011; Ann Shank, "Florida Joined Union in 1845 as a Slave State," Journals of Yesteryear (Sarasota History Alive!); Ann Shank, "Sarasota Bay During the Civil War," Journals of Yesteryear (Sarasota History Alive!); Mark D. Smith, "Creation of the Judah P. Benjamin Memorial," Journals of Yesteryear (Sarasota History Alive!); U.S. Census Bureau, Census of Population and Housing, 1860; "William Whitaker (pioneer)," Wikipedia.

Farewell to Centreville: Johnston Takes the Army South

Last week I examined the extensive preparations that Gen. Joseph Johnston made to evacuate the Confederate lines around Centreville.  Concerned about enemy activity in the region, and facing a multitude of logistical challenges, Johnston began to transport supplies to Gordonsville on February 22, 1862.  His efforts continued into March.  Johnston was consumed with worry that he might not be able to pull it all off before Gen. George McClellan had the opportunity to strike first, and he made sure that President Jefferson Davis heard about the numerous difficulties that plagued his every move.

Johnston Finally Issues the Order to Withdraw

On March 5, Johnston got word of increased Union activity across the Potomac from Gen. W.H.C. Whiting's division at Dumfries.  This was all that Johnston needed to hear.  The cautious general was convinced that a Union attempt to turn his right flank was a real and imminent possibility.  (In fact, Confederate scouts had merely picked up on movement associated with an aborted plan to attack the Confederate batteries blockading the lower Potomac.) Johnston issued orders for the army to withdraw from Northern Virginia.  As for any stores remaining in Manassas and elsewhere, the commander felt that "the space of fifteen days was time enough in which to subordinate an army to the Commissary Department."  (Johnston, B&L, 257.) 

Johnston directed Whiting to fall back to Fredericksburg on the morning of March 7.  D.H. Hill was to take his brigade from Leesburg on the same day and move south of the Rappahannock River.  The four divisions encamped around Centreville received orders to withdraw on the morning of Saturday, March 8.  Given the large amount of supplies remaining at Manassas Junction, Johnston decided to delay the evacuation so that the army had a little more time to collect as much as possible from the depots before moving out.  The baggage trains were sent ahead of the divisions, and on Sunday evening, March 9, the divisions finally got underway and slipped into the night.  (OR, 1:5, 526-27; Johnston, Narrative, 102-03.)

Despite Johnston's efforts, a large amount of provisions and other supplies remained at Manassas.  The soldiers were given permission to take what they could carry as they moved through the railroad junction.  Many soldiers helped themselves to food and whiskey for the long march ahead.  Civilians were also invited to come in and take what they could before the remainder was destroyed.  

The Confederates Move Out and "Little Mac" Moves In

The divisions of James Longstreet and G.W. Smith moved southwest along the Warrenton Turnpike, while divisions under Richard Ewell and Jubal Early followed the Orange & Alexandria Railroad.  Longstreet's division alone stretched "4 or 5 miles," and the wagon train "was at least three miles in length."  (in Cutrer 82.)

Johnston dispatched Jeb Stuart's cavalry to screen the retreat and act as a rear guard.  The troopers made sure that nothing at Manassas remained for the Union Army.  They wasted no time in torching the storehouses and other railroad buildings.  Tom Goree, an aide to Longstreet, wrote home about the losses:

You can form no idea of the amount of stores, etc. that could not be moved back, and which it was necessary to destroy, not only public but private stores.  There was at least one million dollars worth of heavy baggage belonging to the soldiers which it was impossible to get away.

We burned several thousand barrels of flour, a great deal of corn, hay, etc., and at least one million pounds of bacon. . . . (in Cutrer 81.)

Trooper William Blackford, who played a role in destroying the remaining supplies, remembered that "the smell of fried bacon was wafted for twenty miles."  (Blackford 60.)  Private Edgar Warfield of the 17th Virginia spoke for many men when he lamented that "[o]ur regiment, although it could ill afford the loss, had to give up most of its baggage."  (Warfield 67.)

"Bull Run, Virginia. Ruins of Stone Bridge," by George Barnard, March 1862 (courtesy of Library of Congress).  Barnard and James Gibson, who worked for Matthew Brady's studio in Washington, headed to Manassas and Centreville following the Confederate evacuation.  The two men and their assistants have left a priceless photographic record of the destruction associated with the withdrawal.

"Centreville, Virginia. Quaker Gun," by George Barnard, March 1862 (courtesy of Library of Congress).  Union forces occupying Centreville after the retreat found that the Confederates had armed some fortifications with wooden cannon.  The story of the so-called "Quaker guns" reached the Northern papers and proved an embarrassment to McClellan.

The Confederate losses were not confined to Centreville and Manassas.  Johnston destroyed a meat packing establishment at Thoroughfare Gap whose existence had given him a bit of heartburn as he prepared to evacuate.  The Confederates also blew up the Stone Bridge at Bull Run to delay any Yankees who dared to pursue.  Most significantly, Johnston was forced to abandon the heavy artillery along the lower Potomac.  Many of the guns were destroyed by the retreating Confederates, although the Union Army later managed to salvage some of the pieces.

"Manassas, Va. Orange and Alexandria Railroad Wrecked by Retreating Confederates," by George Barnard & James Gibson (courtesy of Library of Congress).  According to photographer Alexander Gardner, the Confederates burned a railroad bridge south of Manassas before two trains were moved to safety.  The Confederates set fire to the trains, and only six cars survived.  This photograph shows one of the damaged locomotives, as well as the remaining cars.   Ruins of various buildings are visible to the left.

Before long, McClellan received news about an alleged Confederate withdrawal and ordered the Army of the Potomac to advance.  Johnston, however, was long gone when the Union Army entered Centreville and Manassas on March 10.  The New York Times reported that the junction "presented a scene of the utmost desolation, a mass of charred and blackened ruins."  (N.Y. Times, March 12, 1862.)  Burned railcars smoldered on the tracks.  Union soldiers found abandoned knives, sabers, clothing, tents, and other equipment.  The Philadelphia Press observed that "[b]etween Centreville and Manassas the road was strewn with hundreds of dead horses, who had evidently died of starvation."  (Phila. Press, March 13, 1862.)  The Confederates were soon replaced by fugitive slaves, who fled in "droves" to the newly established Union lines around Manassas. (N.Y. Times, March 12, 1862.)

Johnston Surprises President Davis

As Union troops occupied Manassas, Johnston's men continued their march unmolested.  Goree told his mother that "we had a great deal of bad weather," but at least the men experienced "very little sickness."  (in Cutrer 82.)  The four divisions that had set out from Centreville finally crossed the Rappahannock on March 11.  Longstreet and Smith pushed on to Culpeper Court House, while Ewell and Early set up camp close to the river on either side of the O&A Railroad.  (Johnston, Narrative, 103-04.)

On March 13, Johnston finally informed Davis of the withdrawal of his army from Centreville.  Perhaps Johnston's tardiness in reporting the date of the evacuation stemmed from his fears about a leak, but his behavior also smacks of passive-aggressiveness.  The news took the Confederate President by surprise.  In fact, on the very day after the evacuation, he had written to Johnston that reinforcements were on the way.  (OR, 1:5, 1096.)  Davis appeared particularly upset by the abandonment of supplies:

'Tis true I have many of alarming reports of great destruction of ammunition, camp equipage, and provisions, indicating precipitate retreat; but, having heard of no cause of such a sudden movement, I was at a loss to believe it. (OR, 1:5, 527.)

Johnston refused to shoulder any of the blame for the supplies that he left behind.  After all, he had warned Richmond about stockpiling massive amounts of provisions at the front.  When all was said and done, out of more than 5 million pounds of provisions, "[a]bout one million pounds . . . was abandoned, and half as much more was spoiled for want of shelter."  (Johnston, B&L, 257.)   In any event, the Confederate government had "collected immediately on the frontier five times the quantity of provisions wanted" and was "responsible for the losses." (Johnston, B&L, 257.)  Goree privately agreed, writing on March 23, 1862 that "the authorities at Richmond are to blame for permitting such a vast amount of stores to accumulate upon us," despite Johnston's protests "time and again."  (in Cutrer 82.)

The Confederate Army's adventures around Washington were finished for now.  At one time, the lines had extended all the way to Munson's Hill, where the advanced outposts could see the unfinished dome of the Capitol.  Johnston pulled his men back once, and then again, where they settled down for a long winter in Centreville.  As spring approached, Johnston left the region altogether, and prepared to defend Richmond from a more feasible location.  The ball was now in Little Mac's court.

Sources
George B. Abdill, Civil War Railroads: A Pictorial Story of the War Between the States, 1861-1865 (1999 ed.); Gary E. Aldeman, Manassas Battlefield Then & Now: Historic Photography at Bull Run (2011); Russel Beatie, Army of the Potomac: McClellan's First Campaign, March-May 1862 (2007); W.W. Blackford, War Years with Jeb Stuart (1993); Thomas W. Cutrer, Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Major Thomas H. Goree (1995); Jubal A. Early, Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States (1912); Joseph E. Johnston, Narrative of Military Operations (1874); Joseph E. Johnston, "Responsibilities of the First Bull Run," Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 1 (1887); New York Times, March 12, 1862; Philadelphia Press, March 13, 1862; Philadelphia Press, March 14, 1862; Philadelphia Press, March 17, 1862; Stephen W. Sears, To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campaign (1992); Craig L. Symonds, Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography (1992); Edgar Warfield, Manassas to Appomattox (1996): Jeffry Wert, General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier (1993); Mary Alice Wills, The Confederate Blockade of Washington, D.C., 1861-1862 (1975).

Johnston Prepares to Leave Centreville: The Logistical Challenges of Withdrawal

Confederate commander Joseph Johnston was summoned to Richmond to confer with President Jefferson Davis in mid-February 1862.  The Confederate President wanted to discuss "the question of withdrawing the army to a less exposed position."  (Johnston, Narrative, 96.)  Johnston left the Confederate lines at Centreville and traveled to Richmond, where on February 19 (or 20, depending on the account), Johnston joined a meeting of Davis and his Cabinet.  Johnston and Davis agreed that the army should fall back to a more defensible position before Federal commander George McClellan launched his anticipated advance into Virginia.   The general, however, argued that current winter conditions were less than optimal for such a move.  The roads were deep with mud and in no shape to transport men and materiel.  The heavy artillery pieces along the lower Potomac at Evansport and other locations presented particular difficulties.  Johnston also worried about the ability of the Orange & Alexandria (O&A) Railroad to move his vast supplies from Manassas Junction to a safer location.

The meeting allegedly lasted around seven hours.  When all was said and done, Johnston left the President's office "with the understanding. . . that the army was to fall back as soon as practicable."  (Johnston, Narrative, 96.)  Davis walked away with a somewhat different interpretation of what was agreed.  He had given Johnston the discretion as to the exact timing of a general withdrawal, but seemed to think that an evacuation of Centreville was not in the works any time soon.  Instead, he felt that Johnston should wait until a withdrawal was "absolutely necessary."  (Symonds 145.)  It later became evident that Davis even imagined that he might find a way to pull together enough reinforcements to enable Johnston to take the offensive.  (OR, 1:5, 1084.)

Gen. Joseph E. Johnston (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Back at his hotel, Johnston ran into an officer who asked him if  he knew that "the cabinet had been discussing that day the question of withdrawing the army from the line then occupied."  (Johnston, Narrative, 97.)  Likewise, during his return trip, Johnston ran into "an acquaintance from the county of Fauquier, too deaf to hear conversation not intended for his ear, who gave me the same information."  (Johnston, Narrative, 97.)  Johnston was alarmed by the leak and likely feared that McClellan would get word of the Confederate plans before he had time to act.

Arriving in Centreville on February 21, Johnston immediately set to work preparing for the evacuation of the Centreville line.  On February 22, he issued orders to "the chiefs of the quartermaster's and subsistence departments to remove the military property in the depots at Manassas Junction and its dependencies, to Gordonsville, as quickly as possible. . . ."  (Johnston, Narrative 97.)  Johnston also directed the president and superintendent of the O&A Railroad to work the network "to its utmost capacity" for the purpose of transporting the army's supplies. (Johnston, Narrative 97.)  At the same time, Johnston informed his divisional commanders to prepare "in a quiet way" for the evacuation.  (Early 53.)

Johnston faced a daunting task.  The Confederates had accumulated mountains of supplies while staying a Centreville.  Johnston only needed around 1.5 million pounds of provisions on hand, enough to feed his army for fifteen days.  He tried throughout January 1862 to limit the food that Richmond was sending his way, but to no avail.  Now he had stores of around 3 million pounds.  The government had also constructed a meat-packing establishment at Thoroughfare Gap without Johnston's knowledge.  That facility possessed 2 million pounds of cured meat, as well as extensive herds of cattle and pigs, that were in danger of falling into Union hands if not shipped away or destroyed.   

Aside from Confederate commissary and quartermaster stores, Johnston had to deal with the clothing and provisions that state governments had forwarded to the front at Centreville.  Private baggage presented another difficulty.  As Gen. Jubal Early recalled:

Owing to the fact that our army had remained stationary so long, and the inexperience in campaigning of our troops, there had been a vast accumulation of private baggage by both officers and men. . . .

After the confidential instructions for the evacuation were given, I tried to persuade all my officers to send all their baggage not capable of being easily transported and for which they did not have immediate necessary use, on the railroad to some place in the rear out of all danger, but the most that I could accomplish was to get them to send it to Manassas Junction. This was generally the case with the whole army, and the consequence was that a vast amount of trunks and other private baggage was accumulated at the Junction at the last moment, for which it was impossible to find any transportation. (Early 53.)

Johnston soon vented to Davis about the situation.  On February 25, he wrote:

The accumulation of subsistence stores at Manassas is now a great evil. The Commissary-General was requested more than once to suspend those supplies. A very extensive meat-packing establishment at Thoroughfare is also a great incumbrance. The great quantities of personal property in our camps is a still greater one. Much of both kinds of property must be sacrificed in the contemplated movements.  (OR, 1:5, 1081.)

Davis sent Johnston a pointed response on February 28:

The subsistence stores should, when removed, be placed in position to answer your future wants; those cannot be determined until you have furnished definite information as to your plans, especially the line to which you would remove in the contingency of retiring. The Commissary-General had previously stopped further shipments to your army, and gives satisfactory reasons for the establishment of a packing establishment at Thoroughfare.  (OR, 1:5, 1084.)

Given the state of the muddy roads, the rails were the best option for moving the large quantity of supplies from Centreville.  Johnston, however, worried that the railroad was not up to the task.  The commander complained to Davis of the "wretched mismanagement" of the line.  (OR, 1:5, 1083)  By the start of March, Johnston expressed his concern to Davis that "[t]he removal of public property goes on with painful slowness, because, as the officers employed in it report, sufficient number of cars and engines cannot be had."  (OR, 1:5, 1088.)  A.C. Myers, the Quartermaster General, disputed Johnston's claim.  He told Davis that all cars and engines from the O&A Railroad, the Manassas Gap Railroad, and the Virginia Central Railroad were "in use at Manassas," and that "no further increase can be made."  (OR, 1:5, 1093.)  In any event, the system was stretched to capacity, causing innumerable delays, and could not handle much more.

Johnston also remained concerned about his ability to remove the big guns blockading the Potomac and feared that the army would be forced to abandon them in the withdrawal.  Davis was obviously dissatisfied with the commanding general's assessment.  He urged Johnston that "[w]hatever can be should be done to avoid the loss of those guns."  (OR, 1:5, 1084.)

To make matters worse, Johnston's scouts were picking up increased Union activity.  On February 22, he reported to Davis:

The enemy may not allow us much time for changes of position. He has been more active than usual lately. It is reported that a picket of 8 men was captured this morning near Fairfax Court-House. Reconnaissances on the Lower Occoquan and on the Potomac have been frequent, the latter in balloons as well as boats. (OR, 1:5, 1079).

A few days later, on February 28, Johnston learned that "the enemy is in force at Harper's Ferry, having crossed the Potomac on a pontoon bridge."  (OR, 1:5, 1083.)  He warned Davis that "[s]hould they move directly upon Winchester from that point as well as Hancock, our left would be so threatened as to compel the movement you have ordered without further delay."  (OR, 1:5, 1083.)  Johnston's now sensed danger on both his flanks.  As March got underway, the cautious general surely felt the pressure to complete his plans for withdrawal as expeditiously as possible.  If only those pesky logsitics weren't so difficult!

Sources
Jubal A. Early, Autobiographical Sketch and Narrative of the War Between the States (1912); Joseph E. Johnston, Narrative of Military Operations (1874); Joseph E. Johnston, "Responsibilities of the First Bull Run,"  Battles and Leaders of the Civil War, Vol. 1 (1887); Stephen W. Sears, To the Gates of Richmond: The Peninsula Campagin (1992); Craig L. Symonds, Joseph E. Johnston: A Civil War Biography (1992); Jeffry Wert, General James Longstreet: The Confederacy's Most Controversial Soldier (1993).

A Visit to President Lincoln's Cottage

My birthday falls a couple days after Christmas, so I usually have the fortune of being on vacation then and can take full advantage of the day off.  This year, I had intended to tour Ball's Bluff out near Leesburg.  Unfortunately, the forecast called for torrential downpours, and I had no desire to tromp around the battlefield in the rain and mud.  This trip would have to wait until clearer skies.  Instead, I decided on a visit to President Lincoln's Cottage in northwest DC.  My father-in-law, also known as "the Colonel," accompanied me on the outing.

The Gothic Revival style cottage, part of the Soliders' Home, served as Lincoln's residence from June to November 1862-1864.  Think of it as a Civil War-era Camp David.  The cottage was built by Washington banker George Riggs in 1842.  The National Trust for Historic Preservation spent $15 million restoring the home, which opened to the public in 2008.  The historic property is located on the campus of the current-day Armed Forces Retirement Home at the corner of Upshur St., N.W. and Rock Creek Church Rd., N.W.  The tour of the cottage requires a ticket, and advanced purchase is recommended.  I reserved our tickets on-line before going.

History of Lincoln's Cottage and the Soldiers' Home

The story of the Soldiers' Home dates to the antebellum era, when key military and political leaders pushed for the establishment of a residence for retired and disabled soldiers.  Gen. Winfield Scott, who was general-in-chief of the Union Army at the start of the Civil War, exacted a tribute of $150,000 from Mexico during the Mexican War and set aside $100,000 of this money for a soldiers' home.  Robert Anderson, future commander of the Federal garrison at Ft. Sumter, was also instrumental in the effort to provide for the nation's elderly and disabled soldiers.  Senator Jefferson Davis, who later became President of the Confederacy, was the primary mover on Capitol Hill.  He introduced legislation to create a "U.S. military asylum," which finally became law in March 1851.

North side of President Lincoln's Cottage.  A statue of Lincoln and his horse is located to the left of the photograph.

The government purchased the cottage and surrounding 256 acres from Riggs in 1851 for use as the Soldiers' Home.  Three additional buildings were constructed on the campus prior to the Civil War.  All four of these buildings survive today.  James Buchanan was the first President to reside at the Soldiers' Home.  (Incidentally, he stayed in a different cottage from Lincoln's.)  Located three miles from downtown Washington on the third highest point in the city, the Soldiers' Home offered a cool and tranquil getaway from the oppressive humidity and maddening bustle of the city.



Wartime view of the south side of the cottage from Mary Todd Lincoln's personal photo album (courtesy of National Park Service).  As Mrs. Lincoln told a friend in July 1862, "We are truly delighted with this retreat."



Current view of the south side of the cottage

Lincoln visited the Soldiers' Home not long after his inauguration, but the turbulent events of the first summer of the war got in the way of staying there in 1861.  The following year, Lincoln and his family took up residence in the cottage.  At the Soldiers' Home, Lincoln sought distractions from the stresses of everyday life, and often enjoyed reading, playing with his son Tad, and entertaining visitors.  The war, however, was never very far away, and Lincoln could not escape his presidential responsibilities for long.

Close-up view of the life-sized sculpture of Lincoln and his horse in front of the cottage's north side

Historical marker in front of the Lincoln statue pictured above

Each day, Lincoln commuted to the White House in the morning and returned later in the evening.  A cavalry escort accompanied Lincoln on his daily ride, but the President objected to such protection and was sometimes uncooperative with his security detail.  The 150th Pennsylvania Regiment, Co. K, served as a presidential guard and encamped on grounds of the Soldiers' Home when Lincoln resided there.  In July 1864, Lincoln and his family were evacuated from the Soldiers' Home as Confederate Gen. Jubal Early approached Ft. Stevens, about two miles from the cottage.  This precautionary measure still did not stop Lincoln from riding out to observe the ensuing battle.

Lincoln took advantage of his time at the Soldiers' Home to reflect on the issues facing the nation, including the momentous policy of emancipation.  Lincoln likely worked on revisions to the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation at the cottage over the course of the summer of 1862.  The President also held meetings at the cottage to discuss military affairs, including the removal of Gen. George B. McClellan from command.  The President apparently visited the Soliders' Home for one last time on April 13, 1865, just one day before he was assassinated at Ford's Theatre.

Tour of Lincoln's Cottage

The Colonel and I started our tour of the cottage at the Visitor Education Center, which features four informative permanent exhibits covering the history of the Soldiers' Home, Lincoln as commander-in-chief, wartime Washington, and the Lincoln family at the Soldiers' Home.  Not surprisingly, the display on Lincoln's presidency places a heavy emphasis on emancipation, and the exhibits do a thorough job of walking visitors through the entire story of emancipation, including such topics as contraband, the First and Second Confiscation Acts, and the 13th Amendment.  This effort at public education goes beyond the simplistic "Lincoln freed the slaves" story that so many tourists likely learned in school.

Visitor Education Center, located across from President Lincoln's Cottage.  (Photography is prohibited inside the Visitor Education Center and Lincoln's Cottage, so I was unable to get interior shots.)

As an enthusiast of local history, I was also pleased to discover a temporary exhibit on historic prints of the nation's capital during the Civil War.  The maps and engravings offer visitors a way to visualize what Washington was like at the time of Lincoln's presidency.  (This exhibit only runs through January 15, 2012, but the National Trust should consider making it permanent.)  We did not have time to stop by "Lincoln's Toughest Decisions Gallery," which allows visitors to interact with digital letters and other documents to decide how they would have advised Lincoln as a member of his Cabinet.

After viewing a short audiovisual presentation at the Visitor Center, we headed to the cottage for our guided tour.  The building contains 34 rooms, but we saw only a fraction of them during the hour-long tour.  The National Trust has opted on a minimalist approach to furnishing, which leaves the visitor to reflect more on the spirit of the place than on historical trappings.  The guide tied the cottage into the larger picture of Lincoln's life and presidency, including his beliefs on equality of opportunity and slavery.  Once again, there was an emphasis on emancipation, and the guide even highlighted the role of U.S. Colored Troops in winning the war.  The National Trust also supplemented the tour with multimedia technology.  Unfortunately, on the day I was visiting, a glitch in a video projection distracted a bit from the flow of the tour, but overall the technology was well-integrated into the guide's narrative. 

As we left the cottage, I felt that I had come away with a better understanding of the place that the Soldiers' Home occupied in Lincoln's presidency.  The National Trust really has done the country a valuable service in preserving and interpreting this treasure for future generations.  Visitors to our nation's capital, as well as local residents, should not miss the opportunity to check out this historic site.

Sources and Additional Information

President Lincoln's Cottage maintains a website with an excellent overview of the history of the Soldiers' Home and Lincoln's time there.  Additional information, including hours of operation and directions, can also be found on the website.  Tickets for the tour can be purchased here.

Parking is located on the grounds of the Armed Forces Retirement Home, a welcome relief from the challenges of parking on DC city streets.

For additional information on Lincoln and the Soldiers' Home, check out these sources:
The Lincoln Institute, "Soldiers' Home," Mr. Lincoln's White House; National Park Service, "President Lincoln's Cottage at the Soldiers' Home," Discover our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary: American Presidents; National Park Service, "President Lincoln's Cottage: A Retreat," Teaching with Historic Places Lesson Plans; National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form, U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home.

Jefferson Davis Visits Fairfax, Confers with the Top Brass, and Reviews the Army: Sept. 30-Oct. 3, 1861

As I discussed in a recent post, Confederate commander Joseph E. Johnston wrote to Judah P. Benjamin, the acting Secretary of War in Richmond, urging that Benjamin, a representative, or President Jefferson Davis come to Fairfax Court House to confer about a possible offensive.  Benjamin responded to Johnston on September 29, 1861, telling him it was "extremely difficult. . . to determine whether or not we can furnish you the further means you may deem necessary to assume the active offensive."  (OR, 1:5, 883.)  The secretary in part blamed Johnston for the government's inability to assess the situation:  "We have not in the Department a single return from your army of the quantity of ammunition, artillery, means of transportation, or sick in camp or in hospitals, to enable us to form a judgment of what your necessities may be."  (OR, 1:5, 883.)  Benjamin told Johnston that he had "earnestly requested the President to visit your headquarters in person, and to learn on conference with you the true position of your army in all respects, and the possibility of a prompt offensive movement."  Davis "consented to this," and Benjamin hoped that Davis would reach Johnston's camp within a day or two. (OR, 1:5, 883.)

Arrival in Fairfax

The Confederate President boarded the train to Richmond early on September 30 and arrived at Fairfax Station late in the afternoon. Civilians and soldiers lining the route to Fairfax Court House cheered the President as he passed by, and Davis tipped his hat to the admirers. Due to an apparent "misunderstanding," the army never procured a house in Fairfax for the President to use during his visit. (Davis to Varina Davis, Oct. 2, 1861 in Crist & Dix 352.) Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard, however, came to the rescue and brought the President to stay at his headquarters. Generals Johnston and Gustavus W. Smith called on Davis that evening to pay their respects, but "no official subjects were alluded to in that interview." (OR, 1:5, 884-85.)

Jefferson Davis, photo by Matthew Brady, c. 1858-60 (courtesy of Library of Congress).

The October 1 Conference

The next day, October 1, Davis "rode many miles visiting the encampments."  (Davis to Varina Davis, Oct. 2, 1861 in Crist & Dix 352.)  A couple companies of the 16th Mississippi also took Davis on a reconnaissance mission near the Union lines, which now occupied the high ground around Falls Church that the Confederates had just recently abandoned.

The night of October 1, Davis conferred with Generals Johnston, Beauregard, and Smith at headquarters.  Much ink has been spilled on this famous "council of war," at which Davis and the top commanders in Virginia discussed the possibility of assuming the offensive and invading the North.  First and foremost, I counsel readers to check out the entire text of Smith's January 31, 1862 memorandum on the conference in the OR. (See OR, 1:5, 884-87.)  The memorandum was also signed by Beauregard and Johnston. Davis himself claims to have seen this document for the first time in 1880. (Davis 450.)  The accounts by Davis, Johnston, and Roman are also worth reading.  (See the sources below for links.)  Sherman over at Living in the Past has done a great job of describing the meeting and the subsequent controversy between Davis and his generals over the conference.  (See here.) The Civil War Daily Gazette also has a good post on the subject.  (See here.)

At the conference, Smith was the first to broach the subject that had compelled Davis to come to Fairfax in the first place.  He asked, "Mr. President, is it not possible to put this army in condition to assume the active offensive?" (OR, 1:5, 885.)  A discussion ensued.  All those present at the conference agreed that "the military force of the Confederate States was at the highest point it could attain without arms from abroad; that the portion of this particular army present for duty was in the finest fighting condition; that if kept inactive it must retrograde immensely in every respect firing the winter, the effect of which was foreseen and dreaded by us all."   (OR, 1:5, 885.) 

Davis was again asked, "Is it not possible to increase the effective strength of this army, and put us in condition to cross the Potomac and carry the war into the enemy's country? Can you not by stripping other points to the last they will bear, and, even risking defeat at all other places, put us in condition to move forward?"  (OR, 1:5, 885.)  The generals argued that "success here was success everywhere, defeat here defeat everywhere."  (OR, 1:5, 885.)  Gen. Beauregard had been pushing a more aggressive strategy for quite some time now, and most certainly wanted to ensure that Davis accepted his plan to invade Maryland and threaten Washington. 

Davis got to the point.  He wanted to know how many men were needed to take the offensive.  Smith said 50,000; Johnston and Beauregard stated a more conservative 60,000.  The latter two also claimed that the supplies in Northern Virginia were "entirely inadequate for an active campaign in the enemy's country even with our present force."  (OR, 1:5, 886.)  Davis opposed the suggestion to transfer soldiers to Virginia. After all, the President was under pressure from all parts of the country to defend the Confederacy.  Davis regretted that he could furnish no reinforcements at the time, and even if he could, he had no weapons to arm them.

The generals seemed resigned that "there was no other course left but to take a defensive position and await the enemy."  (OR, 1:5, 886.)  Davis toyed with the idea of "partial operations" into Maryland to strike a "sudden blow" against Union troops on the lower or upper Potomac.  The generals saw too many risks in such a plan and largely rejected the idea.  However, they threw a bone to Davis, agreeing that "if any opportunity should occur offering reasonable chances of success, the attempt would be made." (OR, 1:5, 887.)  The two-hour conference thus dashed Beauregard's dream of a decisive blow across the Potomac. 

Review of the Army

The Confederate President woke up to rain on October 2.  Davis wrote to his wife that  "if the weather permits, I shall resume my labors and to-morrow hope to return."  (Davis to Varina Davis, Oct. 2, 1861 in Crist & Dix 352.)  The President also expressed disappointment with what he had seen so far: "The condition of things here is not as good as I expected and the position has nothing but its comfort to recommend it."  (Davis to Varina Davis, Oct. 2, 1861 in Crist & Dix 352.)  I have not yet found a record of what the President did that day, but the rain may have caused a disruption in Davis' schedule.

The next afternoon, the President reviewed the Confederate troops quartered in the area.  Soldiers from several brigades lined the road for about a mile and a half, stretching from Fairfax Court House towards Germantown.  Gen. James Longstreet's men, including the 17th Virgina, participated in the spectacle.  Tom Goree, an aide to Longstreet, described "quite a display" in a letter to his sister a few days later:

The President & Genls Johnston, Beauregard & Smith, with their aids [sic] & escort, road along the line in front, whilst our bands as they passed were discoursing excellent music. The President would salute each flag as he passed it. After he passed the line, he then took a position, and the line formed into column and passed him, the officers saluting as they passed. (in Cutrer 47.)

Following the review, Longstreet  and his staff headed to Beauregard's headquarters to meet with Davis.  According to Goree, the President "spoke of the honorable positions we had occupied in the advance" and "asked if we could give him a view of the Potomac."  (in Cutrer 47.)  Goree, all to aware of the recent evacuation of Munson's and Mason's Hills, replied that "we could have done so, a few days since, but could not now."  (in Cutrer 47.)  Davis, full of bluster, replied that "I hope that in a short time we will force a view of it, at the Long Bridge."  (in Cutrer 47.)  How the Confederate President expected that to happen in light of the conference of October 1, he did not say.

Davis boarded a train that night and returned to Richmond. The President's trip had given Johnston the answer he needed.  The cautious commander had made the right decision after all in withdrawing his men from their advanced position.  Now Johnston would turn to establishing a purely defensive position, and even Fairfax felt a bit too forward for his purposes.

Sources

Aside from the OR, the following sources were useful in compiling this post:

Lynda L. Crist & Mary S. Dix (eds.), The Papers of Jefferson Davis, 1861, Vol. 7 (1991); Thomas W. Cutrer, Longstreet's Aide: The Civil War Letters of Thomas J. Goree (1995); Jefferson Davis, The Rise and Fall of the Confederate Government, Vol. 1 (1881); Joseph E. Johnston, Narrative of Military Actions During the Late War Between the States (1874); Alfred Roman, The Military Operations of General Beauregard in the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865, Vol. 1 1884); Lee A. Wallace, Jr., 17th Virginia Infantry, from the Virginia Regimental History Series (1990); Edgar Warfield, Manassas to Appomattox: The Civil War Memoirs of Pvt. Edgar Warfield, 17th Virginia Infantry (1996 ed.).

Beauregard Writes to Jefferson Davis About the Affair at Lewinsville

The skirmish at Lewinsville was rather small and inconsequential in the scheme of things, but that didn't stop army commanders from putting their own spin on it.  Union Gen. George McClellan certainly took the opportunity to tell his bosses that the victory meant "no more Bull Run affairs."  Likewise, Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard wrote to President Jefferson Davis in Richmond on September 13, 1861.  He boasted:

On the 11th instant we had quite a brisk affair d'avant poste at Lewinsville, between about three hundred men and two pieces of artillery on our part, and on that of the enemy three regiments and eight pieces of artillery, which resulted in their complete rout, with the known loss of about one dozen men killed, wounded, and prisoners.  "Nobody hurt" on our side, not even a horse!*

The claim of a "complete rout" was certainly exaggerated.  Gen."Baldy" Smith's men, under Col. Isaac Stevens, were already getting ready to head back to camp when they were attacked by Col. Jeb Stuart, and the Union force's withdrawal from Lewinsville under fire was a pretty orderly affair.

The home that served as Beauregard's headquarters in Fairfax Court House (courtesy of Library of Congress)

Beauregard added that Gen. Joseph E. Johnston's report on the skirmish, which was forthcoming, "does so much credit to Colonel Stuart, of the cavalry."  Beauregard praised both Stuart and Gen. James Longstreet as "two very promising officers."  (Stuart, during this time, was operating as part of Longstreet's command in the Munson's Hill/Mason's Hill area.)  Beauregard informed Davis of his intention to move Longstreet's whole brigade to Falls Church and Gen. Richard Ewell's brigade to Annandale, where they could "support, at a moment's notice, the forces at and about Munson's and Mason's hills." Beauregard himself had just moved his headquarters to Fairfax Court House, "so as to be nearer the scene of operations."

Beauregard was expecting a full-scale Union attack, and the recent Union reconnaissance at Lewinsville had done little to disabuse him of such notions. He warned Davis:

I am under the impression, from all I can learn, that the enemy, whenever ready, will make a strong demonstration in our front, and then endeavor to turn this place, either by Dumfries, on the lower Potomac, or by Leesburg, on the upper Potomac; in either case we ought to be prepared to strike him from Camp Pickens [Manassas] as a centre, for which purpose we must have collected at that point a large depot of provisions and ammunition.

Beauregard used the threat of a possible Federal advance to plug his ideas for army reorganization. He wrote that the Confederate Army of the Potomac "ought to be under one head, with also one head to each of the two corps of said army; for the general-in-chief of such a large force has too much to engross his time and attention, to be able to discharge also the important duties of chief of a corps d'armee."   Davis was to give these suggestions "serious and immediate consideration, as I believe no time is to be lost in this matter."

Beauregard finished his letter with a post script to Davis: "General McClellan is said, by the prisoners, to have been present at Lewinsville." The general must surely have cracked a smile at the image of the Union army commander presiding over the rout of his own forces. The reality, of course, was much different, but McClellan did ride out to meet the Union forces as they returned to camp from Lewinsville.

I have not seen a copy of Davis' response to Beauregard's letter, if there ever was one.  In a few short weeks, however, the Confederate President would travel to Fairfax and confer with his leading generals on issues of organization and strategy. In the meantime, the Confederates would continue to wait and watch along the advanced line near Falls Church and Annandale.

Note
*The Union force of 1,800 men consisted of the 79th New York, four companies of the First Regiment U.S. Chasseurs, two companies of the 2nd Vermont, two companies of the 3rd Vermont, five companies of the 19th Indiana, four guns of Captain Charles Griffin's battery, and a detachment of 50 regular cavalry and 40 volunteer cavalry. A section of Captain Thaddeus Mott's battery was also brought to the front and fired on the Confederates.

Source
The official correspondence cited in this post can be found in Alfred Roman, The Military Operations of General Beauregard in the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865, Vol. 1, p. 477-78 (1884).

McLean's Own Confederate General

Last Saturday I decided to explore the old graveyard at the Lewinsville Presbyterian Church when I was out running errands.  I had read about a grave of particular interest on the Historical Marker Database -- the cemetery is the final resting place of Confederate Brigadier General William Whann Mackall.  In 2009, the Laura Ratcliffe Chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy ("UDC") installed a commemorative marker in front of the grave.  General Mackall is buried next to his wife, Aminta, who was the sister of Confederate General Moxley Sorrell.  General Sorrell served as General James Longstreet's chief of staff during the war.



William W. Mackall's gravestone and marker.  The gravestone notes: "Brave. Gentle. Modest. Distinguished in the Florida and Mexican Wars and in the War Between the States."  The U.S. flag must in commemoration of Mackall's earlier Federal service!



UDC marker at the Mackall burial plot.  For text of marker and more information, see the Historical Marker Database entry.

Mackall was born in Georgetown, D.C. on January 13, 1817 and grew up in Cecil County, Maryland.  His father eventually moved to Fairfax County in the 1840s and settled on an estate in Langley.  Mackall attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, graduating eighth in his class in 1837.  Mackall's early duty included service in the war against the Seminole Indians in Florida.  During the Mexican War (1846-48), Mackall led a battery of horse artillery and earned brevet commissions as captain and major for his performance at Monterrey, Contreras, and Churubusco.  When the Civil War broke out, Mackall was serving as Assistant Adjutant General in the Department of the Pacific.  The War Department planned to make him lieutenant colonel, but Mackall, who was of Southern sympathies, resigned from the U.S. Army and headed to Richmond.

Brigadier General William W. Mackall (courtesy of findagrave.com)

General Joseph E. Johnston, one of the highest-ranking Confederate officers at the start of the war, was Mackall's long-time friend. Johnston exclaimed that he would give his right arm if the Confederate Army would send Mackall to him as major general. Instead, Mackall was commissioned a lieutenant colonel and assigned as chief of staff to General Albert Sydney Johnston in the Western Theater.  General P.G.T. Beauregard recommended that Mackall be promoted to major general, but the Confederate Government awarded him with a brigadier's commission and sent him to the staff of General Leonidas Polk.

"The Gun-Boat 'Carondelet' Running the Rebel Batteries at Island No. 10," Harper's Weekly, April 26, 1862 (courtesy of sonofthesouth.net)

In March 1862, Mackall replaced General John McCown as commander of the Confederate defenses at Island No. 10 on the Mississippi, which was the focus of an active Union military campaign.  At the start of April, Union ironclads overwhelmed the Confederate batteries, and the Federal Army under General John Pope was able to cut off the Confederate's escape route. On April 8, Mackall surrendered Island No. 10. He was sent to Fort Warren prison in Boston and was set free as part of a prisoner exchange in July 1862.  President Jefferson Davis never seems to have forgiven Mackall for the loss of Island No. 10, which was an obvious blow to the Confederacy early in the war.

Returning to service after his release, in December 1862 Mackall was made the temporary commander of the District of the Gulf until a replacement was found.  (The UDC marker makes much more of this service than appears merited.)  In April 1863, Mackall was sent back to the front to serve as chief of staff to stubborn and vindictive Braxton Bragg, commander of the Army of Tennessee.  (Interestingly enough, the UDC marker neglects to mention Bragg by name.)  Mackall helped to manage the infighting surrounding Bragg after the Battle of Chickamauga in September 1863, but even Mackall had seen enough. He tendered his resignation and soon took a brigade command under Joe Johnston in Enterprise, Mississippi.  This assignment gave the men plenty of time to complain about the object of their scorn, President Davis.

Johnston was made commander of the Army of Tennessee in late 1863 after the fall of Chattanooga.  Not surprisingly, he selected Mackall as his chief of staff.  The two served together throughout the Atlanta Campaign in 1864.  Davis replaced Johnston with General John B. Hood in July 1864.  Mackall would soon follow Johnston.  When Bragg was visiting Hood's headquarters, Mackall refused to shake his hand.  This prompted Hood to ask for Mackall's resignation.  Mackall willingly obliged and headed to Macon, Georgia, where he stayed at his brother-in-law's home.  Mackall sought new orders, but his requests went unheeded until he was placed in command of the Confederate post at Macon.  He and three other generals surrendered the city to Federals on April 20, 1865.

Following the Civil War, Mackall briefly lived in Baltimore, then spent the remainder of his days at the family estate in Langley, where he died on August 19, 1891.