Chapter 638: Misfortunes Never Come Alone

Chapter 631 Misfortunes never come alone

Even though the federal government had so many advantages on paper and had many cards to play, the Northern Democratic Party also recognized the Republican Party's rule and Lincoln's legitimacy as president.

Lincoln, who had just taken office as president, had a lot of troubles.

Although the federal government completely controlled Baltimore, the entire state of Maryland, and the entire state of Delaware, ensuring the safety of the area north of Washington. Lincoln did not have to fight a battle to defend the capital as soon as he took office.

But the unpleasant things that happened in Baltimore still greatly damaged the image of the federal government, causing the federal government to lose the support of some southern swing states, causing these southern swing states to completely fall into the arms of the Southern Confederacy.

On March 2, 1861, a piece of news came from Kansas Territory that was as bad as it could be for the federal government.

General Longstreet, who was in charge of the defense of Kansas Territory, publicly announced the change of flag, and handed over most of the military facilities in Kansas Territory and more than 2,000 elite soldiers who were good at fighting to the Southern Confederacy intact.

All the Stars and Stripes flying over Kansas were lowered and replaced by the Stars and Stripes representing the Confederacy.

"Thank God, at least Lieutenant Colonel Cullen is still loyal to the Union. We still control Fort Manhattan, and northwestern Kansas still belongs to the federal government."

Secretary of War Scott looked at the list of Nantou officers and the numbers of the Nantou troops on the telegram, and saw that Lieutenant Colonel Cullen and his troops did not throw themselves into the arms of the Confederacy, and said with relief. This is a good news among the few bad news.

Because the North lacks prestigious and capable senior generals, Lincoln looked around and did not find a suitable candidate for the position of Secretary of War. The North is really lacking in generals and commanders, so Lincoln decided to let Scott stay in the cabinet as Secretary of War.

Although this is considered a veteran of the North and the oldest general in the United States, his hometown is also in Virginia, a state of outstanding people. But Lincoln had no choice. Lincoln did not have a deep intersection with the military, and his social circle had few friends in the military, and no one was qualified for the position of Secretary of War.

"This is indeed good news." Lincoln planned to send a telegram to commend Lieutenant Colonel Cullen, a loyal officer of the Union.

Unexpectedly, the next day, March 3, 1861.

Lieutenant Colonel Cullen declared his allegiance to the government of the American Republic in the West and accepted the colonel appointment of Liang Yao, the president of the American Republic. Cullen's troops were also reorganized into the Kansas Regiment of the Republic's National Defense Army.

So far, the federal government has completely lost control of Kansas.

Most of Kansas became the territory of the Southern Confederacy, and a corner of northwest Kansas centered on Fort Manhattan was incorporated into the territory of the Western American Republic.

Shortly after receiving the news of Cullen's rebellion in the West, Lincoln and his cabinet received a letter of assistance from Colonel Mason stationed in Kearny. Colonel Mason pleaded with the War Department to send at least two or three regiments of troops to the Kearny area, preferably with an artillery regiment.

Cullen's rebellion meant that Mason's Kearny Fort had been caught in a situation of being attacked from both sides by the Western Army, and the Kearny Fortress used to contain the North Platte Western Army's eastward advance was already in danger. Colonel Mason's concerns were understandable.

Increase troops? Lincoln and Scott also wanted to increase troops in the Kearny area.

The federal government did not have many standing troops and volunteers. The Kansas garrison went to the South, and the federal government's 17,000 regular troops dropped sharply to 14,000, and this number was still decreasing. More and more officers and soldiers in the federal army crossed the border to join the Southern army.

To make matters worse, these standing troops were scattered in the frontier areas to suppress the Plains Indians, and the mobile forces that could be withdrawn were extremely limited.

Faced with such a difficult situation, Lincoln even came up with the idea of ​​setting up a militia bureau under the War Department without the authorization of Congress to quickly mobilize and recruit a large number of troops to alleviate the plight of insufficient federal troops.

Good fortune never comes alone, and misfortune never comes alone. Just when Lincoln was troubled by the lack of defense in the western frontier area, he received a report from Lieutenant Colonel Robert Anderson of Fort Sumter.

In this extremely urgent report, Lt. Col. Anderson mentioned that the military supplies of Fort Sumter could only support three months. If he could not obtain sufficient supplies and reinforcements in time, he would be forced to surrender to the Confederate Army in South Carolina.

Lt. Col. Anderson also emphasized in the report that at least 25,000 well-trained soldiers must be available to ensure that Fort Sumter is safe, otherwise the fall of Fort Sumter is only a matter of time.

Lincoln wanted to curse after reading Lt. Col. Anderson's report. If Colonel Mason's request for the federal government to send two or three standing regiments to Fort Kearney was reasonable, Lt. Col. Anderson's request was simply nonsense and an excuse for surrender.

25,000 well-trained soldiers? Damn, the standing army and volunteer army that the federal government can command now do not have this number.

Lincoln's cabinet members debated the urgent issue of whether to hold on to Fort Sumter or abandon Fort Sumter.

Secretary of State Seward's view was to abandon Fort Sumter. The reason Seward gave was that Fort Sumter was not fully completed, the fort was not very strong, the number of cannons on the fort was not large, and the ammunition was not sufficient. Moreover, Fort Sumter was far away from the north, and the supply of Fort Sumter would impose a huge financial burden on the already tight federal government.

Moreover, they could not meet the 25,000 reinforcements requested by Lieutenant Colonel Anderson.

Postmaster General Blair also said that if they really had 25,000 elite mobile troops, why not directly attack Richmond, the capital of the Southern pseudo-government, a hundred miles away, instead of wasting precious troops on an unfinished fortress 700 miles away from Washington?

Could it be that the strategic and political significance of the Southern industrial center and the capital of the pseudo-government was not as great as that of a fortress at the mouth of Charleston?

Secretary of War Scott advocated holding on to Fort Sumter.

Scott believed that Fort Sumter controlled the outlet of Charleston, the largest coastal city in South Carolina and the second largest city. Even from a purely military perspective, Fort Sumter was of great significance.

As long as Fort Sumter was controlled, the most important port and coastal city in South Carolina could be turned into an inland city by controlling the waterway of Charleston. It would prevent South Carolina's cash crops such as cotton, sugar, and tobacco from going out to sea from the port of Charleston, which would then severely damage South Carolina's economy.

South Carolina was the most hardline slave state in the South. If a military fortress could paralyze South Carolina's economy, it would be worth it.

At the same time, Scott also refuted Blair's views, saying that Blair did not understand military affairs at all and was confusing and changing concepts. Attacking Richmond, the capital of the Southern pseudo-government, and supporting Fort Sumter were two completely different things and there was no comparison. Finally, Scott did not forget to mock Blair for having attended West Point Military Academy, but being so short-sighted and a disgrace to West Point Military Academy.