Civil War Events in July: Draft Riot in New York City, First Manassas, Emancipation Proclamation and the Crater

JULY 11, 1864

Battle of  Fort Stevens.  Confederates fail to capture Washington, D.C.

JULY 13, 1863

Riots erupt in New York City in protest of the draft

JULY 18, 1863

the 54th Massachusetts attacks Fort Wagner near Charleston, S.C.

JULY 21, 1861

First Battle of Manassas, Virginia (or do you say First Battle of Bull Run?)

JULY 22, 1862

President Lincoln presents the Emancipation Proclamation to his Cabinet

JULY 24, 1864

Second Battle of Kernstown, Virginia

JULY 28, 1864

Battle of Ezra Church, Georgia

JULY 30, 1864

Battle if the Crater at Petersburg, Virginia

--Old Secesh

Troops Came to U.S. Capitol in 1861 and Wrecked It-- Part 2: Different From 160 Years Ago

The most recent chapter in the history of the U.S. Capitol took place 160 years later.

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, photos showed  the halls of the building filled with thousands of rifle-toting National Guard troops tasked with securing the nation's capital city.  They rested on floors that just a week earlier rioters had overrun.  And some even carried Confederate flags.

But, this time they will not be staying in the Capitol, but put up in local hotels.

Troops also stayed overnight in the Capitol building during World War II and after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr in 1968 during black riots.  According to U.S. senate history, they had also been called on to maintain order on at least three other times.

The scene this past Wednesday was also remarkably different than 160 years ago.  A bust of Lincoln and a plaque commemorating the earlier quartered regiments were located above napping guard members.  A group of black guardsmen took photos with a statue of Civil Rights icon Rosa Parks.

Most wore face masks, and many observed social distancing amid the virus epidemic.

--Old Secesh

Coronavirus Ends Maryland's General Assembly Early, First Time Since the Civil War-- Part 1

From the March 18, 2020, Baltimore Sun "Coronavirus ended this year's General Assembly early.  The last time this happened  we were fighting the Civil War"  by Frederick N. Rasmussen.

The last time this happened, it wasn't a pandemic, but the opening stages of the Civil War.

This past Wednesday, the Maryland General Assembly adjourned early  as a precaution to stop the spread of you-know-what.

In early morning April 12, 1861, Confederates opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, starting the you-know-what.  A week later, troops of the 6th Massachusetts were marching through Baltimore on their way to guard Washington, D.C., when they were attacked by a pro-Southern mob in what became known as the Pratt Street Riots.

By the tine it ended, six civilians, a bystander and three soldiers were dead.  Twenty-four soldiers were wounded as were an unknown number of civilians.  This is considered where the war's first blood was shed since no one was killed at the Battle of Fort Sumter.

--Old secesh