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Lincoln's Citadel: The Civil War in Washington, DC
In the late 1840s, Representative Abraham Lincoln resided at Mrs. Sprigg's boardinghouse on Capitol Hill. Known as Abolition House, Mrs. Sprigg's hosted lively dinner-table debates of antislavery politics by the congressional boarders. The unusually rapid turnover in the enslaved staff suggested that there were frequent escapes north to freedom from Abolition House, likely a cog in the underground railroad. These early years in Washington proved formative for Lincoln. In 1861, now in the White House, Lincoln could gaze out his office window and see the Confederate flag flying across the Potomac. Washington, DC, sat on the front lines of the Civil War. Vulnerable and insecure, the capital was rife with Confederate sympathizers. On the crossroads of slavery and freedom, the city was a refuge for thousands of contraband and fugitive slaves. The Lincoln administration took strict measures to tighten security and established camps to provide food, shelter, and medical care for contrabands. In 1863, a Freedman's Village rose on the grounds of the Lee estate, where the Confederate flag once flew.
The president and Mrs. Lincoln personally comforted the wounded troops who flooded wartime Washington. In 1862, Lincoln spent July 4 riding in a train of ambulances carrying casualties from the Peninsula Campaign to Washington hospitals. He saluted the "One-Legged Brigade" assembled outside the White House as "orators," their wounds eloquent expressions of sacrifice and dedication. The administration built more than one hundred military hospitals to care for Union casualties.
These are among the unforgettable scenes in Lincoln's Citadel, a fresh, absorbing narrative history of Lincoln's leadership in Civil War Washington. Here is the vivid story of how the Lincoln administration met the immense challenges the war posed to the city, transforming a vulnerable capital into a bastion for the Union.
The president and Mrs. Lincoln personally comforted the wounded troops who flooded wartime Washington. In 1862, Lincoln spent July 4 riding in a train of ambulances carrying casualties from the Peninsula Campaign to Washington hospitals. He saluted the "One-Legged Brigade" assembled outside the White House as "orators," their wounds eloquent expressions of sacrifice and dedication. The administration built more than one hundred military hospitals to care for Union casualties.
These are among the unforgettable scenes in Lincoln's Citadel, a fresh, absorbing narrative history of Lincoln's leadership in Civil War Washington. Here is the vivid story of how the Lincoln administration met the immense challenges the war posed to the city, transforming a vulnerable capital into a bastion for the Union.
528 pages, Paperback
First published August 19, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 2, 2022
A History Of Civil War Washington, D.C.
With so much written about the American Civil War, it is difficult to write something fresh. Although it offers no new insights into the political or military history of the war, Kenneth Winkle's book, "Lincoln's Citadel: the Civil War in Washington, D.C." (2013) succeeds in adding to the understanding of the conflict. It focuses on Washington, D.C. and its response to the great events of 1860 -- 1865. Other histories cover this material but, to my knowledge, lack the detail Winkle provides. Winkle, professor of history at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, has written other books developing little known aspects of the Civil War, including "The Young Eagle", his biography of Lincoln in young adulthood.
Winkle's book moves between a history of the capital city and biographical details of Lincoln's life during his time in Washington. The emphasis, however is on the place rather than on the president. For the most part, Winkle tells his story by subject matter rather than by chronology. The presentation sometimes moves back and forth with a degree of repetition.
The book begins in late 1847 with Lincoln's arrival in Washington, D.C. to serve as a member of the 30th Congress. This is the most biographical part of the book as Lincoln's activities as a Congressman received detailed discussion. But Winkle's focus remains on antebellum Washington, D.C. as he describes the southern slave-holding character of what was then a small, undeveloped city. Winkle develops the turbulence of Washington, D.C. life, with its inadequate police force, poor sanitation, lack of hospitals, and frequent fighting over slavery and abolition. Lincoln's life in Washington D.C. particularly his married life with Mary receive substantial treatment as the book progresses. In general, Mary Lincoln receives a more sympathetic portrayal from Winkle than is the case in other studies.
The history shifts from 1848-- 1850 to the election of Lincoln to the presidency in 1860. Students of the Civil War will be familiar with the broad story, but Winkle offers a fleshed-out account. He describes Lincoln's inaugural journey and shows persuasively that Lincoln and his staff had reason to fear for the new president's life. Lincoln's inauguration brought to the capital a heavy and necessarily intrusive security apparatus that would last for the duration of the war.
Throughout the war, Washington, D.C. was in a state of tension between its southern background and its status as the capital of the Union. In Winkle's account, the city gradually moved from southern to northern in character. Most Civil War histories discuss Lincoln's efforts to hold the border states and to delay emancipation. With this background, Winkle describes the changing character of the African American community in Washington, D.C. He discusses conflicts that arose over the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. But most interestingly, he gives a full discussion of the emancipation process for the slaves held in Washington D.C. beginning in 1862. This critical part of the War's story generally receives only cursory treatment in standard histories.
As Winkle shows, with a southern invasion feared eminent, the Union constructed extensive fortifications in the capital city early in the war, for which General George McClellan deserves substantial credit. Winkle describes how Washington, D.C. expanded to meet the large influx of troops and of civilians. He discusses the building of hospitals and the expansion of arsenals, including several accidents and disasters attendant to the conduct of the war. During the war, a fresh water supply became critical resulting in the construction of an aqueduct still in use. The city remained a breeding-ground for malaria and typhus throughout the war, resulting in, among much else, the death of Lincoln's beloved son, Willie.
Winkle devotes a great deal of attention to the influx of Freedpeople to Washington, D.C., particularly after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. He discusses the conditions at the many camps created to hold and to prepare the Freedpeople for freedom. There were large camps in the city itself as well as in Virginia, on Robert E. Lee's former estate.Winkle discusses the formation of African American regiments with Washington D.C. troops, and he discusses Dr. Alexander Augusta, an early African American physician who became one of the few African American commissioned officers in the conflict. Winkle offers a good discussion of the early movement for civil rights in Civil War Washington, leading to a pioneering desegregation of the city's public transportation system.
Winkle has written a solid, informative history which enhanced my understanding of both Washington, D.C. and of the Civil War. The book has thorough documentation in the endnotes, but a bibliography would have been a welcome addition.
Robin Friedman
With so much written about the American Civil War, it is difficult to write something fresh. Although it offers no new insights into the political or military history of the war, Kenneth Winkle's book, "Lincoln's Citadel: the Civil War in Washington, D.C." (2013) succeeds in adding to the understanding of the conflict. It focuses on Washington, D.C. and its response to the great events of 1860 -- 1865. Other histories cover this material but, to my knowledge, lack the detail Winkle provides. Winkle, professor of history at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, has written other books developing little known aspects of the Civil War, including "The Young Eagle", his biography of Lincoln in young adulthood.
Winkle's book moves between a history of the capital city and biographical details of Lincoln's life during his time in Washington. The emphasis, however is on the place rather than on the president. For the most part, Winkle tells his story by subject matter rather than by chronology. The presentation sometimes moves back and forth with a degree of repetition.
The book begins in late 1847 with Lincoln's arrival in Washington, D.C. to serve as a member of the 30th Congress. This is the most biographical part of the book as Lincoln's activities as a Congressman received detailed discussion. But Winkle's focus remains on antebellum Washington, D.C. as he describes the southern slave-holding character of what was then a small, undeveloped city. Winkle develops the turbulence of Washington, D.C. life, with its inadequate police force, poor sanitation, lack of hospitals, and frequent fighting over slavery and abolition. Lincoln's life in Washington D.C. particularly his married life with Mary receive substantial treatment as the book progresses. In general, Mary Lincoln receives a more sympathetic portrayal from Winkle than is the case in other studies.
The history shifts from 1848-- 1850 to the election of Lincoln to the presidency in 1860. Students of the Civil War will be familiar with the broad story, but Winkle offers a fleshed-out account. He describes Lincoln's inaugural journey and shows persuasively that Lincoln and his staff had reason to fear for the new president's life. Lincoln's inauguration brought to the capital a heavy and necessarily intrusive security apparatus that would last for the duration of the war.
Throughout the war, Washington, D.C. was in a state of tension between its southern background and its status as the capital of the Union. In Winkle's account, the city gradually moved from southern to northern in character. Most Civil War histories discuss Lincoln's efforts to hold the border states and to delay emancipation. With this background, Winkle describes the changing character of the African American community in Washington, D.C. He discusses conflicts that arose over the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. But most interestingly, he gives a full discussion of the emancipation process for the slaves held in Washington D.C. beginning in 1862. This critical part of the War's story generally receives only cursory treatment in standard histories.
As Winkle shows, with a southern invasion feared eminent, the Union constructed extensive fortifications in the capital city early in the war, for which General George McClellan deserves substantial credit. Winkle describes how Washington, D.C. expanded to meet the large influx of troops and of civilians. He discusses the building of hospitals and the expansion of arsenals, including several accidents and disasters attendant to the conduct of the war. During the war, a fresh water supply became critical resulting in the construction of an aqueduct still in use. The city remained a breeding-ground for malaria and typhus throughout the war, resulting in, among much else, the death of Lincoln's beloved son, Willie.
Winkle devotes a great deal of attention to the influx of Freedpeople to Washington, D.C., particularly after the issuance of the Emancipation Proclamation. He discusses the conditions at the many camps created to hold and to prepare the Freedpeople for freedom. There were large camps in the city itself as well as in Virginia, on Robert E. Lee's former estate.Winkle discusses the formation of African American regiments with Washington D.C. troops, and he discusses Dr. Alexander Augusta, an early African American physician who became one of the few African American commissioned officers in the conflict. Winkle offers a good discussion of the early movement for civil rights in Civil War Washington, leading to a pioneering desegregation of the city's public transportation system.
Winkle has written a solid, informative history which enhanced my understanding of both Washington, D.C. and of the Civil War. The book has thorough documentation in the endnotes, but a bibliography would have been a welcome addition.
Robin Friedman
December 17, 2014
A well-researched, albeit slightly tedious at times, tome.
If you are really, really interested in Abraham Lincoln and civil-war era DC, good golly this is the book for you.
If you have a glancing interest in either or both of those topics, you will still probably find it worth the investment. Beware: at times, it feels like the treatment for a Ken Burns series that hasn't been made yet. One can almost hear the strains of fife and fiddle in the background.
If you are really, really interested in Abraham Lincoln and civil-war era DC, good golly this is the book for you.
If you have a glancing interest in either or both of those topics, you will still probably find it worth the investment. Beware: at times, it feels like the treatment for a Ken Burns series that hasn't been made yet. One can almost hear the strains of fife and fiddle in the background.
May 5, 2021
I've read a lot on the Civil War and Lincoln over the years but I picked this up and decided to see if I could learn something new. And yes I did, as this was an informative account and sort of a bio of Washington DC and Lincoln's time there during what was once referred to as the 'recent unpleasantness'. Actually it began before that, during Lincoln's one congressional term in DC from 1847-1849. The place changed a lot in the 16 years from the end of that term to Ford's Theater and the author does an excellent job in describing the events and personages that comprised the upheaval. The cast of fascinating characters led of course by Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln to Frederick Douglass, William Seward, James Wadsworth, George McClellan, Dorothea Dix, Clara Barton, Sojourner Truth, Ward Hill Lamon and many more will be familiar in some degree to any Civil War buff, but their appearances here are well drawn. The books deals with the physical changes in DC wrought by the war--the population surge, the ring of fortifications, the incredible medical challenges of disease and mass casualties beyond anyone's imagining, conflict between civil and military authority, and other changes. But the focus is on the the institution of slavery and the changing role and perception of African Americans (was that even a term back then?). The plight and yet positive role of black Americans both free and former slaves are highlighted and attempts to end slavery in DC itself first are described in some detail. All that leading to the Emancipation Proclamation and the changing nature of the Civil War. Interesting also to read this book just now in wake of BLM and rise of 'critical race theory'. If nearly all white people are to be considered racists or white supremacists today it doesn't even make much sense to read about a time when actual organized and widespread racism existed, in both the North and South. The so-called 'sin' of slavery in American (like it was ever unique to this country) was expiated in the Civil War in a torrent of blood unmatched in our history and as you read the current news and watch our current political 'leadership' one can only wonder if it is going to be repeated by going down the well-trodden paths of race hatred and demonization.
November 10, 2017
An engaging book on Washington D.C. and Lincoln’s time in the city during the Civil War, mostly told thematically. The author considers the city a microcosm of the war itself, and he does a great job blending both the stories of Lincoln and the city.
Winkle describes the state of the capital during the antebellum and Civil War eras, telling such stories as Lincoln’s inaugural journey, the tension that came as a result of being so close to Maryland and Virginia, the history of the black community, the course of emancipation in the city, the defense of the city during the war, and the influx of freed slaves following emancipation. Winkle also describes how the city’s character became more “northern” during and after the war.
Still, the format makes the book a bit repetitive. Much of the book deals with the slaves, former slaves and contrabands in the district, perhaps too much so. But, a solid, informative and well-researched work overall.
Winkle describes the state of the capital during the antebellum and Civil War eras, telling such stories as Lincoln’s inaugural journey, the tension that came as a result of being so close to Maryland and Virginia, the history of the black community, the course of emancipation in the city, the defense of the city during the war, and the influx of freed slaves following emancipation. Winkle also describes how the city’s character became more “northern” during and after the war.
Still, the format makes the book a bit repetitive. Much of the book deals with the slaves, former slaves and contrabands in the district, perhaps too much so. But, a solid, informative and well-researched work overall.
August 6, 2021
I read this book for the 2021 popsugar reading challenge. I used the prompt read A book you have seen on someone's bookshelf (in real life, on a Zoom call, in a TV show, etc.) this book was on my husband's bookshelf. I am not a great fan of nonfiction. It was as bad as reading a textbook for school. One of the only reasons i read it was to make myself feel smarter. I like to read nonfiction once and a while for this. I suppose if the civil war facts interested you the book is well enough written, but personally i prefer my facts in novel format.
July 25, 2019
The research behind the book is fantastic. The writing was so well done that it brought me to anger describing the plight of African Americans in DC at the time. My only complaint is in the editing - certain facts and persons are stated as if they hadn't just been discussed a few pages before; the repetition was frustrating.
January 27, 2023
This was a well done general and popular history of Washington DC during the US Civil War. Sometimes I felt he veered off the main subject of the book, but he always brought it back to the main point. A really important read for anyone who wants to learn about the social changes the war brought, and the transformation that helped make the city what it is today.
December 22, 2025
a really great insight into what DC was like during the Civil War, and Lincoln's contributions!
October 25, 2016
A very different book from Margaret Leech's Reveille in Washington, 1860-65, this work offers far less of the vivid anecdotes, and more academically-informed history. Where Leech was writing for an audience that could probably remember a horse-dominated city, Winkle carefully documents what that domination meant, including multiple veterinary hospitals, each specializing in a different malady.
Winkle's focus is on Lincoln, and this book seems conceived as a way to add something to the vast river of studies on the 16th president. In this vein, he considers Lincoln's time in the District during his congressional term, with an account of the role of slavery and attempts for freedom in that era.
Winkle's focus is on Lincoln, and this book seems conceived as a way to add something to the vast river of studies on the 16th president. In this vein, he considers Lincoln's time in the District during his congressional term, with an account of the role of slavery and attempts for freedom in that era.
January 12, 2014
I thought I knew a lot about the Civil War and especially its impact on Washington, where I live. Not so, as I learned from this fine, well written and researched work:
The devastating if close-to-overwhelming impact of the injured, many dying, on Washington, that poured in after losing battles, 1st and 2nd Bull Run, etc,.
The operation of the "underground railroad" as Washington coped with a black population that was at the start still partly slave, parly free, partly contraband.
And while of course Lincoln was a great president, you have here a fine-grained affirmation of that, as Lincoln had to, esp 1861 and '62, mediate and decide on many very local issues.
How the alley structure of Washington came to be and its local impact.
There is much more. An excellent book
The devastating if close-to-overwhelming impact of the injured, many dying, on Washington, that poured in after losing battles, 1st and 2nd Bull Run, etc,.
The operation of the "underground railroad" as Washington coped with a black population that was at the start still partly slave, parly free, partly contraband.
And while of course Lincoln was a great president, you have here a fine-grained affirmation of that, as Lincoln had to, esp 1861 and '62, mediate and decide on many very local issues.
How the alley structure of Washington came to be and its local impact.
There is much more. An excellent book
November 22, 2014
This book was packed full of facts. It provided great detail regarding just how hard Lincoln worked to keep the United States together yet address the issue of slavery which he so very much opposed. In addition, the reader is treated to a look at life in Washington DC during the Civil War.
November 14, 2021
As a person with keen interest in the Civil War, this is like the perfect handbook. Heavily researched and a thorough effort that reads really well. My copy is now looking like it has been through a storm or two! Highly recommend this book to history readers, and those who think they aren't.
March 25, 2014
Full of fascinating facts. A must read for those who enjoy history.
January 15, 2015
An interesting look at how the Civil War changed Washington. A wonderful and unique perspective. Totally enjoyable!
July 11, 2016
Lincoln's Citadel details the transformation of Wash DC during the civil war. The absorption of tens of thousands contrabands and wounded soldiers overwhelmed a sleepy town
August 29, 2022
The union army needed some help
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews