If Lincoln had not died

[Liz Rosenthal]

(01-10-2013 04:45 PM)Laurie Verge Wrote:  However, I would think that the President would call Congress back in session given the emergency and that the railroads could have brought a significant amount of them back within a week or so.

Easier said than done, Laurie! We still didn't have a transcontinental railroad in 1861, which meant that representatives from California and Oregon would have had quite a problem getting to Washington. Also, from what I can remember, for several weeks after Lincoln first put out a call for 75,000 volunteers, the railroad routes through the state of Maryland, and especially through Baltimore, were damaged or destroyed by Maryland secessionists and had to be repaired. Moreover, Lincoln had to work out an agreement with Maryland officials to allow troops to go through their state. Baltimore was out of the question - that city especially was a hotbed of hostility to the North's cause - and a route had to be worked out for the troops involving a lot of marching and then taking a boat to Annapolis, from whence they could get to Washington.