Part Seven: Storm Center Summary and Analysis

Lincoln lacked capable generals to lead his armies against the Southern insurrection. General Winfield Scott was too old to take the field, and Robert E. Lee, whom he recommended, decided to fight for the Confederates. Lincoln called for troops from the Union, and there was a riot in Baltimore when the Sixth Massachusetts tried to march through. The rest of the troops gradually arrived, with Elmer Ellsworth leading an outfit from New York, though he would be killed in a battle very early on. Lincoln declared a blockade of the Southern coast, and was trying desperately to keep the border states in the Union, including Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri. Maryland and Missouri stayed, and Kentucky declared itself "neutral" in the conflict, with people enlisting in both armies. However, the Confederates sent an army into the...