Who guarded Lincoln

[gary]

According to Bruce Catton, when Lincoln entered Washington, soldiers were posted on rooftops along his route to protect against the President being shot. What unit was this? I presume it's a regular unit because the war hadn't started yet.

[samgrant]

I wonder where Catton mentions this. I do not recall it from Catton or otherwise. When Lincoln's train arrived in Washington he was met by Congressman Elihu Washburne and they rode together to Willard's Hotel.

Perhaps you are referring to the day of his inauguration when there were definitely soldiers ("sharpshooters" according to some sources) posted, on orders by General Scott, on rooftops and in windows of buildings along Pennsylvania Ave. from the White House to the Capitol building.

[gary]

Yes SamGrant. It was the inauguration day when the "sharpshooters" were ordered onto rooftops. They must have been regulars as the shooting hadn't started yet. I'm wondering what unit(s) had the honor?

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by gary

Yes SamGrant. It was the inauguration day when the "sharpshooters" were ordered onto rooftops. They must have been regulars as the shooting hadn't started yet. I'm wondering what unit(s) had the honor?

Well, that's your area of expertise, I'd expect. Wonder where one might find info on the organization/hierarchy of the pre-war 'regular army' under Scott? Apparently they had designated "sharpshooters" at that time, tho I can't imagine what for.

[ole]

I'm guessing there were always regulars in Washington serving in this or that sentry, guard, official duties. Perhaps as much as a regiment or two. Don't know that there were "official" sharpshooters, but there would certainly have been some acknowledged "best" shots in each company.

Now. Onto Gary's question -- there must be a record somewhere. I wouldn't know where to begin to look.
Ole

[samgrant]

Originally Posted by ole

I'm guessing there were always regulars in Washington serving in this or that sentry, guard, official duties. Perhaps as much as a regiment or two. Don't know that there were "official" sharpshooters, but there would certainly have been some acknowledged "best" shots in each company.

Ole

Interesting to think there might have been some sort of Federal force protecting the Capitol/the President, at a time when there had never before had there been any assassination of a president (tho, were there any prior attempts? I don't know.) I guess there was always a Marine Band, maybe they hid rifles behind those tubas.

"Lincoln and the Marine Band
Memories of the White House, by William H. Crook, describes the scene at the ball following Abraham Lincoln’s first inauguration in 1861. It mentions that the ball was held in a temporary wooden structure on Judiciary Square with music by the Marine Band. During the American Civil War, the band continued its outdoor concerts in Lafayette Park. The Marine Band also accompanied Lincoln to Pennsylvania when he delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address. "

http://www.marineband.usmc.mil/learn...presidents.htm

[gary]

Per se the soldiers weren't designated sharpshooters & their marksmanship training depended on their officers (whether the officer was enthusiastic enough to give them target practice and procure that expensive ammunition for them to practice with).

My own research shows that the word, sharpshooter, is very loosely used by many soldiers and does not necessarily denote marksmanship. Furthermore, sharpshooter is used almost synonymously with skirmisher by the less enlightened. BTW, this will be discussed more fully in Chapter 7 of my own book (it was also discussed in my presentation before my CW Round Table).

Quite frankly, I don't think the soldiers posted on the route were accomplished marksmen. They were ordered to sharpshoot (as opposed to shooting indiscriminately) or identify specific targets and hit them. I'd still like to know what unit(s) lined the route.

[samgrant]

I have also found this an interesting question. It's hard to know where to start.

Googling, the best I've done so far is this brief, rather unenlightening entry under the heading "United States Sharpshooters":

Before the outbreak of the Civil War, a few hand picked sharpshooters were used as a presidential guard (On the day of President Lincoln's inauguration Sharpshooters were used because of the threat on his life from the rebellious confederacy).

-from http://www.angelfire.com/co3/sharpshooters/usss.html


From a couple of books I have about Washington D. C. at that time, I found that Charles P. Stone had been put in charge, and am more inclined to believe that the "sharpshooters" may well have come from a militia unit.

From Wikipedia I found this:

"At the outbreak of secession, Stone found himself in Washington writing his report on Sonora. After a dinner with his former commander General Scott, Stone was requested to be Inspector General of the District of Columbia Militia at the rank of Colonel as of January 1 and was thus the first volunteer officer mustered into the Union Army before the Civil War. In this role, he secured the capital for the arrival of President-elect Abraham Lincoln and was personally responsible for security at the new president's inaugural."

From Freedom Rising by Ernest B. Furgurson, "To defend Washington, at year's end [1860] there were fewer than 500 regular Federal troops - between 300 and 400 Marines ..., plus 50 or more ordnancemen ... . In theory they were backed by four small volunteer militia companies .... The four together totaled perhaps 500 more men, whose loyalty to the Union was by no means certain."

[One unit that can be discarded would be "National Rifles", one of the four militias referred to above.]

"The day after Charles Stone was appointed inspector general of the capitol, he encountered Captain F. B. Schaeffer, of the National Rifles, ... and complimented him on his company's reputation for precision drill.
"Yes, it is a good company," said Schaeffer, who had not heard of Stone's new commission. "I suppose I shall soon have to lead it to the banks of the Susquehanna!"
"Why so?" asked Stone.
"Why! To guard the frontier of Maryland and help keep the Yankees from coming down to coerce the South!"
Stone ... did not disclose his own assignment. Later, he admitted that "this was not a very cheerful beginning.""

From Reveille In Washington by Margaret Leech, comes this info about the four militias:

"The four existing organizations of citizen soldiers, three in Washington and one in Georgetown, were already supplied with arms." [The Washington units:] "the Washington Light Infantry and the National Guard Battalion were old and dependable establishments. The third and most fashionable ..., the Washington Rifles, was a hotbed of disloyalty."

[Stone] "ordered Schaeffer to deposit in the armory the howitzers and other unsuitable armament, and the order was obeyed. Eventually, the captain resigned, taking the elite of his men with him to serve in the South." [they formed a company of the First Virginia Infantry, under Schaeffer's command].


That's all for now. I'll do a little more research on some of these other militia units, and continue this post.

[gary]

Thanks SamGrant. I didn't know Stone secured the route for Lincoln. Stone, as we know, was killed at Ball's Bluff, wasn't he? It caused a quite a scandal.

I may have to write the National Park Service to see if they know anything.

[samgrant]

[quote=gary] Stone, as we know, was killed at Ball's Bluff, wasn't he? quote]

No he wasn't, but he was made the scapegoat for the fiasco, and was arrested and confined, under no charges, for 189 days.