Inside the White House, the official residence of the President of the United States in Washington, the atmosphere has never been more bleak than it is now. The members of Congress and cabinet ministers who remained in Washington and did not evacuate sat in a daze in the conference room. The secretaries who came in and out were more and more frightened, and the news they brought was worse and worse. It turned out that those confident officials and parliamentarians were like eggplants beaten by frost. I couldn't believe what had happened in just a few dozen hours. The Potomac Legion, which left Washington with a high spirit, is now almost gone!

First of all, the main forces of the three armies were defeated by the Confederate army in Poolsville, a small town on the east bank of the Potomac River, and the number of losses was so large that it was impossible to count, and only a few thousand of the 50,000 or 60,000 troops fled back to Washington, and even the dozens of congressmen and journalists who happily followed to shout and cheer are all missing, and I don't know if they have been captured by the Southerners?

Later, Maryland militia found heavy fighting on the other side of the Potomac River in the Great Falls section, with artillery roaring for hours and a dense burst of gunfire and shouts of killing. Probably Joseph. Brigadier General Mansfield commanded the First Army in a fierce battle with the Confederate Army - as for the outcome, I don't know yet, but I don't think the First Army will end well! The three armies commanded by McDowell before were all finished, what miracle could Mansfield be expected to do with one army?

However, McDowell's division of forces was not without its usefulness, at least it contained some of the main forces of the Confederate army - there is very little news from all sides, but one thing is certain: the Confederate Northern Virginia Legion after the main force of the Potomac Legion was defeated. And did not immediately march on Washington, which was empty of troops. It is very likely that it will turn around and annihilate the First Army. This gives the federal government a moment in Washington, D.C. It can be considered whether it is a war or a peace...... And, of course, the organization of the retreat!

The current Federation has only more than 200,000 troops in the navy and army, and it is also spread over a vast territory, which can be used for the strength around Washington, that is, the 80,000-strong Potomac Regiment and the more than 10,000 militia in Maryland, as well as a small number of Washington garrisons. Now that the main forces of it have been routed, the losses are innumerable, and the remaining forces are no longer enough to defend the capital of the United States, if the Confederacy is unwilling to sue for peace, then a retreat is inevitable......

In a corner of the conference room. There was a heated debate, and there was a tendency to get louder.

“…… This catastrophe must now be ended! The Federation has been defeated, the Potomac Legion is finished, this is the main army of the Federation! Even if we can still find some new troops, it will be difficult to make them stronger than the Potomac Army in the short term, and the Southerners can still defeat them easily! Therefore, we must seek a solution to the political problem, and the war can no longer be fought! ”

It was Vice President Hannibal who spoke. Hamlin, his gray hair fluttering with his intense movements. The vice president, who was swaggering yesterday, is now a complete pessimist. Of course, his pessimism was also very justified - according to incomplete information coming back from the front, the Confederate forces in the south possessed two powerful weapons. A gun that fires quickly and continuously...... The rate of fire is likely to reach hundreds of rounds per minute! The warriors of the Federation were defeated by this weapon piece by piece!

Another possibility is some kind of rifled gun, and the rate of fire is just as surprisingly fast. Far more than the hexagonal cannon of the Federation Army! What's even more terrifying is that this rifled gun can also use blasting shells, and the infantry phalanx of the Federal Army was blown to pieces by this artillery, and the number of casualties is so large that it is difficult to calculate, probably as high as tens of thousands!

"The Federation cannot admit defeat! We still have the capital to fight! Several voices rang out almost at the same time. The tone was so fierce and the attitude was so unceremonious that he didn't care in the slightest about the feelings of President Lincoln, who was sitting next to them.

"The Union cannot afford to lose eleven states in the South! And now it is not only the South that has a tendency to secession, Utah and California are equally likely to secede from the Union, but the New Mexico region and Arizona, which were close to enclaves after Utah's independence, will definitely secede from the Union as well! In addition, West Virginia, which is rich in coal mines, will definitely be lost, so that we will lose more than half of our country and very rich land, and the United States cannot afford such a loss! ”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Monsa. Chase raised the strongest objections, saying: "Eighty percent of U.S. exports depend on cotton and tobacco from the South, most of the gold and silver used to mint dollars come from the gold and silver mines of California and Utah, and the U.S. steel industry also needs coal from West Virginia." If we lose cotton, tobacco, gold and silver, and coal in West Virginia, and more than 50% of the land, what else does America have? ”

"But we can't win!" HANNIBAL. Hamlin shook his head heavily, "If we continue to fight, not only Washington will not be able to hold it, but the entire Maryland will fall, and maybe even Philadelphia and New York will not be able to hold it!" ”

"So what?" Monsa. Chase sneered, "Mr. Vice President, are you afraid of Jefferson. Did Davis unify the North by force? ”

Hamlin was stunned. Monsa. Chase continued: "If the South-occupied Washington, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and New York, are they still Southern hillbillies?" The U.S. Treasury Secretary paused and continued, "The economy of the American North is a whole, New York, Philadelphia, and Boston are the heart and brain, and the coal mines in West Virginia, the steel mills in Pennsylvania, the iron ore mines on the shore of Lake Superior, and the farms on both sides of the Mississippi River are all an inseparable whole...... The Southerners will either take nothing, or they will have to take it all! In this case, the United States is still the United States! ”

President Lincoln shook his head and said with certainty: "This is not what the South wants, nor does it want Britain, France, and China...... I don't think it's Jefferson. What Davis wants, he is not Napoleon, and the American people will not bow to the rule of power, the people of the North will not, and neither will the people of the South! ”

The President of the United States stood up, and his thin face was once again filled with a resolute expression, and he said loudly: "Gentlemen, now we are leaving Washington, leaving this capital named after the founding father of the United States, and going to New York temporarily, only temporarily!" Because the final victor of this civil war must belong to the Union, and it must belong to the American people!

The American people, who naturally yearn for freedom, could not be enslaved by anyone, and what Britain could not do, neither could the rebels in the South. Even if they take Washington, they take New York, they take Philadelphia, they even take the whole North. Even Jefferson. Davis can sit in the White House and dictate to the whole of America, as long as he has no way to turn the American people into slaves, the final victory is still ours!

To a united, prosperous, and powerful United States of America! Because such an America is in the interests of all the American people, including the people of the South. Therefore, we must choose to fight, fight to the end, even if it is at the cost of our lives, we will never give in! As long as we don't give in, victory will be ours! ”

Finally, the US president raised his arms and shouted: "Long live the United States of America!" Long live reunification! ”

After this generous statement, Abraham. President Lincoln has signed into law a draft enlistment act, which has just been urgently passed by the U.S. Congress, authorizing the federal government to recruit up to 1 million soldiers across the United States to build more troops! At the same time, he issued the "Federal Emergency Evacuation Order", abandoned the capital Washington, and moved the federal government departments, the two houses of Congress, and the Supreme Court to New York. At the same time, Washington was declared an "undefended city".

On June 13, 1861, four days after the end of the first decisive battle between the North and the South, known as the Battle of Poolesville, the "Seven Stars and Stripes," the symbol of the Confederate States of America, was slowly raised on the spire of the White House. However, the war has only just begun! (To be continued......)