385 To the Defense of Washington

385. To the Defense of Washington

The national capital was really a Southern town , for most of the permanent residents were Southerners , and the offices were filed with Southern men . In the army and navy ,to0, were very many Southerners . Most of them , as Robert E . Lee , felt that their duty to their state was greater than their duty to their flag . But many Southern officers felt differently . Among these were two men whose names should be held in grateful remembrance , Captain David G . Farragut and Colonel George H . Thomas . The first soldiers to arrive in Washington were from Pennsylvania ; but they came unarmed . Soon they were followed by the Sixth Massachusetts . In passing through Baltimore this regiment was attacked . Several men were killed , others were wounded . This was on April 19,1861,-- the an - niversary of the battles of Lexington and Con - cord . It was the first bloodshed of the war .