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National Guard sleeping in the Capitol an echo of Civil War

National Guard sleeping in the Capitol an echo of Civil War

National Guard sleeping in the Capitol an echo of Civil War
Jan 17, 2021 1 min, 5 secs

Bowman Bigelow Breed wrote to his anxious wife back home in Massachusetts as his comrades lounged around him on the polished marble floors in the grand hall that was now their bivouac.

The regiment called itself “the Minutemen,” after those New England patriots who grabbed their muskets and rushed to face the Redcoats at Lexington and Concord in April 1775.

And, so, when President Abraham Lincoln called for 75,000 volunteers to put down the inusrrection of the Southern states, there was no question but that Bowman -- privileged son of a wealthy industrialist -- would go.

“A little room opening from that serves for my hospital, very small and very inconvenient,” Bowman wrote.

The Capitol was undergoing a massive expansion.

The day after their arrival, Bowman and his comrades were treated to a visit from Secretary of State William H.

The regiment was drawn up, Bowman said, “and the Pres made them a little speach.” It was early in the Republican’s first term, and most did not yet know what to make of this “dirty Hoosier,” as Hannah referred to the Kentucky-born, Indiana-bred Lincoln.

“All that has Ever been said of Lincolns awkwardness is mild compared with the reality,” Bowman wrote.

“The men gave three cheers for Lincoln, three for Seward and three rouses for the Union,” Bowman wrote.

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