Existing comment:
June 1864:
A Divided Party:
Nothing posed a greater threat to Lincoln's re-election than war weariness. Early in the year the president had skillfully defeated a trial campaign launched by friends of Treasury Secretary Chase. Other Republicans wanted to nominate Grant, but the general refused. This left a small faction committed to John Charles Fremont. On June 7, delegates meeting in Baltimore nominated the president for a second term. For Vice President, they named Andrew Johnson, a former Democrat who was serving as war governor of Tennessee.
July 1864:
The President Under Fire:
In July, Washington was threatened by a Confederate army of 20,000 led by Jubal A. Early. At one point, the invaders were scarcely two miles from the Soldier's Home -- forcing Lincoln to vacate and return to the White House.
On the afternoon of July 12, the president braved Confederate bullets while standing on the ramparts of Fort Stevens, part of the capital's outer defenses. Seeing Lincoln exposed, a general ordered the area cleared. |