1850 American Gold Tycoon.

Chapter 709: See the top of Capitol Hill!

These remnants of Pope's Army were unable to defeat the Confederate Army even when they had an absolute advantage in manpower.

Given the disadvantage in both manpower and battlefield situation, their performance would only be worse.

The main force of the Confederate Army commanded by Robert Lee and Longstreet launched an attack on Pope's Army at three o'clock in the afternoon of the same day, and Pope's Army was completely defeated at around four-thirty.

The 1.2 troops of Pope's Army held out for only one hour and thirty minutes before they were defeated and retreated towards Centerville.

The defeated Union soldiers led by Pope, who were good at running, appeared in Centerville around five in the afternoon.

The Union generals did not have the tacit understanding that the Confederate generals had, and the Union soldiers were not as united as the Confederate soldiers.

Pope's soldiers who fled to Centerville were collectively ridiculed by the Union soldiers of the Army of the Potomac.

By the early hours of the morning, the Union soldiers of the Army of the Potomac who had laughed at their colleagues during the day, including McDowell himself, could no longer laugh.

Because their scouts discovered that there were a large number of organized Confederate soldiers to the north of Centerville, and they were advancing towards Centerville.

It was not uncommon to see scattered Confederate troops north of Centerville.

Both the North and the South sent guerrillas to carry out harassment missions to each other's rear areas.

But if a fully-organized Confederate Army unit appeared, the situation would be very serious, indicating that Centerville had been surrounded by the Confederate Army.

When McDowell heard that a large number of organized Confederate troops appeared north of Centerville, he suspected that he had heard it wrong.

It was not until all the soldiers in the reconnaissance division assured him that what they saw was definitely the main force of the Confederate Army, not a guerrilla force, that McDowell was forced to accept reality.

It must be Beauregard's Confederate Army moving south from the Arlington area!

Just as Pope had complained about him, McDowell began to complain about the Washington Capital Garrison.

Are these people blind and dumb?

Didn’t he notice that the main force of the Confederate Army under Beauregard was moving south, or did they deliberately not tell him?

There is no doubt that under the attack of the three main Confederate forces, the Army of Virginia, Robert Lee's Army, and Beauregard's Army, the Army of the Potomac had no will to fight and only put up a symbolic resistance before retreating northward in a hurry.

Unlike Pope's troops, the Army of the Potomac had not participated in high-intensity battles, so their physical strength was better preserved and they could run faster.

Although their retreat was very embarrassing and they were chased all the way by Stuart's Southern Cavalry Brigade, half of the soldiers of the Army of the Potomac eventually successfully retreated to Washington.

Stuart's Southern Cavalry Brigade pursued the enemy all the way to the southwest bank of the Potomac River, which is the location of the Pentagon in later generations, across the river from the capital of the Northern Union.

The cavalrymen of the Southern Cavalry Brigade watered their horses on the southwest bank of the Potomac River. They even laughed and played by the river and raised their glasses to celebrate.

Standing on the river bank, they could not only clearly see the top of Capitol Hill, but also the buildings in Washington city.

victory!

The victory that the South wanted seemed to be about to be achieved!

Faced with the Confederate cavalry on the southwest bank of the Potomac River, Washington's defenders were helpless. All they could do was fire cannons to disperse these annoying Southerners.

The Northern high-ranking officials, who were still immersed in the victory on the Western Front and the joy of capturing a Western Army general for the first time since the war began, were once again poured a bucket of cold water.

Of the two main armies of the Northern Federation on the Eastern Front, one was almost completely wiped out, and the other had only half of its soldiers returned.

The capital Washington has fallen into a situation where there are no soldiers available on the Eastern Front!

The first thing members of Congress thought of was their only remaining corps: McClellan's Omaha Corps!

Lincoln and some members of his cabinet attached great importance to the frontier region and were unwilling to give up this major granary.

Lincoln believed that if the frontier areas were lost, it would become very difficult to raise food in the future, and the Union would also lose high-quality military personnel in the frontier areas.

Even many members of Congress who advocated abandoning the border areas and temporarily resolving the southern problem had to admit that the combat effectiveness of the troops composed of border residents from the border areas was indeed stronger than that of the troops composed of citizens from the eastern region.

They also have to rely on these country bumpkins whom they despise to defend the entire regime, protect their property and even their personal safety.

"If we lose the frontier areas, we can always take them back later! Losing Washington, Philadelphia, and New York would be a real disaster. Abraham! I hope you can stay rational. We must try to keep the eastern region so that we can have the energy to deal with the problems in the west!"

From Illinois to Washington, the Northern Union's Secretary of State Seward had always stood firmly on Lincoln's side and given Lincoln strong support, but this time, Seward rarely stood against Lincoln.

Seward also advocated that the Omaha Corps be called back to support the defense of Washington in order to preserve the core ruling areas of the Union. The Northern Union could not afford to lose the consequences of the core ruling areas.

Lincoln, who wanted to have both the Western and Eastern Fronts, was pushed to the brink and had to choose between the eastern industrial states and the central frontier regions.

In desperation, Lin Ke, knowing that it was impossible to do anything, still made a statement and sent a telegram to McClellan, asking the Omaha Corps to immediately take a train to Washington to calm the emotions of Congress.

McClellan felt angry and amused when he received the telegram.

Take the train to help Washington?

Why not let him and the soldiers of the Omaha Legion put on wings and fly back to Washington?

The situation now faced by the Omaha Corps is also very grim. The Western Army has now dug trenches and built a defense line in the east of Omaha City.

No train had entered Omaha for 21 days. Not to mention trains, even horse carriages could hardly leave Omaha. McClellan reported the situation truthfully, but he did not expect to receive a telegram asking him to find a way to break out and return to Washington. The telegram was signed by Washington and Scott.

After seeing the final signature, McClellan realized that even Lincoln and Scott could not withstand the pressure this time, and Washington's situation was extremely dangerous.

McClellan didn't understand how the Eastern Front, with its strong military forces and favorable logistical conditions, could be defeated so quickly.

"General McClellan! The Maine Brigade and the First Mercenary Regiment have won a great victory and destroyed the Western Army. But you are still hiding in Omaha and passively defending. Do you want to be the second McDowell?"

Astor again found McClellan and put pressure on him.

Only this time, Aster came because he was worried about the safety of the First Mercenary Group.

Under Brannan's instigation, Astor also invested a lot of money in the First Mercenary Group and became one of the major financiers of the First Mercenary Group.

Astor hadn't received any news from the First Mercenary Regiment for five days. He hoped that McClellan could take the initiative to attack and tie down Liang Yao's main force of the Western Army to share some of the pressure for the First Mercenary Regiment.

McClellan didn't care much about the life and death of the First Mercenary Regiment, but he cared about the life and death of the Maine Brigade.

When talking about this matter, McClellan was also very upset. There was no latest news from the Maine Brigade. Could it be that it was entangled by the Yankee troops?

"There is only one McDowell in the world. When McDowell was in Centerville, he had Pope's Corps on the front line to hold off the Confederate Army for him. I don't have that," McClellan said to Astor.

"Tomorrow, we will have a decisive battle with the Western Army in the eastern suburbs! Congressman Astor, notify Congressman Livingston and his men and have them prepare. If we can break through the Westerners' defenses with God's blessing tomorrow and succeed in breaking out, you will lead the congressmen and follow the main force out of the city."

McClellan thought that it would be better if he were at McDowell's in Centerville. At least he would not be fighting alone, and Washington would be right behind him, making it easier to return to Washington.

McClellan set the location of the decisive battle in the eastern suburbs of Omaha. The Western Army first established a foothold in the eastern suburbs of Omaha, and the Western Army's encirclement in the eastern suburbs was weaker than that in the western suburbs.

Furthermore, as long as the Western Army's eastern suburbs defense line was broken through, the Omaha Corps could move to Des Moines.

Des Moines was far from the front line, and the Western Army's cavalry and guerrillas had not had time to destroy the railway from Des Moines to the East.

Once in Des Moines, the Omaha Corps would be able to take a train to Washington to complete the mission assigned to it by Lincoln and the War Department.

"I'll go tell them."

Astor was quite surprised that McClellan agreed so readily.

He is a senator from New York State and is very well-informed. He also knows the current situation in Washington.

Astor knew that McClellan had to leave the city and fight the Western Army. He thought that McClellan's character would delay for a few days on the grounds of the need for preparation, but he did not expect McClellan to go against his usual behavior and decisively make the decision to break out.

After a brief stop at the Praet City to replenish clean water and fresh food, Napoleon III's special train slowly started towards Waterloo.

“They built California into a prosperous state with two megacities with a population of more than half a million and several large cities with a population of more than 12 in less than years.

Even in Pratt, a remote place deep in the interior, they were able to build to this level in five years and build a large arsenal and ammunition factory here. I have to say, this is a miracle."

After personal inspection, Napoleon III was left with a good impression of the American Republic.

This is a country full of vitality and hope, but right now this new country is in the midst of war and there are unpredictable uncertainties.

"The most amazing thing is that they were able to maintain rapid expansion and development for 12 years without encountering any serious economic or financial crisis," said Le Goff, who was accompanying them.

Le Goff was in a very happy mood. Napoleon III was very satisfied with the inspection. If nothing unexpected happened, France and the American Republic would soon establish formal diplomatic relations.

And he will rise rapidly and make a name for himself in the French diplomatic world.

"It's a miracle, indeed."

The somewhat boring word "financial crisis" touched Napoleon III's sensitive nerves, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

The Second French Empire was facing a severe financial crisis.

Part of the reason for his expedition to Mexico was to divert the attention of the people at home and to get some money from Mexico to subsidize national expenses.

Those bugs of the Second Republic emptied the French treasury and squeezed the people dry. In the end, under the surging public opinion, the radicals and conservatives within the Republicans did nothing and continued to fight each other. Even the workers' movement could not be quelled. In the end, both factions attacked and blamed each other and went to their destruction, and were abandoned by the French people.

Since he ascended the throne, he has taken over the mess left behind by the Second Republic.

Facts have proven that the republican system is a paradise for short-sighted, speculative politicians. Political speculators who can cater to public opinion and are eloquent thrive in this system.

Napoleon III saw a different republic here, or rather, it was still an incongruous autocratic country in the guise of a republic.

He participated in the politics of the Second French Republic, and based on his personal experience, the Second French Republic was more like a republic.

The President of the American Republic holds powers that are unimaginable to the head of the provisional government at the head of the Second French Republic.

(End of this chapter)