The Qing Dynasty is about to end

Chapter 705: The Clarion Call of the American Civil War

1861年2月6日凌晨4时17分，华盛顿的浓雾中传来了第一阵枪响。

Unlike several previous accidental discharges or intimidating shootings in Washington, D.C., this shooting is recognized as the first gunshot of the American Civil War!
The person who ordered the firing was Senator James Henry Hammond of South Carolina, who was assigned by Democratic Senate leader Davis to bring 300 South Carolina militiamen to support the White House. A physical conflict was taking place on the North Lawn of the White House! A group of radical Pennsylvania militiamen tried to rush into the White House to arrest Buchanan and Douglas, but were stopped by the federal troops guarding the White House.

Hammond stood on a high place, watching his Charleston soldiers spread out like they were hunting in the countryside. These militiamen in blue tweed uniforms were all good hunters. When they were at home, they would go hunting in groups whenever they had time. Their movements were so skillful that it seemed as if they had returned to Charleston Harbor during the War of 1812. The Minié rifles in their hands were even better treasures. They were given by Napoleon III, and the French words "States' Rights Supremacy" were engraved on the barrels. Although the United States' own Springfield rifles were no worse than the Minié rifles, and the Spencer repeating rifles were the most technologically advanced rifles in the world, the support of the "French rifles" and the "French emperor" helped the United States to successfully gain independence!

What a good sign! Most of the militiamen from South Carolina are descendants of veterans of the Revolutionary War. They are all full of confidence.

"Load Minié bullets!" Hammond's voice was very low, as if he was giving the order with gritted teeth.

Fifty yards away, Pennsylvania militiamen were confronting two companies of Union soldiers under the command of Secretary of War Floyd on the North Lawn of the White House. Although both sides were holding rifles, no one was determined to open fire. The Northern militiamen had been working in Pennsylvania factories not long ago. Although they were holding brand new Springfield rifles, few of them could use them well. As for the two companies of Union troops, how could they dare to open fire in the face of the Pennsylvania militiamen who were armed and had live ammunition, which outnumbered them ten times? And there was also a Secretary of War shouting in the back: "No firing."

When the first wave of lead bullets tore through the early morning darkness and shot at the unprepared Pennsylvania militia, the armed Pennsylvania workers gathered on the north lawn of the White House suddenly fell into chaos. Dozens of people fell to the ground screaming. Some Pennsylvania militiamen, for some unknown reason, loaded bullets into their Springfield rifles, thinking that they were guarding the White House, so they opened fire on these federal troops in a daze, knocking down a dozen of them in an instant.

Immediately, the federal troops under attack also pulled the trigger and fired bullets at the Pennsylvania militia, and a battle instantly broke out on the North Lawn of the White House!
"Bayonets! For states' rights!"

Hammond pulled out the saber his grandfather had used in the War of Independence. The inscription "Give me liberty or give me death" on the blade gleamed in the morning light.

These South Carolina militiamen are really great. Three hundred of them dared to charge at two thousand people with bayonets, and they rushed forward while roaring.

The Pennsylvania militia on the other side was in chaos. Some dropped their rifles and ran into the bushes, while others ran towards the Treasury Building. Twenty workers from Pittsburgh tried to form a defensive square, but were torn to pieces by grapeshot from a 12-pound Napoleon cannon - this cannon from France was also a gift from Napoleon III. The sound of the cannon caused all the northern militia on the North Lawn of the White House to collapse.

In the Oval Office on the second floor of the White House, President Buchanan trembled as he put on his gold-rimmed glasses. Through the lenses, he finally saw the bloody fight on the North Lawn of the White House. Outside the window, the muffled sound of lead bullets hitting the stone wall continued to be heard, as if it was the death knell of the United States. At least, the United States he was familiar with no longer existed.

"Oh my God!" Stephen Douglas slumped beside the fireplace, smashing the brandy bottle in his hand onto the floor of the White House. His running mate Sheikha Johnson was stunned, muttering to himself: "It's over, it's over, it's all over."

Not long after, Hammond, who had just won the "Battle of the North Lawn of the White House", appeared in the President's Office with several South Carolina militia officers. He looked excited, like a general who had just won a battle.

"Mr. President! We defeated the Northern thugs!"

Buchanan slumped down in his chair, showing a tired and helpless expression: "This is treason."

"Yes! Lincoln was guilty of treason!" Hammond said with a smile, "Now please go to Capitol Hill immediately. This morning, Vice President Breckenridge will count the electoral votes in the Senate. I believe there will be a result that will satisfy the American people!"

"Never!" Douglas suddenly stood up and pointed at the Southern thugs in front of him, "I would rather die than be your puppet president."

Hammond's face turned pale in an instant, and he turned his gaze to Vice President Johnson, who just shook his head repeatedly: "No, no, no."

"Cowards!" Hammond turned around and ordered two South Carolina militia officers, "You take your men to guard the White House and keep an eye on these three!"

At 7:30 a.m., the platform of Washington Railway Station was crowded with fleeing government employees. In the white mist of the steam locomotive, Lincoln's tall and thin figure stood in the carriage, looking through the window with gray eyes at the panicked people on the platform.

"Gentlemen," he said, turning to face the 37 members of Congress crammed into the small carriage, "when our forefathers signed the Constitution in Philadelphia, they could never have imagined that one day..."

The train suddenly shook violently. William Sherman of Ohio used his bayonet to carve "1861.2.6, American Civil War broke out" on the wall of the carriage. Lincoln's voice became clearer and clearer:
"Look out the window! The real power of America lies not in the cotton fields of the plantations, but in the steel furnaces of Pittsburgh, in the machine tool workshops of Detroit, and in the coal ships of the Great Lakes!" As the train roared out of downtown Washington, a group of Maryland militiamen from Baltimore fired a 12-pound cannon at the speeding train. The shell flew past the roof of the train, but Lincoln remained motionless and continued his speech:

"When we abolished slavery and made four million black people free; when we protected domestic industry with high tariffs and allowed American workers to wear leather shoes made in the United States"

The whistle suddenly blew. Washington was located southwest of Baltimore. Lincoln's train had to pass through the Maryland militia blockade to reach York, Pennsylvania. At this time, a group of Maryland militiamen were setting up roadblocks on the railroad tracks. Lincoln grabbed the shaking ring and shouted the last words when the speeding train broke through the barricades that could only stop the galloping horses:
"Then the whole world will understand that a united, strong, and free America is the true hope for human civilization!"

Amid the applause, Senator O'Connor noticed that the palm of Lincoln's right hand was bleeding from the iron chain. The fat California senator secretly tore off a corner of his "Made in California" silk shirt and handed it to the leader who might lead the United States to greatness.

At 9 a.m. sharp, a brand new American flag was raised over the unfinished dome of the Capitol.

Davis, who had just been elected as the temporary president of the Senate, punched the podium in front of him after listening to Hammond's report.

"Cowards! All of them are cowards!" The voice of the senator from Mississippi echoed in the rotunda. But Xianfeng calmly pressed his trembling shoulders - Douglas's refusal to be president did not surprise him, because in the Book of the Minor Prophets, the president of the Southern United States was not Douglas, but Davis.

"According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1792," Hammond said to Davis, who had just been elected as the temporary president, "when both the president and the vice president are absent, the temporary president of the Senate shall take over."

Breckenridge wiped his monocle slowly: "I will declare Douglas and Johnson the winner of the election, and then declare them unable to perform their duties due to health reasons. Then, Jefferson, you will be president!"

"Mr. Davis, you will be our president!"

"Mr. Davis, under the law, you are the President by right!"

The southern senators in the Senate had already begun to "persuade" the president to run. At this time, the Republican and Constitution Party senators had already fled, but more than half of the senators remained in Washington - this met the legal number required for the Senate to meet, and there were 22 senators from southern slave states in person, an overwhelming advantage!
"Now I'm going to read the vote count!" Breckenridge stood on the podium, with a huge banner behind him that he had made overnight: 47% Justice Must Be Achieved. He deliberately used a thick southern accent to drawl out his voice: "I declare that Mr. Douglas and Mr. Johnson won the 19th US presidential election! But due to their health reasons,

His speech was suddenly interrupted by a deafening roar. It was the Virginia militia bombarding the retreating Northern militia with 12-pound Napoleon cannons!
Davis's oath of office was unusually brief. When his rough right hand placed on the text of the U.S. Constitution, Xianfeng smiled a winner - no matter what the future would hold, he not only got to the table, but also got off to a very good start!

That evening, two telegrams were sent from Washington and Yorktown.

The first was signed by Davis and sent to state capitals across the United States:

"According to the Senate vote count and the Presidential Succession Act, he is already the 19th President of the United States of America!"

The second was dictated by Lincoln and sent to the Northern and Midwestern states:
"The illegal regime has occupied Washington. All states are requested to immediately mobilize their militias to defend the Constitution. The legitimate president of the United States will be sworn in in New York."

In the Richmond arsenal, Minié rifles shipped from France were being unpacked, while in the Philadelphia steel mills, workers worked overnight to make new rifled cannons.

As the morning sun enveloped the Potomac River the next day, the two United States - one with Washington as its capital and the other with New York as its temporary capital - raised the Stars and Stripes at the same time.

In faraway San Francisco, Huang Shiren watched the latest batch of M1841 rifles labeled "Made in California" being loaded onto a ship and smiled to Huntington beside him: "It seems that we in California can not only produce silk shirts, but also munitions!"

On the other side of the Pacific Ocean in Luoyang, Luo Yaoguo was reviewing secret reports from the United States. He looked up and said to Shi Dakai with a smile: "Myna, the war has started in the United States. We should also let Zeng Guofan know what war in the industrial age is!"

(End of this chapter)