ANGRY MOB ATTEMPTS TO DISRUPT COUNTING OF ELECTORAL VOTE
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) "A mob gathered outside the Capitol and tried to force its way in to disrupt the counting of the electoral certificates" writes Dr. Ted Widmer* in his opinion column published in The New York Times on January 8, 2021.
You might think Mr. Widmer was referring to the recent events of January 6, 2021, but no...he was describing the situation of February 13, 1861 when Congress was in the process of confirming Abraham Lincoln's election as President of the United States.
Unlike January 6, 2021, the Capitol on February 13, 1861 "was guarded by men prepared for the onslaught." Two hundred soldiers of the army of the United States surrounded and protected our "Cradle of Democracy" on orders of General Winfield Scott**.
Dr. Widmer describes the mob as "loud and swearing (and) wanting to get in." Soldiers were instructed to allow only persons who had authorized passes inside. The members of the mob had no such passes.
They were up against a general who "meant business." Scott warned that any intruder would "be lashed to the muzzle of a twelve pounder and fired out the window of the Capitol." For good measure he added..."I would manure the hills of Arlington with the fragments of his body."
The soldiers were positioned in just the right places and when the mob was blocked from entry, they branded General Scott, a native of Virginia, a traitor.
And when a secessionist Texas senator asked if General Scott "would dare...arrest a senator for treason," Scott exploded...
"NO, I WILL BLOW HIM TO HELL!"
*Edward (Ted) Ladd Widmer was born in 1963 & earned his PhD in History at Harvard University. He is distinguished lecturer at the Macaulay Honors College at CUNY & is author of "Lincoln on the Verge: Thirteen Days to Washington," Simon & Schuster (2020).
**Winfield Scott (1786-1866) was born in Dinwiddie County, VA & educated at the College of William & Mary. His father was a veteran of the Revolutionary War. WS was admitted to the bar in 1806 & served in the VA militia.
WS's service in the US Army spanned 1808-1861. Known as "Old Fuss & Feathers," he was Commanding General of the Army 1841-1861 serving under presidents from Tyler to Lincoln.
SOURCES
"The Capitol Attack of 1861," Apple Podcast, History This Week, www.podcasts.apple.com/
"The Capitol Takeover That Wasn't," by Ted Widmer, January 8, 2021, The New York Times, www.nytimes.com/
