“You've said this to Napier?”
“Yes.”
“Then which, in your opinion, will occur?”
“An attack, but only if it can be pulled off. Scouting forces are out now trying to determine if an attack in overwhelming force at a particular point can tip the scales and give us. however temporarily, a major Union city. Baltimore and Washington are the only two choices. Philadelphia is too far to the northeast and it would be too easy for Lee to be trapped there. No, it must be either Baltimore or Washington, where he can keep his line of retreat open.”
Wolsey nodded concurrence. “And which will it be?”
Knollys split the biscuit in two and gave half to Wolsey. They each took a tentative bite. It was hard, but it didn't taste too awful. Knollys decided it wouldn't kill him.
“There can only be one target,” Knollys said. 'Washington. Nothing else makes sense.”
“My dear Nathan,” Rebecca said, “if the president and his lady will not depart Washington, then why should I?”
“Because, dearest Rebecca, the city may be in danger, and you as well should the Confederates come this way. As it seems apparent that they must pass by, there will be a threat until they have gone.”
They were seated in the kitchen and eating a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. It had been prepared by Bridget Conlin. who listened in amusement to their first quarrel since becoming lovers.
“I was not aware that the Confederates waged war on women,” Rebecca persisted. She was in an ill temper. She had begun her monthly flow, which, along with being uncomfortable and painful, meant she and Nathan could not make love until it ceased. At least it meant she was not with child. She did not need that complication at this particular time.
“They don't,” he replied. His frustration matched her own. Her safety was paramount to him. “But their cannon shells and bullets cannot determine friend from foe, man from woman. Battle is a storm of lead and flying metal and no one knows where it will land. Congress and most of the cabinet have departed for Philadelphia and safety, and why not you?”
She reached across and grasped his hand. “Because I wish to be here with you. Congress are a bunch of cowardly rascals and their flight is of no surprise or consequence. I saw them flee like rabbits after Bull Run. so this doesn't surprise me. Besides. I'm confident that the city's walls are strong enough to withstand any attack.”
Nathan wanted to lecture her on the theory that there was no such thing as an impregnable fortress, but recognized that her mind was made up. Damn: why did he always have to fall in love with strong-willed women?
Congress had indeed fled, and had taken with it much of Washington's population. Many had departed at Lee's first advance, and others had packed up and left on hearing that he was returning on his way back south. Even the dullest understood that Lee would strike at any time and at any place he felt it to be to his advantage. As a result. Washington City was a virtual ghost town.
Within the capital, siege preparations continued with the Treasury Building designated as the last citadel should the defenses be breached. The great stone building now bristled with cannon and was garrisoned by several hundred regulars. President Lincoln and his family would live within its walls should there be danger to his person. Lincoln had bristled at the thought of abandoning the White House, particularly since the British, who had burned it in 1814, might be part of the danger and would likely burn it again if they could.
Reason had prevailed. The president and his family finally agreed to move to the Treasury should the Confederates approach.
“Will General Scott seek refuge in the Treasury?” Rebecca asked.
“I doubt it”
“Then I will stay here with him and wait for you.”
“And where do you think I will be?” he asked
She looked at him sadly and shook her head. 'When the guns fire, you will be with the soldiers.”
Lord Palmerston felt a dull ache in his arm, which was odd since he could scarcely feel his fingers. His skull throbbed and he felt so exhausted that both speech and rational thought were suddenly difficult. He badly needed rest. He wasn't young anymore and playing the game of empires was draining him. He wondered if the Roman emperors had felt this way. It really didn't matter. This was England, not Rome, and the British Empire was poised on the brink of a colossal defeat.
It was now confirmed. Lee and his Anglo-Confederate army were withdrawing back to Virginia. Lee had been outmaneuvered by Grant, who had declined to give battle, thus causing the invaders to use up all their food and much of their ammunition in a fruitless chase of the Union army. As a result, the British expeditionary force was in peril. The Anglo-Confederates were outnumbered and were being tracked by vast Union hordes that used railroads to ship their armies parallel to those of Lee's. Damn, he hated this new technology! And where was it written that Lee's and Napier's army travelled by foot while Grant's rode trains?
Of particular concern was the way Napier's army was now inextricably involved with the Confederacy's. The presence of British forces in Virginia had been predicated on a decisive victory over the North that would have ended the war and permitted the British troops to be withdrawn and returned to Ireland and Canada.
Yet how could they be withdrawn with their Union enemies intact and strong? To have Napier depart Virginia would be correctly construed as abandoning the Confederacy. As repugnant as it felt. Great Britain was being inexorably drawn into a bloody land war in the vastness of North America.
The choicest morsels of Canada remained under Union control, and a Northern army inched towards the eastern end of Lake Ontario. In Ireland, chaos reigned. The discredited Sepoys held only a couple of seacoast garrisons, and northern Protestants had commenced their own civil war against the more numerous southern Catholics. Atrocities of all kinds were being committed by both sides. The regular British army was urgently needed to reestablish control,
Messengers from Lord Napier had arrived at Norfolk and had cabled reports to Palmerston. In them, the prime minister was told of the possibility of a strike at Washington. This was the only good news to come from the campaign. And it was also the proverbial last chance. A return to Virginia without a substantial victory would not only be a defeat for the combined arms of Britain and the Confederacy, but could spell the political downfall of Palmerston's Whig party. To be out of power at this stage of his long life and career would be a virtual death sentence. His opposition would doubtless sue for peace, which would doom any chance for eliminating the United States as a rival as well as hamper any future plans to neutralize England's real enemy, France.
Palmerston grasped his left hand with his right. It was so difficult to feel the cold limb. He needed a rest, but there wasn't time. He tried to visualize the British army, thousands of miles away, advancing in triumph into Washington. But the picture wouldn't focus.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE UNION FORCES defending Washington were arrayed in a wide circle, which meant that not one single position was defended in extraordinary depth. While the fortresses could stop virtually any attack, it was accepted that no fortification was truly impregnable. Thus, the intent of the massive fortifications was to delay an attacker until reinforcements could arrive both from within Washington and from other locations.
Washington was perceived by planners on both sides as being like Mr. Lowe's balloons in that once pierced a collapse could occur. As commander in Washington, Major General George Meade had planned for exactly such a contingency. He was confident that his reinforcements could react in a timely manner and blunt any Confederate assault. He was particularly pleased that Mr. Lowe's balloons would give him an additional advantage in that the movement of a large force of men would easily be seen from thousands of feet in the sky.