DOC The 116: The True Story of Abraham Lincoln’s Lost Guard by James P. Muehlberger in History

Review

0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Well Documented Account of Often Overlooked Part of Civil War HistoryBy ClifThis is a well documented account of a portion of American Civil War history that is often overlooked or discounted by historians. The 116 referenced by the book's title is based on the roll of 116 men who camped inside the White House and guarded the new President Abraham Lincoln for ten days at the beginning of the Civil War.From our perspective one hundred sixty years later it’s hard to imagine how history could have turned out differently. But at the beginning of the Civil War the future wasn’t at all clear. It appeared possible that Washington DC could end up being the capitol of the Confederate States. Washington DC geographically was very much a southern city sandwiched between Virginia and Maryland; both slave states. The only rail connection to DC from the north was routed through Baltimore; Maryland; the residence of many Southern sympathizers.Many Union supporters living in Washington DC fled town soon after April 17; 1861 when Virginia officially seceded from the Union on the assumption that it would soon be occupied by the Virginia militia. The city was totally unprepared for war partly because politicians had been hoping for a peaceful settlement and also because nearly all the standing army “had been scattered by a treasonous Secretary of War on the frontier west of the Mississippi River to guard against Indian raids.” The only military located in Washington DC were clerks; ceremonial guards; and military band; none of whom had fighting experience.James Lane and his men from Kansas (which had been recently admitted to the Union as a free state) organized what they called "Frontier Guard" and indicated their availability to provide protection for Lincoln. Lane was representing Kansas as a senator and his fellow guard members were in Washington DC probably seeking appointed office. The Frontier Guard was made up of experienced fighters from six years fighting for the anti-slavery cause in the Bleeding Kansas Border War.Lane’s guard established headquarters at the Willard hotel. Within days the guard was asked to report to duty at the White House until troops could arrive from the north. The U.S. Army command had learned that an attempt would be made to kidnap President Lincoln and overturn the government. The guard quickly moved to occupy the East Room or the White House with arms supplied by the Army.On April 15 Lincoln had issued an emergency request for 75;000 troops from the northern states; and it was believed that they were on their way. However telegraph communications from the north had been cut off by the Confederates; and nobody in Washington DC knew for sure if and when they would arrive.At night the glow of rebel campfires were visible on the south bank of the Potomac River. Lane knew it was important to make the Southerners think he had a bigger force than it really was. So he deployed various ruses to make his force appear to be large. The rumor was spread that he had a thousand experienced and well equipped fighters from the Kansas border war who were ready and eager to fight. Lane’s reputation and that of his Kansas free state forces were well known and despised in the South. A reasonable case can be made that the Frontier Guard saved Lincoln’s life; and who knows how the subsequent war and history would have turned out had Lincoln been kidnapped.On April 25; 1861 two army regiments arrived in Washington DC; one from New York and the other from Massachusetts. At that point the Washington DC was considered to be secure and Lane’s men were dispersed two days later.Beyond the book's narrative of Washington events; it paints a bloody and provocative portrait of the "civil war" between free-state and pro-slavery forces that tore Missouri and the Kansas Territory apart in the years immediately preceding the Civil War—a precursor to the national conflict that followed.Most historical accounts of the Frontier Guard indicate that the names of only about fifty of its members have been documented. The author’s research in the Library of Congress found the “Frontier Guard Roll Other Proceedings” which apparently had not previously been found because it listed the names and home addresses of all 116 members.This book ends up being a biography of all 116 of the members of the Frontier Guard covering their lives prior to the war; in the war; and afterward. The most information available is about Jim Lane. Many of the men who survived the war went on to successful business and political careers. Unfortunately Lane didn’t share in the guard’s postwar success. Crushed by Lincoln’s 1865 murder; Lane committed suicide the following year. The author indicates his belief that Lane’s enemies unfairly discredited his role in Civil War history.Over half of the book consists of appendices; timelines; endnotes; acknowledgments and index.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. "The 116" breaks new ground in telling about the force and its leader that saved Kansas and Lincoln in the Civil WarBy Marvin K. Collison"The 116" opens a whole new look at the struggle in Kansas before and during the Civil War as well as the importance of the Frontier Guards and their leader; Sen. James Lane; in protecting newly inaugurated President Abraham Lincoln in Washington City in the first weeks of the Civil War. Author James Muehlberger does much to repair the image and importance of Lane; also a Union general; in the saving of Kansas for anti-slavery forces and the Union while underscoring his importance in protecting a vulnerable president and nation's capital that was a mere breath away from being taken by hostile Southern forces in April 1861. The book shows how little protection the president had at the start of the war and how an audacious James Lane and his rugged; combat-hardened force of 116 frontiersman assured his safety from murder or kidnapping. The critical roles of Lane and the Frontier Guard in Kansas are also given much attention during their service in the fight with pro-slavery forces before the war and during the conflict with Rebel soldiers throughout the Civil War. "The 116" is indispensable in studying the Civil War in the Far West as well as the tense; dangerous first month of the Civil War in Washington.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. your education is not complete until you read this excellent account of a small group of men who helped ...By CustomerWhy was I never told about this in my history classes? If you have any interest in the story of our nation; your education is not complete until you read this excellent account of a small group of men who helped write that story. Muehlberger is adept at making a history book read like a fascinating novel you don't want to put down. Well done.