Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Washington, D.C., during the American Civil War was the nerve-center of the Union war effort, which rapidly turned it from a small city into a major capital with a full civic infrastructure and strong defenses. The shock of Union defeat at First Bull Run, with demoralized troops wandering the streets of the capital, caused President Lincoln to order extensive fortifications and a large garrison. This required an influx of troops, military suppliers and building contractors, which would set up a new demand for accommodation, including military hospitals. The abolition of slavery in D.C.
Richmond in the American Civil War a poker game. Robbie Robertson / The Band wrote 'The night they drove old Dixie down'. One lyric refers to, '...by May the 10th (1865) Richmond had fell, it was a time I remember oh so well'. On May 10, 1865, Confederate President Jefferson Davis, fleeing Richmond and having dissolved the Confederate government, was captured by Union forces in Irwinville, Georgia. Richmond in the American Civil War Richmond, Virginia, served as the capital of the Confederate States of America for almost the whole of the American Civil War. It was a vital source of weapons and supplies for the war