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.
Diplomacy of the American Civil War American challenge without depending on British armed forces. The U.S. looked the other way when Irish activists known as Fenians tried and failed badly in an invasion of Canada in 1871. The arbitration of the Alabama Claims in 1872 provided a satisfactory reconciliation; The British paid the United States $15.5 million for the economic damage caused by Confederate warships purchased from it. Congress did pay Russia for the Alaska Purchase in 1867, but otherwise rejected proposals for any major expansions, such as the proposal by President Ulysses Grant to acquire Santo Domingo. Diplomacy of the American Civil War The diplomacy