H-DC The Day Lincoln Was Almost Shot: The Fort Stevens Story

Discussion published by Matthew Gilmore on Saturday, July 5, 2014 "The Day Lincoln Was Almost Shot: The Fort Stevens Story"

Thursday, July 10, 2014 - 6:30pm

Dr. Cooling with his new book, The Day Lincoln Was Almost Shot.As part of the sesquicentennial celebration of the Battle of Fort Stevens join nationally-known military historian and authority on the Defenses of Washington, Dr. Ben F. Cooling, for an engaging presentation and discussion of his new book on the famous battle.

The Day Lincoln Was Almost Shot: The Fort Stevens Story recounts the story of President ’s role in the Battle of Fort Stevens in July 1864. This engagement stands apart in American history as the only time a sitting president came under enemy fire while in office. Cooling offers a close study of the attempt by Confederate general to capture Washington, D.C., to remove Lincoln and the Union government from power, and turn the tide of the Civil War in the South's favor. The dramatic events of this attempt to capture Washington—and the president with it—unfold in stunning detail as Cooling taps fresh documentary sources and offers a new interpretation of this story of the defense of the nation’s capital.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library

Washingtoniana Room, 307

901 G Street NW

Washington D.C. 20001

B. F. Cooling [email protected]

Citation: Matthew Gilmore. The Day Lincoln Was Almost Shot: The Fort Stevens Story. H-DC. 07-05-2014. https://networks.h-net.org/node/28441/discussions/34008/day-lincoln-was-almost-shot-fort-stevens-story Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. 1