| Capture of Washington City | |||||||
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| Part of The Second American Revolution | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Union Army
|  Confederate States Army |
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The Capture of Washington City was the final battle of the Second American Revolution that secured independence for the Confederate States from the United States.
Prelude[]
The Confederacy was flush with victory, having just won a major victory at the Battle of the Wilderness and other victories throughout the entire Confederacy thanks to the help of their new AK-47s. General Robert E. Lee was likewise happy with the victory, but not satisfied. He believed that despite the new advantage, the war couldn't be allowed to continue on for much longer. In particular, he was afraid that the North would eventually reverse engineer AK-47s taken from Confederate prisoners and corpses, and that the war would go to an equal and then back to an unequal footing in the Union's favor.
Deciding that the Confederacy needed a decisive victory to end the war quickly, Lee ordered the Army of Northern Virginia to start advancing towards Washington City. Initially, he was not seriously trying to capture the city; He was instead hoping Ulysses S. Grant would impose the the bulk of the Army of the Potomac in front of him so that he could damage or perhaps even destroy it. Grant would play right into Lee's hands, making for another battle at Bealeton that was another Union rout.
The Confederates continued advancing north into Maryland. James Longstreet was detached by Lee and sent to harass the remains of the Army of the Potomac, still a powerful force despite two heavy losses, while the ANV continued marching. The harassment kept the Federals from reinforcing Washington City and allowed Lee and his troops to arrive on the north and west outskirts without harm. Knowing that if he waited, the city's defenses would only increase, Lee made the extremely bold decision to attack that very night. He was aware controlling a night battle would be impossible, but that it was the absolute best chance his army would ever have to take the enemy capital.
Confederate Breakthrough[]
Since the start of the hostilities, the US had built heavy fortifications around the city including including nearly a dozen forts equipped with heavy stationary artillery, long lines of trenches, and abatis barricades. All the trees within two miles of the forts had been cut down, leaving no cover for any attacking force. However, the only Union troops in the city were garrison forces with no combat experience, and the defenses were lightly manned all along the line. Lee chose to focus the entire offensive against three Union forts for a breakthrough: Fort Slocum, Fort Stevens, and Fort de Russy.
Prior to nightfall, Andries Rhoodie, the America Will Break representative attached to the Army of Northern Virginia, approached Lee and offered that him and several of his men would infiltrate the Union lines ahead of the Confederate soldiers and cause chaos to help with the offensive. Lee was surprised at the offer, thinking of Rhoodie and his men as military engineers instead of infantry, but the Rivington Man assured him it would be fine. Lee accepted the help.
That night the Confederates launched their assault, using the darkness to hide from the forts' big guns and moving in a loose formation to avoid taking losses. Once the attack was spotted, Union artillery began firing, and the Confederate soldiers rushed to the trenches. As promised, the AWB had infiltrated the trenches ahead of them. Equipped with body armor, rifle grenades, and 21st Century military and police experience, they prevented the Union forces in the trenches from gunning down the attacking waves. During the close quarters fighting in the trenches, a rifle grenade ignited the powder and munitions in Fort Stevens, obliterating the fort and creating a hole in the Union defenses. Other forts on the line tried to plug the gap with artillery, but it was not enough to stop the ANV from entering the city.
House to House Fighting[]
Fort de Russy was destroyed soon after, and ANV and AWB fighters continued to surge into the city. Brigadier General William Kirkland personally led one of the first groups to cross over. Over the next several hours, the Confederate Army advanced, and the Union only offered constantly retreating skirmishers as opposition. By daybreak, many of the attacking soldiers could see the White House in the distance.
Once the sun rose, it was discovered by both armies that the Long Bridge connecting D.C to Virginia-the only bridge the Army of the Potomac could've reinforced the city by- had been wholly destroyed by artillery.
More fighting picked up closer and closer to the Federal buildings at the center of the city, often with Washington City residents almost getting caught in the crossfire. During these engagements, Confederate sergeant Nate Caudell would, at the time unknowingly, capture the headquarters for the defense of the city.
Confederate forces eventually reached the Executive Mansion, but under General Kirkland's orders did not attack it. Instead, they began to gather and mill around, even as fighting still raged in over parts of the city. U.S President Abraham Lincoln, one of the few officials not to flee the city in face of the incoming attack, would come out to see them. Robert E. Lee arrived soon after, and the two men entered the White House to discuss ending the battle.
Ceasefire[]
Inside one of the White House's parlors, Lee and Lincoln briefly talked forlornly about the amount of suffering the war had brought on their people before Lee attempted to convince the US president to surrender.
Lincoln initially resisted the demand. Even though he knew it would mean his death and the destruction of the U.S Capital, he challenged Lee to hold the city in the face of a Union siege. He used the conversation to question Lee on a number of subjects the General had no answer to, such as the fate of the northwestern territories of Virginia and the states of Kentucky and Missouri. Lee admitted that he had no solution for those issues, and that the best he could accomplish here was to get a ceasefire so that those issues could be decided by dialogue and not war. Again, Lincoln refused to concede.
To convince him, Lee allowed Lincoln to read Confederate dispatches detailing Confederate victories in Georgia and Tennessee, with General Nathan Bedford Forrest posed to deal a death blow to General William Sherman's army. Even if Lincoln didn't give up, Lee proclaimed that the American people would give up on him and war in the face of so many losses. As a final threat, Lee stated his intention to visit the British Embassy after this discussion whether it was fruitful or not to gain foreign recognition of his country, as a diplomatic defeat would be as terrible for the United States as any military one.
After that, Lincoln conceded and agreed to a complete ceasefire. Despite their agreement, it was still several hours before fighting in the city ceased completely.
Aftermath[]
Despite a violation of the ceasefire in Tennessee, the Confederate Army peacefully occupied Washington City for several weeks. The only complaint against them was that "they didn't have enough money to spend." The Federal Army put a handover on hold until it destroyed all of its fortifications in Virginia to prevent the CSA from using them as new front line installations. General Lee handed over the city to General Grant in a ceremony on the White House lawn and the Confederates withdrew to Virginia. Although much of the Confederate Army was demobilized, a sizable portion remained in Virginia just across the river from Washington City to guard the new border.
The news of the city's capture and the resulting ceasefire triggered United States Colored Troops to desert. Several began an insurgency in the Mississippi Valley that lasted about three years.
Peace negotiations took several months, but the war was officially concluded before 1864 was over.
Two AWB members died in the fighting, and three were wounded with one ending up having a leg amputated by Confederate surgeons, facts the organization would later try to pass off as proof of their loyalty to the new C.S.A.
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