An officer is assigned to protect Washington from secessionists, and a controversial letter from Winfield Scott becomes public.

Exploring the most important 55 months in American history
An officer is assigned to protect Washington from secessionists, and a controversial letter from Winfield Scott becomes public.
The new year opens with South Carolina commissioners responding to President James Buchanan’s refusal to withdraw the Federal troops from Fort Sumter.
South Carolinians complete their seizure of all Federal property in Charleston Harbor except Fort Sumter, while President James Buchanan issues a statement to the South Carolina commissioners and prepares to take action.
The adversarial relationship between Secretary of War John B. Floyd and the rest of President James Buchanan’s cabinet worsens when news arrives that Major Robert Anderson had moved his Federal garrison to Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
President-elect Abraham Lincoln reacts to the recent events in Charleston Harbor while he continues trying to fill his cabinet.
Tensions near their breaking point in Charleston, causing Major Robert Anderson to make a fateful decision that threatened to start a war.