John Hoptak

First in Defense of the Union: the Civil War History of the First Defenders John Hoptak

When their nation called, thesemen were the first to respond. . . Following the capitulation ofFort Sumter and in response to President Lincoln's first call to arms in April,1861, the men of the Ringgold Light Artillery, National Light Infantry, WashingtonArtillery, Logan Guards, and Allen Infantry, departed their Pennsylvania homesand families and marched into history as the First Defenders, for they were thefirst volunteer troops to reach Washington after the start of America's CivilWar.¿ Despite this distinguishedachievement and regardless of their place in American history, little is knownand much less has been written about these men and the companies theycomprised.¿ With First in Defense of the Union, Civil War historian John DavidHoptak fills this void in historiography and brings the story of the FirstDefenders vividly to life by relying heavily upon the soldiers' letters anddiaries to tell of their enlistment into service, their harrowing march throughBaltimore, their arrival in the nation's capital, and their three month term ofservice with the Federal forces.¿ ¿¿¿