Lost Capitol Hill: Civil War Baseball on the Hill

Having hit the shortest day of the year, it behooves us to look forward and Spring and baseball. We will do that by looking at one of the odder matches played in Washington, when the Washington Nationals played members of the 71s Regiment, New York State Militia during the Civil War.

After Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated and especially after the firing on Fort Sumter, it was clear that war was in the air— and that Washington was particularly vulnerable. A number of state militia regiments were sent to support the local militias that had been hastily gathered together to protect the nation’s capital. One of these was the 71^st Regiment of the New York State Militia, who arrived in D.C. 15 days after Fort Sumter. They were immediately directed to the Navy Yard, which they were tasked to protect. The D.C. militias they relieved were then sent home.

The 71^st, also sometimes referred to by its original name, American Guard, quickly settled into a routine that encompassed a fair bit of drilling, but also the occasional forays down the Potomac, and even across the river into Virginia. However, in the main, things were quiet, and so they could look forward to some amusing diversions. Thus, there was much pleasure when a letter from one Arthur P. Gorman arrived, inviting the 71^st to a game against the Washington Nationals, one of two base ball clubs in the city. The game was to be played on July 2, at the Nationals’ park near the corner of Maryland Avenue and Sixth Street, NE.

Now, on the face, it seems that a game played by members of a military unit versus a trained team would hardly be fair; however, it should be mentioned that the Nationals were not quite two years old at this point —and had played all of five games since their organization in November, 1859. Furthermore, when you add in that this was to be their first game of the current season, and that at least one of their players, Edmund French, was well over 40 years, and —like most of the others— a government clerk, well… the thought of playing against a bunch of young men who hailed from the birthplace of base ball seemed a bit daunting.

And so it was.

On the afternoon of July 2, summoned by a brief ad in the previous day’s Daily National Republican, a large crowd assembled at the park to watch the game. It did not start well for those hoping to cheer on their local team: the 71^st had scored 10 runs before the Nationals made it onto the scoreboard in the top of the 3^rd inning. And then the 71^st matched their output in the bottom of the inning. In fact, the only inning where the Nationals outscored their opponents was the 4^th, where they held a 3-1 advantage. By contrast, in the 7^th inning, the 71^st outscored the home team 12-1.

The history of the 71^st Regiment points out that there was, “some very fine playing, especially on the part of the ‘American Guard’ nine.” This hardly comes across as favoritism and, in fact, may be a bit of an understatement.

The following year, the Nationals had their opportunity to redeem themselves. The regiment was now in Camp Martin, near Tenleytown, and it was here on the parade ground that the second match was held. This time, it was the Nationals who came out on top, 28 to 13.Some have attempted to explain this change of fortune by the fact that the 71^st had lost a considerable number of men in the Battle of Bull Run the previous year. However, the only player on either team who played both games was Arthur Gorman, who at the time was a messenger in the Post Office, but later became Senator from Maryland.

The Nationals would go on to join, although not very successfully, the National Association, a professional baseball league that was the first of its kind, and generally considered a forerunner of the National League. The 71^st, for its part, returned to New York the following year and was mustered out in 1864.