Robert Lee's hesitation was seen as weakness, and the calls for taking the initiative gained the upper hand.
Yet he was, after all, the highest commander on the battlefield, so he forcibly ordered the troops to wait for orders from Washington.
Washington was already in complete chaos. The United States leadership had assumed that once the matter was exposed, The British would rein themselves in.
"How many supplies can we allocate right now?"
Franklin Pierce asked, his voice trembling slightly.
"No amount of supplies would be enough to feed several million people."
Minister of Finance James Guthrie answered bluntly. In truth, he opposed relief efforts; even if the city being rescued was as important as New York, he considered it a waste.
The United States' debt was already outrageous, and so-called relief was undoubtedly an enormous waste.
Franklin Pierce was unwilling to accept this. He had still hoped to use this to clear his name, but as his gaze swept across the room, everyone else avoided his eyes.
After years of war, the United States simply lacked the ability to handle such a situation. Forget the United States—even the entire world, aside from the Austrian Empire, the Qing Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, had no experience in this regard.
Seeing that Franklin Pierce was still hesitating, Davis could no longer sit still, because this was no time for hesitation.
"Mr. President, give the order. We have only one path left: crush The British. We simply cannot handle that many refugees."
On this point, Lincoln stood with Davis. Agonizing over meaningless matters was nothing but a waste of time.
"Mr. President, people will always find a way out. We only need to do what is within our duty."
Lincoln should not have said such things, given his position, but New York