Desperate Engagement: How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed American History
A full-field engagement between 12,000 battle-hardened Confederate troops led by Early, and some 5,800 Union troops, many of them untested in battle

Monocacy
Civil War Maryland

American Civil War
July 9, 1864


Jubal's Raid: General Early's Famous Attack on Washington in 1864
General Grant was hammering at the gates of Richmond and the Confederacy seemed doomed. In a bold and desperate stroke, General Lee countered by sending General. Early and a force of only twelve thousand men toward Washington, D.C.

After marching north through the Shenandoah Valley from Lynchburg, the Confederate army of Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early side-stepped the Federal garrison at Harpers Ferry and crossed the Potomac River at Shepherdstown into Maryland on July 5-6.

On July 9, 1864, a makeshift Union force under Major General Lew Wallace attempted to arrest Early's invading Confederate divisions along the Monocacy River, just east of Frederick.

Wallace, joined by Ricketts's Division of the VI Corps that had been rushed from the Petersburg lines, was outflanked by Gordon's Division and defeated after putting up a stiff resistance.

Hearing of Early's incursion into Maryland, Grant embarked the rest of the VI Corps on transports at City Point, sending it with all dispatch to Washington.

Wallace's defeat at Monocacy bought time for these veteran troops to arrive to bolster the defenses of Washington.

Early's advance reached the outskirts of Washington on the afternoon of July 11, and the remaining divisions of the VI Corps began disembarking that evening.

Monocacy was called the "Battle that Saved Washington."

Result(s): Confederate victory

Location: Frederick County

Campaign: Early's Raid and Operations against the B&O Railroad (June-August 1864) next battle in campaign  Campaigns

Date(s): July 9, 1864

Principal Commanders: Major General Lew Wallace [US]; Lieutenant General Jubal A. Early [CS]

Forces Engaged: Corps

Estimated Casualties: 2,359 total


Season of Fire: The Confederate Strike on Washington
The Confederacy's last effort to do something meaningful by trying to attacked Washington DC. The Confederate forces came pretty close to success. The battle at Monocacy River and fighting in the District of Columbia where President Lincoln came under fire at Fort Stevens

Civil War Union Cavalry: 25 Piece Set
  • 13 Union Soldier Figures
  • 11 Brown Horses 2-5/8 inches tall
  • 1 White Horse Laying Down
  • Scale: Approximately 1/32nd
  • Packaging: Plastic Bag with Header Card
Maryland State Battle Map
State Battle Maps
Battles by Campaign
American Civil War Exhibits
Civil War Timeline
Women in the War
Civil War Submarines
Civil War Cooking
Civil War Picture Album
Reenactors Row Supplies
Civil War Store
20 piece Civil War Artillery Playset
Civil War Artillery Set: 20 piece set includes 12 Artillery Crew Figures in Blue and Gray that stand up to 58mm tall, 4 Parrott Rifle Gun Cannon about 4 inches long, and 4 Cannonball stacks

American Civil War Book Titles

The Railroads of the Confederacy
The story of the first use of railroads on a major scale in a major war. A complex and fascinating tale, with the railroads of the American South playing the part of tragic hero in the Civil War: at first vigorous though immature; then overloaded, driven unmercifully, starved for iron; and eventually worn out
A Memoir of the Last Year of the War for Independence in the Confederate States of America
Ranked among the most important generals who fought with Lee's Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. He played principal roles at the battles of First Manassas, Chancellorsville, Gettysburg, and most of the other engagements in the Eastern Theater
The First and Second Maryland Infantry, C.S.A.
The First Maryland Infantry was formed from Marylanders who chose to cast their lot with the Confederacy against a Union government that had invaded their state and established martial law, forcing those who disagreed with the invasion of the South to join the Confederates or to submit to what they considered as tyranny
A Maryland Boy in Lee's Army: Personal Reminiscences of a Maryland Soldier in the War between the States, 1861-1865
Young George Wilson Booth followed the call of the Confederacy and served four years in the Army of Virginia. During the days of the successes at Manassas battles and in the Peninsula to the Valley

A southern star for Maryland: Maryland and the secession crisis, 1860-1861
Maryland did not freely choose to remain in the Union at the outbreak of the Civil War, this book argues: the state was held by brute force. A colorful account of the dilemmas faced by Marylanders in the crisis as seen from the Southern point of view.
Maryland In The Civil War
After Fort Sumter, the Lincoln administration could ill afford to lose Maryland, especially its principal city Baltimore, site of the first blood spilled when a mob attacked the Sixth Massachusetts Regiment. Maryland was the site of the greatest single day's carnage in American
Confederate Cavalryman 1861-65
This title looks at how the men of the Confederate cavalry were recruited, trained, lived and fought. Both routine and campaign life are covered, as well as the weapons and equipment that served them in their combat roles. Key encounters such as the 1863 clash at Brandy Station are also covered.
The Northern Railroads in the Civil War, 1861-1865
Account of the impact of the railroads on the American Civil War and vice versa. How the North was helped to victory through its effective use of the rails, also how the war changed the way railroads were built, run and financed after the war.

Civil War History Documentary DVD Movie Titles

Civil War Combat: America's Bloodiest Battles
The violent mayhem of the hornet's nest at Shiloh, the valiant charge on the sunken road at Antietam, the carnage in the wheat field at Gettysburg, and the brutal fighting at Cold Harbor
Civil War Journal - The Conflict Begins
These four programs from the History Channel series Civil War Journal cover critical aspects of the early days of the war.
Civil War Journal
Collector's Edition 4-DVD Set
Made exclusively for Books Are Fun. Discs include: · Stonewall Jackson · Sherman and the March to the Sea · West Point Classmates-Civil War Enemies · Robert E. Lee · Battle of 1st Bull Run · The 54th Massachusetts · John Brown s War · Destiny at Fort Sumter
Brother Against Brother: The American Civil War
Fort Sumter, to the Confederate surrender at Appomattox, Features battle reconstructions and depictions of army life, eyewitness accounts, period photographs and engravings, plus commentary and analyses.

History Channel Presents The Civil War
From Harper's Ferry, Fort Sumter, and First Bull Run to Shiloh, Antietam, and Gettysburg. The most legendary Civil War battles in brilliant detail. A selection of the soldiers and legendary leaders.
The Civil War - A Film by Ken Burns
Here is the saga of celebrated generals and ordinary soldiers, a heroic and transcendent president and a country that had to divide itself in two in order to become one
The Blue and the Gray
The Complete Miniseries
The Civil War proved a backdrop for this 1982 miniseries. Complete and uncut three disc set. Two families divided by the War Between the States. A Southerner caught when he becomes a war correspondent for the Northern newspaper. He finds himself  where history's in the making from the Battle of Bull Run to Abraham Lincoln's assassination
Blue Vs. Gray - Killing Fields
Relive the most vicious fighting of the Civil War, in which General Ulysses S. Grant forcibly reversed the tide of the conflict by paying with the blood of thousands. It was a desperate time for the Union

Harpers Ferry view from Google Earth Civil War Battle Map
Harpers Ferry Civil War battle

Sources:
U.S. National Park Service
U.S. Library of Congress.

Search
AmericanCivilWar.com
 
Enter the keywords you are looking for and the site will be searched and all occurrences of your request will be displayed. You can also enter a date format, April 19,1862 or September 1864.
Books
Civil War
Womens Subjects
Young Readers
Military History

DVDs
Confederate Store
Civil War Games
Music CDs
Reenactors

Annapolis Maryland City History Current Weather and Hotel Bed and Breakfast and Camping