Desperate Engagement
How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed American History
- 320 pages
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
Desperate Engagement
How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed American History
About this book
This Civil War history offers a "sharp assessment of the single Confederate victory north of the Mason-Dixon line"—and the threat it posed to the capitol ( Kirkus ).
The Battle of Monocacy is one of the Civil War's most significant yet little-known battles. On July 9, 1864, in the fields just south of Frederick, Maryland, some 12,000 Confederate troops led by the controversial Jubal Anderson Early were met by a much smaller and untested Union force under the mercurial Lew Wallace, the future author of Ben-Hur. When the fighting ended, Early had routed Wallace in the northernmost Confederate victory of the war. Yet that victory came at a pivotal cost.
Two days later, Early sat astride his horse on the doorstep of Washington, D.C., contemplating whether or not to order his men to invade the nation's capital. Washington's fortifications were maintained by a ragtag collection of walking wounded Union soldiers. The news of an impending rebel attack sent Union leaders scrambled to coordinate a force of volunteers.
But Early did not pull the trigger. Because his men were exhausted from the fight at Monocacy, Early paused before attacking, thus giving Grant just enough time to bring thousands of veteran troops up from Richmond.
Historian Marc Leepson shows that had Early arrived in Washington one day earlier, the ensuing havoc easily could have brought about a different conclusion to the war. Leepson uses a vast amount of primary material, including memoirs, official records, newspaper accounts, diary entries and eyewitness reports in a reader-friendly and engaging description of the events surrounding what became known as "the Battle That Saved Washington."
Frequently asked questions
- Essential is ideal for learners and professionals who enjoy exploring a wide range of subjects. Access the Essential Library with 800,000+ trusted titles and best-sellers across business, personal growth, and the humanities. Includes unlimited reading time and Standard Read Aloud voice.
- Complete: Perfect for advanced learners and researchers needing full, unrestricted access. Unlock 1.4M+ books across hundreds of subjects, including academic and specialized titles. The Complete Plan also includes advanced features like Premium Read Aloud and Research Assistant.
Please note we cannot support devices running on iOS 13 and Android 7 or earlier. Learn more about using the app.
Information
Table of contents
- Cover
- Title Page
- Copyright Notice
- Contents
- Dedication
- Acknowledgments
- Epigraphs
- Prologue
- One: The River with Many Bends
- Two: Grant’s Grand Campaign to End the War
- Three: Lee’s “Bad Old Man”
- Four: A Plan of Great Boldness
- Five: Early’s March to the Potomac
- Six: Wallace at the Bottom
- Seven: An Invasion of a Pretty Formidable Character
- Eight: The Best Little Battle of the War
- Nine: The Whiz of Flying Iron
- Ten: Short, Decisive, and Bloody
- Eleven: Aftermath
- Twelve: Great Alarm in Baltimore and Washington
- Thirteen: Sunday, July 10: A Strange Sabbath Day
- Fourteen: Monday, July 11: Greatly in Need of Privates
- Fifteen: Monday, July 11: A Desperate Engagement
- Sixteen: Heavens Hung in Black
- Seventeen: Scared as Blue as Hell’s Brimstone
- Eighteen: An Egregious Blunder
- Nineteen: The Verdict
- Epilogue
- Appendix 1: Union Order of Battle: The Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864
- Appendix 2: Confederate Order of Battle: The Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Index
- Also by Marc Leepson
- Copyright