The Union Loss That Saved Washington, D.C.

This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories we tell stories about everything here on the show including yours. Send them to our American stories.com. Some of our favorites previously on our show. Mark Lipson told the story of the battle of Baltimore in the writing of our national anthem. Today marks back to tell the story of the battle of Malacca C Civil War battle that was a union loss and saved Washington DC, July 9, 1864 battle and monotonously is one of the most important little-known battles of the Civil War, mainly because it's known as the battle to save Washington DC because, after which the Confederates attacked the nation's capital for the first and only time during the civil took place 4 miles south of Frederick, Maryland.45 miles west of Washington DC. This was a time when we was surrounded at Richmond and Petersburg by grant following the bloodiest six weeks of the Civil War grants wilderness campaign a.k.a. the Overland campaign. The last three huge battles of the Civil War battles wilderness Spotsylvania Courthouse in cold Harbor.

These were mammoth battles that hundreds of thousands of troops took part in the wilderness, May 5 through the seventh of over hundred and 1000 Union troops along 61,000 Confederates 25,400 casualties killed and wounded and taken prisoner, followed by Spotsylvania Courthouse coming east toward Fredericksburg again hundred thousand troops over 50,000 Confederate troops 30,000 combined casualties and these were slaughters as was battle of cold Harbor right near Richmond dragged on for two weeks. May 31 of June 12 that 17,000 and the other thing to keep in mind about this whole thing is hovering over it is the 1864 presidential election, the only presidential election ever held in the country during a fighting civil Democratic national election held during the findings course Lincoln was running for reelection things going against Democrat Gen. McClellan, the disgraced union general was not a great time for Lincoln. They didn't have Gallup polls then, but everybody knew it was going to be a really uphill struggle to get that victory in November. In fact, he almost didn't get the Republican nomination. He had to choose a Democrat that would be Andrew Johnson Sen. of Tennessee, a Southern Democratic that to be his running mate because this Republican Party was divided. No more Republicans and peace Republicans were at odds. Lincoln was trying to navigate that Democrats they were slightly divided but they were united in their opposition to Lincoln in the midst of all this property league comes up with his bold four-part plan work grants plan to end the war.

I want to drive union forces from out of the Shenandoah Valley.

The union had Shenandoah Valley. The Confederates breadbasket. They were desperately needing food.

They were desperately needing supplies to get through second free the Confederate prisoners at point Lookout POW camp which is on the southern point still there today on the seventh of him on the southern tip of southern Maryland not far from Washington DC as the crow flies, probably 12,000 Confederate prisoners held there.

If they have been freed. I would've been the equivalent of a court of troops for Robert E Lee desperately needed started to threaten Washington DC if possible and forth, and most important in Lee's mind was to force Grant to move those troops away from Richmond and Petersburg so that we could have some breathing saluted Robert E Lee choose on this dangerous and important mission is. Lieut. Gen. Jubal Anderson early, who was one of the most colorful and controversial characters in the civil war he was a Virginian from Rocky Mount. Jenny went to West Point.

He wasn't a great student graduated at the bottom of his class just about served briefly in the seminal world.

Nothing was going on, we got down to Florida. He served in the Mexican war. Same thing fighting was over by the time he got out there he was, went back to Virginia practice law. He was a member of the Virginia secession convention actually voted against secession at first when the tide turned. He got a first session and he was the most diehard Confederates during the war and afterward is wounded at the battle of Williamsburg and 62 he fought in every battle in the Eastern theater and he was an aggressive general. Although he did not judge terrain. Well, he did not judge was a great tactician in a love-hate relationship with the man is very abrasive and get along very well with the other officers. Robert Ely called my bad old man.

Even though Lee was older than early early had contracted arthritis hunched over his scraggly beard. You just said you mean cantankerous, misogynistic, racist guy, but he was aggressive, which is probably why Lee chose, and although he really didn't have much choice at that point in the war with what generals were available. So in the early morning hours of June 13 early March 8000 Confederate troops away from Richmond and Petersburg snuck out the union troops did not have a clue that this happened. They marched 70 miles due west to Charlottesville he got rickety trains on June 17, 1915, the battle of Lynchburg, which is even less well-known because there wasn't much of a battle because when the union generals heard that early was there with the core of troops they fled and you're listening to Mark Lipson tell the story of the battle of monotonously and it's the battle that saved Washington DC more of the story here on our American stories. Our American stories we bring you inspiring stories of history, sports, business, faith and love stories from the great and beautiful country need to be told we can't do it without you are stories are free to listen to with her not free to make you love are stories in America like we do. Please allow American stories.com and click the donate button give a little give a lot help us keep the great American stories coming to our American stories.com and were back with Mark Gleason here on our American stories and the story of the battle of Manassas little-known battle that saved see only last left off union troops were fleeing north from Confederate Gen. Jubal early June 1864 they went west they went over the mountain into what is now West Virginia that was led by Gen. David Hunter a.k.a. black Dave Hunter who was not one of the top union generals. He had just finished what was known as Hunter's rate up and down the valley, Shenandoah Valley, Stanton Lexington natural bridge that had area Lynchburg and he had was living off the land which meant confiscating people's farm animals and crops and just opted general.

No good and so he fled and with him one of Lee's goals was accomplished.

The union troops had left Shenandoah Valley not to come back. So then the Confederate troops they started their march up north, which we call going down the valley because I had a Shenandoah flow so negligently go north to going down the valley because of the way the Shenandoah flow/union general in their way was Gen. Franz Siegel, who again was not one of the great union generals. In fact, he was probably one of the worst he had. He was a political general. He was German.

He came here with no battlefield experience Lincoln was trying to influence German-Americans and Germans to come on the on the union side that was the reason Siegel got this command and you know his low point came during the battle of Newmarket earlier that spring when his superior forces were routed by Confederate troops there in the Shenandoah Valley. Aided by cadets from Virginia Military Institute, some as young as 15, so, so Siegel flag. He went way up into Maryland to the Maryland Heights over at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, right across the river early and his men marched. It was very hot that summer, about 1/3 of the men did not have shoes, but they kept going and when early, got across the Potomac River. This is the third time that the Confederates had if you want to call it that way invaded the north. The first time being for the battle of Antietam and 62 and the second time 63 Gettysburg everybody heard of that but not very many people know about this third moved into the North and they can't for two days outside Antietam, which is not far from Harpers Ferry where they rested.

So that's when early, got the order from Rob Lee rapidly set in a semi-horse. I didn't want to put this order out on the telegraph. A semi-horse backup from Richmond and he delivered this court crucial order to go after those imprisoned Confederates at point Lookout if they could sell its backup.

Just a quick minute and talk about Washington DC at this point in the war. No you think about washing is just, you know, across the Potomac River from Virginia was 90 miles. It is 90 miles from Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy. So especially after the first battle of Manassas in the summer 61 people worried about a Confederate invasion of the national capital so soon after that union Army one around when it went and built the boat was known as the defenses of Washington. When they finished which was this time in the Civil War there were something like 68 forts surrounding Washington DC and of course they went into Jenny because the union took over in Virginia. Soon after the war started management defensive works.

They weren't extensive but they did bristle with artillery there out facing the forts were basically all tied together by a series of berms and embankments is only one fork left today. You can see that's Fort Stevens, which is you think of Washington DC as shaped like a diamond. It's at the very tip of the diamond mirror, Silver Spring, Maryland, and it's a national Park. Now them in the fort is been rebuilt when you can see what they were like cannons facing out a course inside. It was like a horseshoe and the forts were designed to be manned by about 50 to 60,000 troops, but at this point in the war there were a lot of spare able-bodied union troops amino Washington DC was, like hospital during the war, hospital, schools, government buildings were turned into hospitals and then recovering from his vicious battles that that had kept emulating and so we don't know how many people were defending Washington at this time, but we think it was a maybe around 10,000 that and not only that, but most of them were members of what was known as the veteran reserve Corps of the veteran reserve court recently changed its name in 1864.

It had been known as the invalid core. The invalid core were men who were recuperating from their wounds, but well enough to walk and man the barricades so we had about 10,000 invalids defending Washington DC at this point in the war and we had Jubal early on the march so they cross the Potomac. Like I said on July 5.

This is actually the first time union intelligence realize that Lee had just sent an entire quart of troops away from Richmond. They started moving toward Washington DC now word is getting back to Washington now that Lee has sent the core of troops out there in the union intelligence, which was not great in general. During the war was not good here either. At first, the reports said it was general, you'll was in the hospital at the time it was actually early and they kept getting the numbers wrong 20,000 was mentioned 25,000 was mentioned grant heard about it. He saw the dispatches and he figured out what Lee was up to, and he decided he wasn't to send me troops. He had this plan in place and that's what but one union Army general did figure it out and did take action and that is Lou Wallace.

Another colorful character who later became famous as a novelist you know he wrote the second best-selling novel of the 19th century been hurt wasn't military man, although he did form a local militia unit, but it was as though those were the slobs where guys are dressed up in these interesting uniforms that with pantaloons and desks and mostly did close order drill. They were very popular but they certainly didn't have any battlefield experience.

So Lou Wallace started his own regiment.

When the war started.

He quickly rose in the ranks as he had access to an early battle and Romney, West Virginia when the union pressed was looking for heroes they played him up and then he also fought very well. In February, 62, at the battles of Fort Henry Heineman and Donelson out there in Tennessee when he was promoted to Maj. Gen. 34 of the youngest generals is low point came battle of Shiloh April 6 seventh 1862 when he managed to get his men lost it in the woods for the first they missed the first day. Grant was commanding as was general Halleck and Henry Halleck and they both were not very happy with Wallace they relieved him of his command was out of the war for two years the bank to get back in.

He finally was, but he got a terrible assignment.

He was in March, 64, he was appointed commander of the eighth Army court of the middle department. Basically he was military governor of Baltimore which was kind of a hotbed of a Confederate sentiment, but it wasn't anything like what he wanted. He was itching to get back by silk without borders on his own. On July 3 Wallace started gathering of troops to send down to the Knox junction which is 4 miles south of Frederick, Maryland, and he arrived on July 5, at the end of the day. July 6 all the troops he could muster, who were mostly hundred days, men who had met any experience in battle one gun, one piece of artillery and he had about 1500 men and you're listening to Mark leaps and tell the story of the battle of monotonously and by the way picture in your mind. Richmond being the capital, Montgomery also capital in the Confederacy in Richmond and DC to capitals of opposing armies within about a 2 Hours Dr. if you know that area of the country so there right next to each other. These two capitals. And here is Lee trying to strike in our current nation's capital, Washington DC.

The story of the battle of monotonously continues here on our American store and were back with the final portion of Mark leaps and retelling the 1864 Battle of monotonously here on our American stories is also known as the battle to save Washington DC. We returned to Mark leaps and in the union general Lou Wallace at the end of the day July 6 all the troops he could muster, who were mostly hundred days, men who had met any experience in battle one gun, one piece of artillery and he had about 1500 men came out early and picked up more troops. He's got about 14,000 men and is bearing down on the not so. Finally, grant finally relents when he hears all this work it's doing and releases the six core from city point outside of Richmond.

Again, they wake him up early in the morning again on ships they go down the James River added to the Chesapeake and up to Baltimore they get on trains at the old Camden station, and they arrived there on early afternoon, July 7 trains left at 4 o'clock they arrived the next dawn the next day Frederick junction and now Wallace has about 6500 troops again. He's over to the one out man but he at least has 6500 he has one gun, the Confederates of simulated 24 cell it's inevitable that the Confederates are going to win this but Wallace puts up full day fight.

One of the Confederate commanders was John Brown, Gordon, who had fought in every battle in the Eastern theater was wounded five times in Antietam. He said that later that the Knox he was the sharpest fight was in first shots were fired at 6 AM Saturday, July 9, 2003 artillery battalions really one the day for the Southerners and Wallace was forced to retreat at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon so this little battle know it wasn't Antietam and it wasn't wilderness but we did have about 1300 union casualties killed, wounded, taken prisoner and about 800 Confederates of some people call this a skirmish.

But it was a battle the river ran red with blood, and I know they people say that other battles but in this case was true because a lot of fighting took place right on both sides of Confederates one when Halleck and Grant found out what happened.

Wallace of his command. He was soon reinstated early in the trip spent the night on the battlefield. July 9 and then the next morning they marched east toward Washington DC.

He sent his cavalry north toward Baltimore for two reasons.

One, a faint make people believe that he was going to Baltimore rather than Washington into to cut the railroad and telegraph lines, which he did so Washington was incommunicado last day they heard early was either on his way to Baltimore Washington probably Washington and there was panic in the streets, Navy Sec. Gideon Welles wrote in his diary. The rebels are upon us.

They ready to ship a position to ship in the Potomac to spirit Lincoln out of town.

If this nation of the city should take place and be successful in Lincoln did not know about it when he found out about it. He was angry, but still, it wouldn't have helped Lincoln very much in his election campaign. If he had had to flee Washington DC.

There was also the US treasury to be rated desperately needed Confederate supplies to be looted, possibly burning Washington. If those Confederate troops got loose streets and it certainly would've had an impact on the election. So what happened there. A call went out for all able-bodied men to get to the barricades and so we had civilians, government workers on the battle, you know, came up to the ghost sports those defensive ports in tape to help the info he could defend Washington against all the season troops again. Finally, at the last minute Grant relented down in Petersburg and he sent the rest of the six core up to Washington and again they did the same thing.

They got on ships. They went down the James River but this time they came up the Potomac. They landed at the docks, downtown Washington DC about noontime on July 11 and they went up to Fort Stevens which is the northernmost part of Washington DC. The citizens were gleeful.

They greeted them with ice cream and sandwiches. So on July 11 early was one of those generals who was on his horse with the men right out in front of the troops and they arrived outside Fort Stevens and you know from out from his horse with his doctor.

He could see the capitol dome he had in the sites of the South most aggressive generals had the capitol dome in his sights and he could've given the order to attack but he didn't. And for several reasons. One didn't have very many troops he had to leave troops back on the battlefield to take care of the wounded and the prisoners and the men were all strung out between Frederick and Washington is the only had the lead elements of his troops and also it was really really hot and they had been on the march now it's July 11-13 and you will uniforms if they had to have been exhausted. Not the man wanted to go, but early decided not however be enjoyable early and he had his artillery. There was skirmishing there was artillery going back and forth. And that night early, took his generals for a council of war Silver Spring glare mansion owned by the prominent Blair family. Blair said had fled. They had gone to Pennsylvania and early in his generals had discounts of war.

They rated the layers wine cellar and they decided that they would decide what they would do the next morning on July 12 so early goes back early in the morning of July 12. He looks up in front of him, and he sees six core troops on the parapet at Fort Stevens. They had a distinctive crosses the regimental reserve Corps crossed and so he knew he was facing experience troops you thought he might be facing these invalids and so again there was skirmishing and fighting annual famously Abraham Lincoln and some of the citizens of Washington came out Lincoln came out was standing on the parapet of Fort Stevens all 65 of them in stovepipe hat when a union surgeon standing next to him was shot and wounded by Confederate sharpshooter in the trees and far away, at which point Lincoln was urge to get down from the barricades so there's two days a skirmishing about 300 union dead and wounded.

We don't know how many Confederates, but it was probably in that ballpark never made the official records of civil July 13 early, snuck out of Washington retreated back to Montgomery County, Silver Spring to Poole Seville, Maryland, and then cross the Potomac River at white stare and came back in to Virginia so did not save Washington see you know I think it did grant rights in his memoirs that had Wallace not held up early for most of one day and you know probably two days because they rested on the battlefield that he grant would not have had time to get six core up to Washington DC what impact did it have on that 64 presidential election. Well, we know that Lincoln one.

We also know that he was in a very very very low point.

He wrote a letter to his cabinet said not to be unsealed until after the election and the letter said. Please cooperate with the new administration in thinking was with, but he did one of the reasons had to have been that Washington DC escape Confederate attack there other factors. Believe me, there were certainly what happened at the Nazi had a strong impact on the presidential election and a special thanks to Robbie Davis for the production on that piece and the storytelling and also a special thanks Mark leaps and his book desperate engagement, little-known Civil War battle save Washington DC and changed American history and there is no doubt Washington DC had been sacked. It would've been a death blow to the Lincoln presidency and that's what indeed Gettysburg was all about getting that big victory.

The harm Lincoln chances of getting reelected in 1864 in the union calling it quits in the greatest war of our country's history. Actually, perhaps more consequentially than than the American revolution. The story of the battle of democracy here on our American story