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Meet Lew Wallace: The Soldier - The Battle at Monocacy
Soldier | Governor | Author | Ambassador | His Words | Genealogy
"General Wallace contributed on this occasion by the defeat of troops under him, a greater benefit to the Cause than often falls to the lot of a commander of an equal force to render by means of a victory." - General Ulysses S. Grant
In early July 1864, John W. Garrett, President of the Baltimore & Ohio railroad came to see General Lew Wallace. Mr. Garrett expressed concern for the safety of Washington D.C. (as well as his railroad). His personnel were reporting detachments of Confederate troops in the Shenandoah Valley and, according to him, such appearances were precursors of trouble. General Wallace decided to go to the western limit of his command, the Monocacy River, southwest of Frederick, Maryland. Upon his arrival at the blockhouse guarding the rail junction (Monocacy Junction) he found the country alive with rumor. A Confederate army, reported to be between 5000 and 35,000 men strong, was thought to have crossed the Potomac on the 2nd or 3rd of July. Its exact whereabouts and destination were also unknown. The civilians that General Wallace sent to gather information were turned back by Confederate cavalry at every pass in the mountains west of Frederick. General Wallace believed the cavalry was screening a larger army.
Two miles north of the junction, a stone bridge called the Jug Bridge crossed the Monocacy carrying the National Road that led to Baltimore. At the junction there was an iron railroad bridge and just south of it the wooded covered bridge of the Georgetown Pike, the road to Washington. Any invading army intent on Washington or Baltimore would have to come through the Monocacy Junction. General Wallace believed that Washington was the objective.
On July 9, 1864, 5,500 troops under the command of General Wallace met 13,000 Confederates commanded by General Jubal Early. Even though Confederate troops held the field at the end of the day, the battle was costly to Early. General Wallace and his men had delayed the Confederates long enough to enable General Ulysses S. Grant to send troops to re-enforce the
defenses of Washington D. C. and Early's plan to capture the city came to naught.
The Battle of Monocacy is now known as the "Battle That Saved Washington." Grant said that Wallace had done more for the cause by losing the battle than many other generals had done by winning theirs.
Many years later General Wallace encountered one of the Confederate commanders, J. B. Gordon, at a White House reception. Gordon told Wallace he was the only Yankee who ever whipped him. Wallace replied that, in the end, his men ran from the field. "In that sense you are right," Gordon countered, "but you snatched Washington out of our hands."
For further reading on Wallace at Monocacy we recommend:
- B. Franklin Cooling, Monocacy: The Battle That Saved Washington. White Main Publishing Company, 1997.
- Gail M. Stephens, "Honor Redeemed: The Battle of Monocacy," North & South Volume 4 No. 2 pgs: 34-46.
- Glenn H. Worthington, Fighting for Time: The Battle of Monocacy. Burd Street Press, 1994.
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