The Battle that Saved Washington DC Quiz

Answer: July, 1864

Monocacy occured on 9 July 1864 during the long period when Union and Confederate forces were stalemated along the Richmond/Petersburg line. Could Washington, DC have been captured by the Confederates? Here's what General John B. Gordon said in his book "Reminiscences of the Civil War" (Chapter 23):

"On July 11, 1864, the second day after the battle of Monocacy, we were at the defences of Washington. We were nearer to the national capital than any armed Confederates had ever been, and nearer to it than any Federal army had ever approached to Richmond. It has been claimed that at the time we reached these outer works they were fully manned by troops. This is a mistake. I myself rode to a point on those breastworks at which there was no force whatever. The unprotected space was broad enough for the easy passage of Early's army without resistance. It is true that, as we approached, Rodes's division had driven in some skirmishers, and during the day (July 11th) another small affair had occurred on the Seventh Street road; but all the Federals encountered on this approach could not have manned any considerable portion of the defences. Undoubtedly we could have marched into Washington; but in the council of war called by General Early there was not a dissenting opinion as to the impolicy of entering the city. While General Early and his division commanders were considering in jocular vein the propriety of putting General John C. Breckinridge at the head of the column and of escorting him to the Senate chamber and seating him again in the Vice-President's chair, the sore-footed men in gray were lazily lounging about the cool waters of Silver Spring, picking blackberries in the orchards of Postmaster-General Blair, and merrily estimating the amount of gold and greenbacks that would come into our possession when we should seize the vaults of the United States Treasury. ... While we debated, the Federal troops were arriving from Grant's army and entering the city on the opposite side."

Answer: Jubal Early and Lew Wallace

Lew Wallace (the Union commander) is better known as the author of the book "Ben Hur".

Answer: Special Order 191 was discovered

Lee's Special Order Number 191, that itemized troop movements and deployment for the few days period prior to the Battle of Antietam, was found by Union troops lying in a field in the area around Monocacy Junction. That was in September of 1862 and Monocacy itself became a battleground just a couple of years later.

Answer: "By the defeat of the troops under him, he has rendered 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."

The sentiment echoed Grant's belief that the Confederate force could well have entered Washington, DC if it had not been reinforced with troops diverted from the Richmond/Petersburg line. The time lost by the Confederates in fighting a battle they had no difficulty in winning allowed Grant to get his reinforcements to Washington at the last moment. Without that Union force in its path the Confederates might well have entered the city. Even though they did not have enough troops to hold it, the simple fact that they entered and burned parts of it would almost certainly have had a devestating impact on Northern public opinion.

Answer: Sutter's Ferry

Gambrill's Mill was used as a hospital during the battle, Thomas Farm was where some of the heaviest fighting of the battle took place, and Worthington Farm was used by General Breckinridge to view the latter phase of the battle. There was nothing known as Sutter's Ferry in or around the area of the battle.

The Monocacy River could be forded at points and just wasn't big enough to need a ferry crossing.

Answer: Shepherdstown, VA

The route of the Confederate forces began almost a month before the Battle of Monocacy in Richmond. The forces made a loop north of the James River by rail, through Charlottesville and Lynchburg, VA (where they took part in the Battle of Lynchburg against Union forces under David Hunter), then by foot to the southern end of the Shenandoah Valley at Buchanan, VA.

Then came the long march up the length of the valley to Shepherdstown where the crossed into Maryland. Although some people say they crossed near Antietam that town is many miles from the Potomac while Shepherdstown is just a few miles from the actual crossing site.

Answer: Hagerstown and Frederick

The Confederate forces collected $20,000 from Hagerstown and $200,000 from Frederick (tidy sums in those days when a soldiers pay was around $14 a month and when a loaf of bread cost a few cents).

Answer: of its roads

The Georgetown Pike leading to Washington and the National Road leading to Baltimore both passed through Monocacy Junction, and over the Monocacy River by bridge. The Confederate forces were expected to take one or the other depending on their intended destination. And, although a rail line did run through Monocacy Junction it was hardly a rail and transportation hub of any use to the Confederates.

Answer: J. B. Ricketts

James Rickett's 5,000 man division was the first ordered back to Washington from the Petersburg, VA line by Grant, followed a few days later by the rest of the VI Army Corps under Horatio Wright. But it was Ricketts who arrived first.

Answer: False

Although the Union forces were outnumbered it was less then 3 to 1 (about 5,800 Union to 15,000 to 18,000 Confederate). And, the Union 'army' was pretty much a rag-tag group made up of units like the 3rd Regiment Potomac Home Brigade, the 149th Ohio National Guard, etc. Rickett's division was the only really combat experienced formation under the Union command during the battle.

Answer: To outflank the Union's Petersburg line and attack it from the rear

The only Confederate objective that was realized was 'diversion'. The raid into Maryland did cause Grant to divert troops back to Washington. The rebels hoped they could at least enter and burn parts of Washington (in the hope that such a shock might turn the tide of public opinion in the North toward a negotiated settlement, especially since the war in the East already seemed to be stalemated around Richmond and Petersburg). They also planned to follow the Potomac south from Washington to capture the federal prison at Point Lookout, MD, and free Confederate prisoners (which never happened because the bulk of rebel forces couldn't pass the capital). The only non-objective was to try and attack the Petersburg line from the rear (a route of many hundreds of miles is hardly a flanking maneuver). In his after-action battle report to Lee, Early ended by saying ...

"I am sorry I did not succeed in capturing Washington and releasing our prisoners at Point Lookout, but the latter was impracticable after I determined to retire from before Washington. There was intense excitement and alarm in Washington and Baltimore and all over the North, and my force was very greatly exaggerated, it being reported that you were in command, having left Beauregard at Petersburg. Washington can never be taken by our troops unless surprised when without a force to defend it. Please send me orders by telegraph to Winchester."

Answer: Shiloh

In April 1862, at the Battle of Shiloh, Ulysses S. Grant ordered Wallace to march his division upstream from Crump's Landing to the battlefield. Through a combination of confusing orders and little knowledge of the terrain through which he was marching, Wallace lost his way and was forced to make a lengthy, circuitous countermarch.

Instead of striking the Confederate left at a key point of the battle, Wallace and his division arrived too late to do anything more than assist in the Union counterattack the following day.

As a result of his blunder at Shiloh, along with an unfortunate habit of criticizing many of his fellow officers, Wallace was relieved of command and his reputation as a military leader was severely damaged, particularly in the eyes of Grant. Grant's personal praise of Wallace's efforts at Monocacy were most welcome to Wallace.

In the "New York Tribune", Horace Greeley proclaimed that "Wallace held out four hours longer than honor required."

Answer: McCausland

McCausland's cavalry found a ford around 11:00 am approximately one mile south of the covered wooden bridge at the Worthington Farm and crossed the Moncocacy to attack the Union left. The dismounted Confederates, expecting to face inexperienced troops, advanced at a run through a cornfield, only to be cut down by the veterans of Rickett's division, who held their fire until the Rebels were 125 yards away. McCausland made two more assaults on the Federal left, but was driven back with heavy losses and was forced to wait for reinforcements.

Answer: The 8th Illinois Cavalry

LTC David Clendenin, commander of a detachment of 8th Illinois Cavalry, povided invaluable veteran reinforcements to Wallace's command other then the infantry regiment's of Rickett's division. In fact, they represented his only real cavalry capability.

Answer: Winchester

It's officially called the battle of "Winchester III", although Winchester changed hands so many times, and so much action took place around the town, it's probably really more like "Winchester MCCXVII". Early's defeat at Winchester ended effective Confederate control over the Shenandoah Valley for the remainder of the war.

Answer: Gordon

General John B. Gordon suffered multiple wounds at Antietam but recovered and went on to fight in other battles (among them, Monocacy).

Answer: It forced David Hunter out of the Shenandoah Valley

From the website ... http://americancivilwar.com/statepic/va/va064.html

"Battle of Lynchburg - From Lexington, Maj. Gen. David Hunter advanced against the Confederate rail and canal depots and the hospital complex at Lynchburg. Reaching the outskirts of town on June 17, 1864, his first tentative attacks were thwarted by the timely arrival by rail of Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early's II Corps vanguard from Charlottesville. Hunter withdrew the next day after sporadic fighting because of a critical shortage of supplies. His line of retreat through West Virginia took his army out of the war for nearly a month and opened the Shenandoah Valley for a Confederate advance into Maryland."

Answer: William Franklin

Confederate troops under the command of General Bradley Johnson stopped the Washington to Philadelphia train and captured Major- General William Buel Franklin on board. Franklin was on leave at the time and wasn't expecting to run into Confederates aboard a train inside Union territory. He managed to escape from his captors the following night.

Answer: John Garrett

John Garrett, president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad should be recognized for his contributions. Garrett tracked Early's forces, alerted Halleck and Secretary of War Stanton and provided trains to enable Union forces to gather at Monocracy Junction in time to confront Early.

Answer: the long bridge

The long bridge was one of the more important locations on the battlefield that Wallace simply had to defend. The National Road leading to Baltimore crossed over this bridge.