The Battle of Monocacy, fought just outside Frederick, Maryland, was the climax of the Confederacy's last invasion of the North. On July 9, 1864, 15,000 Confederate troops under General Jubal Early met 5,800 Union troops under General Lew Wallace. In the words inscribed on the Maryland Monument, it was "The Battle that Saved Washington."
"The battle, although a temporary victory for the Confederates, delayed their march on Washington one day, thereby enabling General Grant to send veteran reinforcements from Petersburg, Virginia to the defences of Washington in time to forestall the attack by the Confederates and thus save the Capital from capture."
Five monuments dot the lanscape, along with a historical marker from an entirely different campaign that demostrates how fought-over were border states like Maryland. |
