Showing results for "monocacy"

ECW Weekender: Visiting Monocacy National Battlefield

By the summer of 1864, General Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia was largely pinned down around Richmond and Petersburg. With little room to maneuver, a fragile supply situation, and a deteriorating Confederate position in the Western Theater, Lee understood that he needed to change the fundamental dynamic of the strategic situation in Virginia. […]

Read more...

ECW Weekender: Monocacy National Battlefield

Located just outside the sprawling development around Frederick, Maryland is the green space of Monocacy National Battlefield. Though the park was the site of what could be considered a small engagement in the scale of the war in the east, nobody should underestimate the effect of the battle. Fought by Major General Lew Wallace’s slapped […]

Read more...

Fighting for Time Along the Monocacy

Read more...

From Monocacy to Danville: Captured Soldiers of the 87th Pennsylvania Infantry

On July 9, 1864, a small United States force under Major General Lewis Wallace faced off against Lieutenant General Jubal Early’s Army of the Valley as it pressed onward towards the national capital, Washington D.C. Early’s troops hoped to pressure or attack the city, while Wallace’s command had been thrown together to buy time. By […]

Read more...

ECW Weekender: Living History at Monocacy

This Saturday, July 10, 2021, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monocacy National Battlefield in Frederick County, Maryland, is hosting special events to commemorate the 157th anniversary of the battle that saved Washington. Programs throughout the day include Civil War music, artillery demonstrations, history talks, and living history interpreters, sharing the stories of Union and […]

Read more...

ECW Weekender: Monocacy Battlefield (Virtually)

Hey, we’re keeping an eye on the official announcements, and we’re getting closer to being able to get back to exploring more historic sites in person! But we thought we’d keep it “virtual” for another week or so and spotlight a few more great resources out there. Today, we journey to Monocacy Battlefield in Maryland—thanks […]

Read more...

“But I Tell You the Balls Flew Like Hail Around Us”: An Ohioan’s Monocacy Letter

Today is the 155th Anniversary of the Battle of Monocacy, and as in the past, I wanted to share a primary source from the action known as “The Battle that Saved Washington.” This year’s source comes from Private Henry C. Johnson, Company K, 149th Ohio National Guard. Twenty-one years old when he enlisted on May […]

Read more...

Railroads: The B&O and the Battle of Monocacy

Eric Wittenberg has written an overview of the B&O here. The following blog post examines the B&O’s role more in depth as it pertains to the events leading up to the Battle of Monocacy. Messages kept coming across the desk of 43-year old John W. Garrett. They told of Confederate forces, with unknown size, moving […]

Read more...

ECW Weekender: The Monocacy Aqueduct

Running alongside the Potomac River, the C&O Canal became part of the dividing line between the Union and the Confederacy during the Civil War. Strategically important for both sides, the canal was caught between the two warring armies. Union troops were stationed along the canal for protection, because union frequently used the canal for transportation […]

Read more...