“I therefore decided to turn down the Valley and proceed according to your instructions to threaten Washington and—if I find an opportunity—to take it.”
—Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, CSA

“These men died to save the National Capital, and they did save it.”
—Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace, USA

Determined to Stand and Fight: The Battle of Monocacy, July 9, 1864

Savas Beatie, 2017
192 pp.; 200 images, 6 maps
ISBN: 978-1-61121-346-1
Click here to order

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About the Book: In early July 1864, a quickly patched together force of outnumbered Union soldiers under the command of Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace prepared for a last-ditch defense along the banks of the Monocacy River. Behind them, barely fifty miles away, lay the capital of the United States, open to attack.

Facing Wallace’s men were Lt. Gen. Jubal Early’s Confederates. In just under a month, they had cleared the Shenandoah Valley of Union soldiers and cross the Potomac River, invading the north for the third time in the war. The veterans in Early’s force could almost imagine their flags flying above the White House. A Confederate victory near Washington could be all the pro-peace platforms in the north needed to defeat Abraham Lincoln in the upcoming election.

Then came Monocacy. Over the course of the day, Union and Confederate soldiers attacked and counter-attacked, filling the fields just south of Frederick, Maryland, with the dead and wounded . By the end of the day, Wallace’s men fell into retreat, but they had done their job: they had slowed Jubal Early. The fighting at Monocacy soon became known as the “Battle that Saved Washington.”

Determined to Stay and Fight by Ryan T. Quint tells the story of that pivotal day and an even more pivotal campaign that went right to the gates of Washington, D.C. Readers can enjoy the narrative and then easily follow along on a nine-stop driving tour around the battlefield and into the streets of historic Frederick. Another fascinating title from the award-winning Emerging Civil War Series.

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Determined to Stay and Fight also includes:

• Appendix A: The Civilians’ Experience at the Battle of Monocacy by Ryan T. Quint
• Appendix B: The Ransom of Frederick by Ryan T. Quint
• Appendix C: Medical Care and the Battle of Monocacy by Jake Wynn
• Appendix D: “Utterly Impossible for Man or Horse to Accomplish”: The Johnson-Gilmor Raid by Phillip S. Greenwalt
• Appendix E: McClausland’s Raid and the Burning of Chambersburg by Avery C. Lentz
• Appendix F: The Literary Legacy of Lew Wallace by Ryan T. Quint 

Footnotes, Errata, and Sources

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About the Author: Ryan Quint graduated from the University of Mary Washington, and is a seasonal park historian at the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.