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July 1864

1864 battle of the American Civil War

Battle of Fort Stevens
Role of the American Ceremonious State of war
Company F, 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, in Fort Stevens, Washington DC (ca. 1861).jpg
Officers and men of Company F, 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, in Fort Stevens
Date July eleven (1864-07-11)–12, 1864 (1864-07-13)
Location

District of Columbia

Result Union victory
Belligerents
United States (Union) Confederate States of America Amalgamated States
Commanders and leaders
Alexander Yard. McCook
Horatio G. Wright
Abraham Lincoln (observer)
Jubal Early
Strength
9,600[1] 10,000[2]
Casualties and losses
373 [3] 400500 [3] [4]

Battle of Fort Stevens is located in District of Columbia

Battle of Fort Stevens

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Boxing of Fort Stevens location

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Battle of Fort Stevens is located in Maryland

Battle of Fort Stevens

Battle of Fort Stevens (Maryland)

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Battle of Fort Stevens is located in the United States

Battle of Fort Stevens

Battle of Fort Stevens (the United States)

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The Battle of Fort Stevens was an American Civil War battle fought July eleven–12, 1864 in what is now Northwest Washington, DC, as office of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 between forces under Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early and Matrimony Major Full general Alexander McDowell McCook. Although Early on acquired consternation in the Marriage government, reinforcements under Maj. Gen. Horatio G. Wright and the strong defenses of Fort Stevens minimized the military threat. Early withdrew after two days of skirmishing, having attempted no serious assaults. The battle is noted for stories that US President Abraham Lincoln observed the fighting.

Groundwork [edit]

In June 1864, Lt. Gen. Jubal Early was dispatched by Gen. Robert E. Lee with the Second Corps of the Regular army of Northern Virginia from the Confederate lines around Richmond, Virginia, with orders to clear the Shenandoah Valley of Federals and, if practical, to invade Maryland; disrupt the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad; and, if possible, threaten Washington, DC. The promise was that a motion into Maryland would force Matrimony Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant to send troops to defend Washington against the threat and reduce his strength to have the Confederate capital of Richmond.[5]

After driving off the Regular army of West Virginia under Maj. Gen. David Hunter later on the Boxing of Lynchburg on June eighteen, the Second Corps marched n through the valley, inbound Maryland on July 5 near Sharpsburg. They then turned e towards Frederick, where they arrived on July vii. Two days after, as the Second Corps prepared to march on Washington, Maj. Gen. Lew Wallace, leading a small Union forcefulness composed mostly of garrison troops, bolstered by the eleventh-hour addition of ii brigades of the VI Corps sent from Richmond nether Maj. Gen. James B. Ricketts, attempted to resist the Confederate advance at the Boxing of Monocacy.[half dozen]

The battle lasted from near 6 a.m. to around 4 p.yard, but Early on'south corps ultimately drove off the small Union force, which was the only substantial Spousal relationship army betwixt information technology and the majuscule. Despite the Wedlock loss, the battle cost Early precious fourth dimension that would have been better spent in advancing the 40 miles (64 km) toward Washington.[vii] After the battle, Early on resumed his march on Washington and arrived at its northeast border virtually Silver Spring at effectually noon on July xi. Considering of the battle so the long march through the stifling summer heat and unsure of the forcefulness of the Union position in forepart of him, Early decided non to send his ground forces confronting the fortifications around Washington until the next mean solar day.[8]

Early'south invasion of Maryland had the desired effect on Grant, who dispatched the residuum of the VI Corps and XIX Corps nether Maj. Gen. Horatio Chiliad. Wright to Washington on July 9. Lee later wrote to Secretary of State of war James Seddon on July nineteen:

It was believed that the Valley could then be effectually freed from the presence of the enemy and information technology was hoped that past threatening Washington and Baltimore, Gen. Grant would exist compelled to weaken himself so much for their protection as to afford an opportunity to attack him, or that he might be induced to assail united states of america.[9]

The steamers carrying the Union force started to go far in Southeast Washington around noon on July 11, at about the same time that Early himself had reached the outskirts of Fort Stevens with the lead elements of his troops.[10]

Defense of Washington [edit]

The city of Washington, DC, prepared for the Confederate set on in the midst of i of the worst hot spells in its history. It lasted 47 days without rain, with temperatures exceeding xc °F (32.2 °C). The United states Congress and prominent residents left town to escape the heat equally much equally the impending Confederate accelerate.[11] However, President Lincoln remained near the city, staying with his family unit at the Soldier's Home in present-day Northwest Washington, only a steamer waited on the Potomac to evacuate them if the situation became dire.[12] Meanwhile, refugees from surrounding counties began to enter the relative safety of the city.

Overall command for defense of the Commune was given to Major General Christopher C. Augur as commander of the XXII Corps. Major Generals Quincy Gillmore and Alexander McCook commanded the Northeast sector and the reserve mail service at Blagden Farm, respectively. Augur commanded 31,000 troops and one,000 artillery pieces in 160 fortifications, batteries, and trenches.[13] Eighty-seven fortifications were due north of the Potomac (facing Early on's arroyo) with 484 heavy guns and 13,986 men. Land was cleared surrounding the metropolis to create open fields of burn down. Six companies of the 8th Illinois Cavalry were stationed in front end of the northern defenses.[13]

Despite the impressive assortment, Washington was really defective in its defensive capabilities. General John G. Barnard, Grant'southward engineering officer, noted that many of the troops were non actually fit for duty because they were new recruits, untried reserves, recovering from wounds, or worn-out veterans. Bernard estimated that instead of 31,000, the actual number of usable troops was around nine,600.[fourteen] The majuscule was more vulnerable to Confederate assail than it seemed since with around x,000 troops, the Confederate army matched the effective Wedlock troop strength.

Matrimony command structure [edit]

The inflow of the Half dozen Corps, approximately 10,000 men, brought desperately needed veteran reinforcements. Information technology besides added some other high-ranking officer into a jumbled Union control. The Washington defenses played host to a number of generals ejected from major theaters of the state of war or incapacitated for field command by wounds or illness. Maj. Gen. Alexander Thou. McCook was i of the former by not having held a command since being relieved of command after the Battle of Chickamauga. McCook was, however, placed in control of the Defenses of the Potomac River & Washington, superseding Christopher Columbus Augur, who commanded the Department of Washington. Diviner also commanded the XXII Corps, whose troops manned the capital's defensive works. Maj. Gen. Henry W. Halleck chosen upon Maj. Gen. Quincy A. Gillmore in New York City to take control of a disengagement from the 19 Corps. The Union Army's Quartermaster General, Brig. Gen. Montgomery C. Meigs, took control of an "Emergency Division," composed of federal employees who were armed during the raid, direct nether the command of McCook. Even Lincoln personally arrived at the battleground. McCook tried to sort out the problem of as well many high-ranking generals in the face up of Early's advance. He was unable to rid himself of the generals, and their attempts to proceeds leverage over one some other, but a somewhat-workable command structure was established. With McCook in overall command, Gillmore commanded the northeast line of fortresses (Fort Lincoln to Fort Totten), Meigs allowable the northern line of forts (Fort Totten to Fort DeRussy—including Fort Stevens) and Augur's First Sectionalisation commander, Martin D. Hardin, commanded the northwest line of forts (Fort DeRussy to Fort Sumner). Wright and the VI Corps were initially to be held in reserve but McCook immediately decided confronting it and stated that he felt veteran troops needed to take the front lines against Early'due south troops.

As it was, Hardin's troops engaged in some light skirmishing, simply as McCook intended, it was to be Wright's veterans who diameter the brunt of the fighting.[fifteen]

Opposing forces [edit]

Union [edit]

Amalgamated [edit]

Battle [edit]

At nearly the time Wright's command was arriving in Washington, Early on's corps began to arrive at the breastworks of Fort Stevens, yet Early delayed the attack because he was nonetheless unsure of the federal strength defending the fort, much of his ground forces was still in transit to the front, and the troops he had were wearied due to the excessive heat and the fact that they had been on the march since June 13. Additionally, many of the Amalgamated troops had looted the habitation of Montgomery Blair, the son of the founder of Silver Spring, Maryland. They found barrels of whiskey in the basement of the mansion, called Blair Mansion, and many troops were besides drunk to get a expert start in the forenoon. This allowed for further fortification by Union troops.[16]

Around 3 p.m., with the bulk of their force nowadays, the Confederates commenced skirmishing, probing the defence maintained by Brig. Gen. Martin D. Hardin'south partitioning of the XXII Corps with a line of skirmishers backed past arms. Well-nigh the start of the Confederate attack the lead elements of the VI and XIX Corps arrived at the fort, reinforcing information technology with battle-hardened troops. The battle picked up around 5 p.chiliad. when Amalgamated cavalry pushed through the advance Union picket line. A Spousal relationship counterattack collection back the Amalgamated cavalry and the two opposing lines confronted each other throughout the evening with periods of intense skirmishing. The Marriage front was aided by artillery from the fort, which shelled Confederate positions, destroying many houses that Confederate sharpshooters used for protection.[17]

President Lincoln, his married woman Mary, and some officers rode out to observe the attack, either on July eleven or July 12, and were briefly under enemy fire that wounded a Marriage surgeon standing next to Lincoln on the Fort Stevens parapet. Lincoln was brusquely ordered to have cover past an officer, possibly Horatio Wright, although other probably apocryphal stories merits that it was Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., Private John A. Bedient of the 150th Ohio Infantry, the fort commander, other privates of the Ohio National Guard, or Elizabeth Thomas.[18] [19] [twenty] [21]

Boosted Spousal relationship reinforcements from the VI and Nineteen Corps arrived overnight and were placed in reserve behind the line. The skirmishing continued into July 12, when Early finally decided that Washington could non be taken without heavy losses which would be too severe to warrant the attempt. Union artillery from Fort Stevens attempted to clear out Amalgamated sharpshooters hidden in the buildings and fields in front of the fort; when the arms fire failed to drive them off, the VI Corps brigade of Daniel Bidwell, supported past Oliver Edwards' brigade and two Veteran Reserve Corps regiments, attacked at about 5 p.chiliad. The attack was successful, merely at the cost of over 300 men.[22]

Aftermath [edit]

Monument in Silvery Spring, Maryland to 17 unknown Confederate expressionless from the battle

Early's force withdrew that evening, headed back into Montgomery County, Maryland, and crossed the Potomac River on July 13 at White's Ferry into Leesburg, Virginia. The Confederates successfully brought the supplies they seized during the previous weeks with them into Virginia. Early remarked to one of his officers after the boxing, "Major, nosotros didn't take Washington but nosotros scared Abe Lincoln similar hell."[23] Wright organized a pursuit force and set out after them during the afternoon of the 13th.[24]

Battleground and cemeteries [edit]

Fort Stevens is now maintained by the National Park Service nether the administration of the Ceremonious State of war Defenses of Washington. The fort is located virtually 13th Street NW between Rittenhouse and Quackenbos Streets NW and is the simply part of the battleground currently preserved; the balance was adult following 1925. The Battleground National Cemetery was established two weeks after the boxing and is located nearby, at 6625 Georgia Artery NW, containing the graves of xl Union soldiers killed in the boxing; seventeen Confederate soldiers are buried on the grounds of Grace Episcopal Church building, slightly north of current downtown Silver Leap, Maryland at the intersection of Georgia Artery and Grace Church Road.[25]

The Rev. James B. Avirett, the pastor at Grace Church, was instrumental in interring the Confederate soldiers at Grace Episcopal Church.

Run into also [edit]

  • Civil War Defenses of Washington
  • Stone Creek Park
  • Fort Stevens
  • Battleground National Cemetery
  • Washington, D.C., in the American Ceremonious War
  • Fort Slocum
  • Fort Totten
  • Fort Slemmer
  • Fort Bunker Hill
  • Fort Saratoga
  • Fort Thayer
  • Fort Lincoln

References [edit]

  1. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 278–279.
  2. ^ Bernstein 2011, p. 70.
  3. ^ a b Kennedy 1998, p. 309.
  4. ^ Cooling 1989, p. 151.
  5. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. viii–xi.
  6. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. xi–14, 40, 57, 57–61.
  7. ^ Estimate 1994, p. 201.
  8. ^ Bernstein 2011, pp. 45–55.
  9. ^ Alvord 1897, p. 32.
  10. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 38, 86, 104.
  11. ^ Judge 1994, p. 216.
  12. ^ Judge 1994, p. 217.
  13. ^ a b Estimate 1994, p. 218.
  14. ^ Judge 1994, p. 219.
  15. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 97–102, 127.
  16. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 117, 123.
  17. ^ Bernstein 2011, pp. 68–69.
  18. ^ Bernstein 2011, pp. 73–74.
  19. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 142–143.
  20. ^ Cramer 1948, pp. 91–93.
  21. ^ Some local newspaper articles do not mention the incident. An article nigh the battle published in the Washington Evening Star on July 12, 1864, fabricated no mention of President Lincoln at the battlefield. ("The Invasion: The Condition of Things Last Night - The Fighting out the Seventh Street Road - Rebel Sharpshooters Dislodged - The Enemy Endeavor to Plant a Battery, only are Shelled Away - Policemen and Other Citizens Take a Paw in the Fighting". The Washington Evening Star. July 12, 1864. ) The commodity in the July xiii, 1864, edition mentioned that "President Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln passed along the line of the urban center defences in a railroad vehicle final night, and were warmly greeted by the soldiers wherever they made their appearance amongst them." simply the commodity fabricated no mention of President Lincoln actually coming nether burn down. ("The Invasion: Late and Of import: The Rebels Have Disappeared From Our Front! They Leave Their Dead and Wounded Behind Them!". The Washington Evening Star. July thirteen, 1864. p. 2. ).
  22. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 127, 136–138, 145–150.
  23. ^ Vandiver 1988, p. 171.
  24. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 184–187.
  25. ^ Cooling 1989, pp. 237–238, 245.

Bibliography [edit]

  • National National Park Service battle description
  • Alvord, Henry E. (1897). Early's Attack upon Washington, July 1864. Washington, D.C.: Military Order of the The states, Commander of the District of Columbia.
  • Bernstein, Steven (2011). The Confederacy'southward Last Northern Offensive: Jubal Early, the Ground forces of the Valley and the Raid on Washington. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Visitor, Inc. ISBN978-0-7864-5861-5.
  • Cooling, Benjamin F. (1989). Jubal Early'southward Raid on Washington 1864. Baltimore, Maryland: Rockbridge Publishing Company. ISBN0-933852-86-X.
  • Cramer, John Henry (1948). Nether Enemy Burn: The Complete Account of His Experiences During Early'south Attack on Washington. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: Louisiana Land University Press. ISBN978-0-5983-6703-vii.
  • Judge, Joseph (1994). Flavour of Fire: The Confederate Strike on Washington . Berryville, Virginia: Rockbridge Publishing Company. ISBN1-883522-00-5.
  • Kennedy, Francis H. (1998). The Civil War Battleground Guide. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN0-395-74012-six.
  • Leepson, Marc. Desperate Engagement: How a Fiddling-Known Civil War Boxing Saved Washington D.C., and Changed American History. New York: Thomas Dunne Books (St. Martin'due south Press), 2005. ISBN 978-0-312-38223-0.
  • Vandiver, Frank E. (1988). Jubal's Raid: General Early's Famous Attack on Washington in 1864. Lincoln, Nebraska: Academy of Nebraska Printing. ISBN978-0-8032-9610-7.

External links [edit]

  • The Boxing of Fort Stevens: Maps, histories, photos, facts, and preservation news (Civil War Trust)
  • Battleground National Cemetery
  • National Park Service website for Fort Stevens

Coordinates: 38°57′51″North 77°01′44″W  /  38.9641°Due north 77.0288°Due west  / 38.9641; -77.0288

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Fort_Stevens

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