General Jubal Early (1816-1894) leads a third Confederate invasion of the north. He accepts $200,000 in cash as ransom not to burn the city of Frederick and heads to Monocacy, an important railroad junction south of the city. There he encounters General Lew Wallace (1827-1905), who has hastily gathered a force of Federal troops, including some experienced veterans. General Early wins a hard-earned victory over General Wallace but is delayed for a day as he marches on toward the U.S. Capital, giving the Union time to bring reinforcements to the DC forts.
The rebel army soon retreats to Virginia. Monocacy is the farthest northern victory for the Confederacy but it ultimately it is the “Battle that Saves Washington.”
Battle Monument in Baltimore is the first public war memorial
Baltimore’s Battle monument, designed by Maximilian Godefroy, is the first stone monument and the first public war memorial in the US. In 1822 the statue of Lady Baltimore is hoisted atop the monument.
