O/T - "Early was late."
Elisha Rhodes of the 2nd Rhode Island wrote about Early's attack on Ft. Stevens in the Washington suburbs:
"On the parapet I saw President Lincoln ... Mrs. Lincoln and other ladies were sitting in a carriage behind the earthworks. ... as the President and many ladies were looking on, every man tried to do his best ... The Rebels broke and fled ... Early should have attacked early in the morning. Early was late."
Elisha noted that when they first arrived in Washington to help repel Early, "many citizens had guns in their hands." (The Civil War, p312.) McCausland reached Urbana where they drove off a Federal cavalry.
Charles R. Lowell Jr, 2nd Mass. Cavalry, USA, to Br. Gen. Hardin, regarding the pursuit of the Confederate forces, 12-14 of July, 1864: "... By small parties I had learned that the rebel force did not extend far up the pike. I therefore moved across the north from River Road, and, dismounting three companies, turned the enemy's right flank. We drove them back ... and Lt. Col. Crownshield moved them at same time about one mile up the Rockville pike. A prisoner reports the force on the Rockville pike to be ... McCausland's cavalry brigade, of Fourteenth, Fifteenth, Nineteenth, and Twenty-second Virginia Cavalry. The band was that of the Fourteenth. He knows of no infantry on that road. They have, I presume, a battery, but have only shown one or perhaps two guns." (War, I Vol 37 p250)
McCausland moved on to Georgetown. Washington and the nearly completed capitol dome was visible from this location and the capitol's dome sparkled in the sun. McCausland was the only Confederate General to come close enough to clearly view the Federal capitol. Unknown to them, President Lincoln was at Fort Stevens. Lincoln and his wife and Secretary of War Stanton took a carriage out to Fort Stevens and while on the parapet viewing the battle, a minnie' ball ricocheted, wounding the surgeon Crawford in the thigh, not far from the President. For the only time during the Civil War, the President was under direct fire. One view of what happened next was that Federal Captain Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. pulled at Lincoln's sleeve and yelled "get down you damn fool". The President got down. Season
Early had now received word that seasoned troops had arrived to defend Washington and Early now thought twice about an assault. Skirmishers were left to cover their withdrawal. 600 Confederate prisoners arrived at Elmira NY from Pt. Lookout, Md., now totaling 1250.
inetone.net
PS - If you liked Ken Burns' "The Civil War," you'd love the 4-part, video documentary on Yergin's "The Prize." It's a perfect audio-visual complement to the Pulitzer Prize-winning book. Truly awesome, IMO...
amazon.com
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Ever seen it? |
