Jubal Early's Raid on Washington: 1864

by Benjamin Franklin Cooling III

The fate of the nation hung in the balance for two hot July days in 1864. After two weeks of hard marching, General Jubal A. Early had positioned his troops outside Washington.

General Robert E. Lee was relying on Early to relieve the pressure Ulysses S. Grant was putting on Petersburg. "Old Jube" possessed the right mix of brash independence and fierce loyalty to the Southern cause to stage a convincing attack on the enemy capital - Mr. Lincoln's City.

Jubal Early's famous "raid" was to be the last Confederate invasion, yet it severely shook up the Union leadership. President Lincoln drove out to see how things were going each day of the attack.

Traditionally seen as a prelude to the Valley Campaign of 1864, the author asserts that the July battle for Washington and Maryland were possibly even more pivotal.

For the Civil War historian and buff alike, Jubal Early's Raid on Washington, 1864 provides a fresh interpretation of this fascinating episode in American history.

* Four campaign maps by W.J. Clipson
* Over 50 photographs and illustrations
* Appendices, bibliography, notes, index

Genres: American Civil War, Military History, Civil War, Civil War Eastern Theater, History

344 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Alternate names:
B. Franklin Cooling
Benjamin F. Cooling

Benjamin Franklin Cooling III served as Chief Historian and Research Director with the Department of Energy and as a historian with the Army, Air Force, and National Park Service, and elsewhere. He has taught at numerous universities and is currently a Professor of History at the National Defense University in Washington DC. Cooling has authored or edited 16 books on the Civil War and modern warfare and has written several hundred articles, essays and reviews on aspects of military, naval and other history.

Reviews

[Matthew Ericson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Its a solid overview of Early’s Campaign. Good writing style. I will say the maps were lacking. Nonetheless if anyway wants to learn about Monocacy and the attack on Washington, this is probably the book to get.

[Gonzalo · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is not often that when ordering a book through a second hand store you get a pristine copy signed by the author. That, and the prettiness of the edition predisposed me to like the book, specially after glancing at a beautiful black and white map of the campaign. I was to be slightly disappointed because, if the driving force for me reading this book is getting to visit Monocacy in the near future, the maps for that particular battle are pictures of those from the official records. They probably look great printed in large pieces of paper, but not in a conventional book. In truth, they look great, but they are not very useful to the reader. The maps for Fort Stevens are original though, and serve their purpose. Scattered through the text are many pictures of officers, and some of the battlefields and the monuments that now stand there. Again, there are fewer on Monocacy that I would have like, but at the end of the day, the other battlefield is closer to the capital. Enough about the pretty parts of the book.

The text itself is very readable if like me, you are no trying to memorize every individual and town. As for the map, and perhaps due to is relative absence, I thought the chapter on Monocacy was insufficient to help me grasp either the geographical situation, or the temporal one. Almost everything else, I am rather satisfied with. There is a good introduction to the campaign, a very detailed account of the events in and around Washington (and Baltimore). Perhaps surprisingly, another lengthy discussion of the aftermath. Although that might have been the part I got more lost, it was also the most illuminating one. Other battles, or at least other books about battles seem to end with “X won, Y retreated until Z happened” . Here, perhaps because Fort Stevens was not the Confederate disaster I might had imagined, much happened after Early retreated from Washington. A good reminder that the line between tactics and strategy is more blurry that we gamers tend to think. Another very positive surprise was the chapter on remembering the battle. Now, I like museums and memorials, but I did not expect to be so interested on what happened with the battlefields after the war. It might be that I am now somewhat local to the area. Even if that is part of the reason, I think Cooling clearly presents the many battles that took place between veterans in their memoirs, and the value the newer generations give to these places. Deserves a second reading.

[Mark Harden · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got this because Cooling’s “Counterthrust” (2008) was a well written coverage of the Second Manassas/Antietam campaign. But this volume, written in 1989, must have been before he honed his writing skill in conveying the tactical process of a battle. Especially his description of the battle of Monocacy, with completely inadequate maps, was simply impossible to follow. He wrote previous books detailing Washington during the war, and seems to presume a familiarity with the layout of the city, forts etc.

A very difficult read. To be honest, I was glad to be done with it. I give three stars only because he does have the information and research. It’s just that the writing, to me, does not put it all together in a coherent story.

[Jimmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Covers this small campaign very well, with quotes from participants to show what the common soldiers went through. The only criticisms I have concerns some of the maps. The two maps covering the fighting around Frederick and Monocacy were simply reprints from the Official Records atlas; the only map for the post Fort Stevens actions/engagements was also from the O.R. atlas.

[David Vanness]

My copy is tye same but hardback.

[Phill · Rating 4 out of 5]

great book, with good detail, on a very important campaign in the Civil War