Forgotten Battle 14

Welcome back viewers

This month's Forgotten Battle is...

The Battle of Monocacy 

Intro

The battle of Monocacy occured on July 9, 1864, in Frederick County, Maryland. It was fought between the Confederate Army led by General Jubal Early and the Union Army commanded by General Lewis Wallace. This battle would go down in history as the "battle that saved Washington".

Part I

By June of 1864, the tide of the Civil War had taken a drastic turn. On the Eastern Front, General Ulysses S Grant had launched his Overland Campaign against General Robert E Lee. They had fought a series of battles before finally stopping at the city of Petersburg in southern Virginia. This began the longest siege in American history. 

For the next nine months, both armies fought a series of battles around the state of Virginia trying gain the upper hand. Although, the Federals were unable to break the stalemate at Petersburg, they were able to launch a devastating attack targeting the Confederate supply lines. Beginning in May, thousands of Federal soldiers moved into the Shenandoah Valley. Led by Generals David Hunter and Philip Sheridan, they began laying waste to the countryside using a scorched-earth policy. 

To counter this, Lee ordered Major-General Jubal Early to drive the Federals out of the Shenandoah and if possible, launch a counter-attack against Washington DC. From May to June, Early's army fought three battles against David Hunter's army. On June 17, Early forced Hunter to retreat at the battle of Lynchburg.  

Part II

With the Shenandoah Valley seemingly safe, Early decided follow up by launching raid on Washington DC. He hoped that this would compel General Grant to divert his attention away from Lee at Petersburg. Within two weeks of his victory at Lynchburg, Early and his army successfully crossed the Potomac River into Maryland and began rapidly sweeping north towards Washington.

Alarmed by Early's advance, Grant ordered all available Union armies to move to defend the city. The only force that could be mustered to confront the advancing Confederates was a ragtag force of inexperienced soldiers under the command of Major General Lewis Wallace. Numbering only 5,800, they gathered at Monocacy Junction in Frederick County, Maryland, on July 8. 

Knowing that his force was severely outnumbered, Wallace was hoping to delay the Confederates long enough for reinforcements to arrive and defend Washington. Early on the morning of July 9, he (and Brigadier General James Ricketts) occupied the bridges and fords on the northern side of the Monocacy River. It wasn't long before Early arrived with more than 14,000. The fighting began just after 9 AM that morning.

Part III

General Early first ordered a cavalry division (led by Brigadier General John McCausland) to ride around and outflank the Union left. Unfortunately, while advancing dismounted through a cornfield, they ran into a line of union infantry led by General Ricketts. After a few minutes of fighting, McClausland and his cavalry were forced to pull back after taking heavy casualties.

In spite of this setback, Early then ordered three of his own infantry brigades (led by Brigadier General John Gordon) to launch an attack on Wallace's left flank. After advancing in echelon formation, the Louisiana brigade began to pour heavy fire into the union lines. However, they too were driven back by return fire. 

For the next four hours, both sides continued to trade fire and inflict heavy casualties on the other. But at 3:30 in the afternoon, Gordon's soldiers began to break through the union left. Eventually, the union left crumbled and broke. After taking the flank, the Confederates turned and began to roll up the union center. With disaster brewing for the federals (and ammunition running low), General Wallace realized that the situation was hopeless. He ordered his troops to begin a withdrawl from Monocacy. By 5 PM, the battle was over.

Epilogue

The casualties for the engagement at Monocacy were heavy for both sides. The Confederates had suffered just over 1,000 men killed, wounded, or missing. By contrast, the Federals suffered 1,200 casualties. Tactically, this battle had ended in a Confederate victory. However, General Early's victory was short-lived. The battle had severely weakened his army and cost them precious time. Early decided to rest his army for a full day to recover. By the time he had resumed is march on Washington, thousands more federal soldiers arrived to block his path. On July 11, the Confederates arrived and attacked Fort Stevens on the outskirts of Washington. They were repulsed and forced to retreat. General Early then took his army back into the Shenandoah Valley. There he suffered three more defeats by General Philip Sheridan. With their last defeat at Cedar Creek, Early and what remained of his army pulled out of the Valley.

Although he had lost the battle of Monocacy, General Wallace had accomplished his goal of delaying Early's advance long enough for reinforcements to arrive to defend Washington. Unfortunately, in the initial aftermath of the battle, he was chastised by his superiors for losing to Early. Wallace was removed from command and replaced with Major General Edward Ord. After the war, he served as Governor of New Mexico Territory. In 1880, he published the bestseller, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. 

Years after the war, Wallace's stand at Monocacy began to receive major praise from the public. General John Gordon (who had broken the union line) later remarked that Wallace had, "snatched Washington out of our hands". Historians would later nickname the battle, "the battle that saved Washington". In late July, Wallace had the bodies of the fallen buried on the battlefield. He remarked, "These men died to save the National Capital, and they did save it".

https://www.nps.gov/mono/index.htm

https://armyhistory.org/the-battle-of-monocacy-9-july-1864/

https://thestrategybridge.org/the-bridge/2018/7/9/the-battle-of-monocacy-reflections-on-battle-contingency-and-strategy

http://www.mountolivethistory.com/stories-in-stone-blog/eyewitnesses-to-the-battle-of-monocacy

Forgotten Battle 13

Welcome back viewers

This month's Forgotten Battle is...

The Battle of Lake George

Intro

The battle of Lake George took place on September 8, 1755, in the north province of what is now New York. It was fought between armies from France and Great Britain. Also involved, were hundreds of Native Americans and colonial militiamen. This battle would be one of the first major victories for the British Army during the French and Indian War.

Part I

The Seven Years' War (or the French and Indian War) began on May 28, 1754, when a detachment of British soldiers and Native warriors ambushed a small group of French soldiers near what is now Farmington, Pennsylvania. Led by George Washington, they quickly defeated the Frenchmen and prepared to question their captives. But before Washington could even begin the interrogation, the war-chief of his Native allies (the Half King) approached the captives and proceeded to tomahawk their leader (Joseph Coulon de Jumonville). His warriors then immediately killed and scalped the remaining captives.

Fearing retribution, Washington pulled his soldiers back from the massacre and began constructing a fort. He called it, Fort Necessity. Unfortunately, the Half King and his warriors abandoned Washington as they were not accustomed to fighting within a fortification. Without his Native allies, Washington and his small army were no match the 600 French soldiers and Indian warriors that attacked Fort Necessity. The British found themselves both outnumbered and outgunned. The final straw came when it began to rain. The rain wet their gunpowder and left them no longer able to fire. With no options left, Washington surrendered. 

In exchange for permission to leave the area with his surviving soldiers, Louis Coulon (Jumonville's older brother) had Washington sign a document written in French. After signing, Washington and his soldiers were permitted to leave. What he didn't know was that the document contained a confession to a deliberate assassination of Joseph Jumonville on the orders of King George II. This document made its way all the way back to France and was presented King Louis XV himself. Angered by this "assassination" of a French diplomat, King Louis declared war on the British Empire. 

Part II

To win the French and Indian War, the British knew that they needed to drive the French out of the Ohio country. To do this, they needed to capture the French fortification, Fort Duquesne. A force of 1,400 British regulars and Colonial provincials was formed under the command of General Edward Braddock. Braddock's army marched into the wilderness and began four week long trek to Fort Duquesne. Unfortunately, on June 9, they were ambushed by a large French and Indian army while crossing the Monongahela River. When it was over, Braddock and half of his army were either dead or wounded.

Two months after this debacle, a new British general from Ireland arrived to lead another expedition. His name was, Sir William Johnson. Unlike Braddock, Johnson knew that the key to victory against the French lied with securing the support of the Native people living in the Ohio country. He had already struck up an alliance and a close friendship with a Mohawk chief called, Chief Hendrick. With Chief Hendrick's help, Johnson hoped to recruit hundreds of Indian warriors from the Iroquois Six Nations to join his expedition. 

A few days before General Johnson began his trek into the wilderness, more than 1,100 warriors and representatives from the Iroquois Six Nations arrived to meet with him and Chief Hendrick. For a full night, Johnson exchanged goods with them and took part in their ceremonies. While they appreciated the gifts and his respect for their culture, most of the warriors refused to break their neutrality. In the end, less than 300 Mohawk warriors (mostly belonging to Hendrick) volunteered to accompany Johnson.

Part III

On September 7, General Johnson and Chief Hendrick set off for Fort Duquesne with just over 1,900 British regulars, colonial provincials (militiamen), and Mohawk warriors. After a full day of marching without incident, they finally arrived at the south end of Lake George and set up camp. Early the next morning, the  Johnson and Chief Hendrik resumed their march on Fort Duquesne. They had no idea that they were walking into a trap.

Late on the night of September 7, a force of 1,500 French soldiers, Canadian militia, and Indian warriors arrived at the north end of Lake George. Under the command of Major General Baron Dieskau, then moved to a ravine that blocked the portage road that Johnson's army was using. With the warriors and militiamen positioned on both sides of the road, the French grenadiers aligned themselves directly in-front of the oncoming British and Indian force. The fighting began at 9:00 the morning of September 8. This part of the battle would later be referred to as the, "Bloody Morning Scout".

Chief Hendrick and many of his warriors and colonial militiamen were ambushed by Canadian Mohawk and Abenaki warriors while scouting ahead of the main British force. Before long, Hendrick and most of his men were dead. Those who survived quickly retreated four miles back to Johnson's camp. After informing Johnson of the ambush, he quickly organized an improvised defensive barricade around his camp. Using wagons, overturned boats, and felled tree branches, they prepared to meet the oncoming attack. 

Against the advice of his Indian allies, Baron Dieskau had decided to follow up on his successful ambush by attacking the British camp. An hour and a half after the Bloody Morning Scout ambush, Dieskau arrived at Johnson's position and ordered a direct attack. As the French grenadiers approached the camp in column formation, Johnson had his soldiers hold fire until the last possible moment, then they unleashed a deadly volley. Johnson's three cannons were loaded with grapeshot and proceeded to decimate the French and Canadian ranks. When Baron Dieskau fell severely wounded, the French and Canadians retreated in disorder. 

Epilogue

Later in the day, the British and colonials successfully ambushed and annihilated a French baggage train resting by small pond (later called, Bloody Pond). After this, the outcome of the battle had been cemented. The casualties were heavy for both armies. The British are believed to have suffered over 300 total casualties (among the wounded was General Johnson). The French and Indian casualties are believed to be around 350 casualties. Among those to be captured was Baron Dieskau, he would remain a POW for the next eight years. 

After their defeat, the French retreated back across the lake, appointed a new commander (the Marquis Louis-Joseph de Montcalm) constructed a new fortification called, Fort Carillon. Although he had not reached his target (Fort Duquesne) Johnson's expedition had been able to gain a successful foothold in the Ohio country. He consolidated his victory by building a British fort at the south end of Lake George which he called, Fort William Henry. Although fierce fighting would continue until 1763, the British victory at Lake George was considered their first major success in the French and Indian War. One that help to secure a hard-fought victory in the future.

http://nyindependencetrail.org/stories-Battle-of-Lake-George.html

https://www.lakegeorge.com/history/battle-of-lakegeorge/

https://www.americanhistorycentral.com/entries/battle-of-lake-george-1755/

https://www.nps.gov/people/tanaghrisson-the-half-king.htm

https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/fort-necessity/