Evening star., 1914-04-16
MENACE TO CAPITAL
HALF CENTURY AGO
Anniversary in July of Gen.
EarIy'S Threatened Attack
on Washington.
SUGGESTION OF PROGRAM
IN MEMORY OF THE EVENT
Reasons Given by the Invading Con-
federate Commander for With
drawal of His Troops.

The great reunion and celebration held
last summer at Gettysburg il is gener-
ally believed. will be followed by OBJ
servancc of anniversaries OF other i'm
portant events of the civil war. and along
that line the suggestion has been made
that tine raid Of Gen. Jubal y Early
July II and L.. 1861. when the capital was
greatly menaced. but came through un-
harmed should be noted in some man
ner on its fiftieth anniversary
With tie exception of the British raid
in, 1911. Washington never in her history
passed through time Of such anxiety
and probably never will again All avail
able citizens were enlisted for the de-
fcnse OF the city-the fire and police de-
partnents. the veteran reserve corps
couvaleseents from the many hospitals
at that time in the District and the
various departmental military organiza-
tons; in some respects 4 motley crowd.
but very resolute one.
Among the latter bodies was the How
itzer Battery. composed of officers and
employees of the Navy Department who
had held daily drills after office hours in
the grounds south OF the old department
and had attained quite a record for eff
iiciency under the leadership of John ID.
Brandt former navy officer at that
time employed in the bureau of ord
nance.
Company Roster
The roster OF this company was as fol-
lows:
Captain. John u. Brandt.
Gun No. 1-ouarter gunner H. II. Til
L. IL. -
active members. Holmes l. Ofiey. Jesse
f. Dow. n. Newman. Monroe Dilley.
Frank Buttrick. James A. Sample Mil
ton Il. Gushing. L. VI. Haskins William
TT. Allyn. o. G. Fisher, Fl. 5. Bowen and
Samuel T. Ellis,
Gun No 2-Quarter gunner Samuel Au-
gIste; chief of piece. Lieut. " Aston;
active members. George w Baird Thorn
as W. Fitch, John r. Gisburne, T r.
Cookie. W. Fl. n. Smith, H. Wheeler ST.
las P. Wrisley. T. H. Bordley. William E.
Miller. George NJ. Greene J. c. Kinne
and y S Green.
No response except from scant half
dozen members still living would today
result from a roll call of this orsaniza-
ton of half century ago The survivors
are Admiral George W. Baird. L. s \ ::
James A. Sample. Holmes E Ofley, w
H. H. Smith and John r. Gisburne.
opportune Arrival of Troops.
Troops from the 9th Army Corps. a
part Of Grants army, Were summoned in
haste. and arrived in the nick of time. so
that none of these patriotic citizens and
lnyalids was compelled to see actual
service. Seeing that discretion was the
better part of valor Gen. Early withdrew
TO the northwest and crossed the Poto-
mac into Virginia. but not without. TO
use his own words. arriving in sight of
the dome of the Capitol and giving the
Federals a terrible fright
Nor were these operations bIoodless
for there are more than forty T-nion
soldiers of the 9Th Corps buried in the
Battle Ground cemetery on the 9Th
street pike. north of the Brightwood
Hotel. and there is Confederate monu-
ment to some nineteen southerners in
the corner of the cemetery of Grace
church. on the car line to Forest Glen.
about mile beyond Silver Spring These
men were skirmishers. victims of the
desultory firing exchanged between the
two bodies of troops
Early's raid was daring one and had
he been supplied with troops fresh
enough to make an attack on arrival a
very different story might have been
told News of his approach preceded
him, but il was not known whether
W ashington or Baltimore was his OBJ
iective point. Following the battle of
Monocacy. in the neishborhood of Fred
e~ick. Md, in which he defeated Gen.
Lew Wallace. he marched in the heat
and dust toward the capital, His troops.
after leaving the pike leading from
Rockville into Georgetown. moved east
ward across the fields that lay between
that road and the 1th street pike. and
were seen by some of the forts that had
been erected in chain for tine defense
of the city. The news was hastily car
ried into the capital that the enemy
was so to speak. at its very gates. and
things looked very black if he should
decide to attack. But ne was prevented.
and the capital was saved.
Gen. Early himself gives an interesting