Evening star., 1915-09-25
HOW JUbAL EARLY
WAS BEATEN BACK
Story of Battle of Fort Ste
vens, Which Saved Capital
From Capture.
FORCES SENT BY GRANT
ARRIVED JUST IN TIME
President Lincoln's Presence on Fir
~ ing Line Makes Engagement
Notable in History.

Old comrades gathering here for the
eEcampment and swapping war yarns
are particularly interested in the remi-
niscences of those who fought at Fort
Stevens in defense of the National Cap
ital when it was threatened by Gen.
Jubal Early and when President Lin
coin was on the firing line. the only oc-
casion on which a President of the
United States has thus been under fire.
Col Andrew Cowan Of the Ohio COM
mandery of the Loyal Legion thus re-
counts how the seat of government was
saved from Confederate invasion:
Early had swept everything before
him. driving the detached small COM
mands out of the Shenandoah valley.
until a little army was gathered at
Monocacy Junction, in Maryland, under
Gen. Lew Wallace. Gen Grant, recos-
nizing the serious conditions that con-
fronted Gen. Wallace and his small
force. dispatched the Sd Division of the
9Th Corps from in front of Petersburg
to Baltimore by water. That division
was commanded by Gen. Ricketts,, who
was unable to get transportation by
rail for his entire division from Balti-
more to Monocacy, but got two Drl-
gades forward in freight cars In time
to reinforce Wallace. With these two
veteran brigades of the 9Th Corps and
his small force of odds and ends. Gen.
Wallace was able to hold Early in
check at Monocacy Junction for two
days That delay of Earlys force
saved Washington from capture.
Reinforcements From Grant.
Gen. Grant at City Point meantime
had ordered the 1st and I'd divisions Of
the 9Th Corps. with a number of its
batteries, to Washington by water
without delay. The I'd Division ar
rived first at Washington, and marched
out to confront Early's army, already
at the gateway. The 1st New York.
9Th Corps. was the first of the bat
teries to arrive that dav. The situa-
ton was so critical that an officer was
waiting to give me orders when our
steamer-one of those big Long Island
steamers. having on board the entire
battery with it's horses-drew near to
the dock Making a megaphone of his
hands. he called out to me: Captain,
disembark your battery promptly ana
march to Fort Stevens without spar1ng
your horses.
We made great haste, and arrived
abreast of Fort Stevens. by the 9TH
Street road, about O'Clock pm Inc
ID Division of Infantry. commanded by
Gen. Gettys. had already advanced and
engaged the enemy, so that We were
only lookers-on. l sat on my morse AT
the head of my battery, in the ROAD
abreast of the entrance of Fort Ste
vens. while the battle went on in plain
sight. From there 1 saw our corps
commander. Gen. Horatio G. Wright,
standing on the parapet of the fort,
and by his side stood Abraham Lincoln.
Here and there now and then nearly
spent bullets from the enemy would
strike in the road. throwing up little
puffs of dust. Undoubtedly the same
conditions prevailed 100 feet or SO to
my left, where the President stood
with Gen. Wright. l was afterward
told that Gen. Wright had begged the
President to step down and not expose
himself. but the President stayed there
under fire.
Played See-Saw With Early.
At do 10