Battle of Monocacy The Battle of Monocacy ( also known as Monocacy Junction ) was fought on July 9 , 1864 , just outside Frederick , Maryland , as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 , in the American Civil War . Confederate forces under Lt . Gen . Jubal A . Early defeated Union forces under Maj . Gen . Lew Wallace . The battle was part of Early ' s raid through the Shenandoah Valley and into Maryland , attempting to divert Union forces away from Gen . Robert E . Lee ' s army under siege at Petersburg , Virginia . The battle was the northernmost Confederate victory of the war . Background . Reacting to Early ' s raid , Union General - in - Chief Lt . Gen . Ulysses S . Grant dispatched two brigades of the VI Corps , about 5 , 000 men , under Brig . Gen . James B . Ricketts on July 6 , 1864 . Until those troops arrived , however , the only Federal force between Early and the capital city was a command of 6 , 300 men ( mostly Hundred Days Men ) commanded by Major General Lew Wallace . At the time , Wallace , who would eventually become best known for his book " Ben - Hur : A Tale of the Christ " , was the head of the Union ' s Middle Atlantic Department , headquartered at Baltimore ( also referred to as the VIII Corps ) . Very few of Wallace ' s men had ever seen battle . Wallace himself was a talented battlefield commander , having been the Union Army ' s youngest Major General at the time of his promotion , but had has career derailed when he was blamed for the high casualties taken at the Union victory at the Battle of Shiloh . Agents of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad reported signs of Early ' s advance on June 29 ; this intelligence and subsequent reports were passed to Wallace by John W . Garrett , the president of the railroad and a Union supporter . Uncertain whether Baltimore or Washington , D . C . was the Confederate objective , Wallace knew he had to delay their approach until reinforcements could reach either city . At Frederick , following skirmishing on July 7 and 8 , in which Confederate cavalry drove Union units from the town , Early demanded , and received , $ 200 , 000 ransom to forestall his destruction of the city . Wallace saw Monocacy Junction , also called Frederick Junction , three miles southeast of Frederick , as the most logical point of defense for both Baltimore and Washington . The Georgetown Pike to Washington and the National Road to Baltimore both crossed the Monocacy River there as did the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad . If Wallace could stretch his force over six miles of the stream to protect both turnpike bridges , the railroad bridge , and several fords , he could make Early disclose the strength and objective of the Confederate force and delay him as long as possible . At first Wallace ' s forces along the Monocacy consisted of Brigadier General Erastus B . Tyler ' s First Separate Brigade ( which included units from other brigades ) and a cavalry force commanded by Lieutenant Colonel David Clendenin . His prospects improved with word that the first contingent of VI Corps troops commanded by Ricketts had reached Baltimore and were rushing by rail to join Wallace at the Monocacy . Although originally ordered to Harpers Ferry , Ricketts agreed to remain at the Monocacy . On Saturday , July 9 , combined forces of Wallace and Ricketts , numbering about 5 , 800 , were positioned at the bridges and fords of the river . The higher elevation of the river ' s east bank formed a natural breastwork for some of the soldiers . Tyler ' s brigade occupied the two block - houses and trenches the soldiers had dug with a few available tools near the bridges . Ricketts ' s division occupied the Thomas and Worthington farms on the Union left , using the fences as breastworks . Battle . Confederate Maj . Gen . Stephen Dodson Ramseur ' s division encountered Wallace ' s troops on the Georgetown Pike near the Best Farm ; Maj . Gen . Robert E . Rodes ' s division clashed with the Federals on the National Road . Prisoners taken during this phase told the Confederates that the entire VI Corps was present ; this seemed to have heightened the Confederates ' caution and they did not initially press their numerical advantage . Believing that a frontal attack across the Monocacy would be too costly , Early sent John McCausland ' s cavalry down Buckeystown Road to find a ford and outflank the Union line . McCausland forded the Monocacy below the McKinney - Worthington Ford and attacked Wallace ' s left flank . Believing that they had outflanked the Union positions and due to the rolling terrain , they did not notice that Ricketts ' s veterans had taken a position at a fence separating the Worthington and Thomas farms . Consequently , the Union line was able to fire a volley that panicked the Confederates . McCausland was able to rally his brigade and launched another attack , but was unable to break the Union division . When it became apparent that the cavalry alone would not be able to break the Union flank , Early sent Maj . Gen . John B . Gordon ' s division across the ford to assist in the attack . Gordon launched a three - pronged attack against Ricketts ' s center and both flanks . Ricketts ' regiments on the right flank were pushed back and allowed the Confederates to enfilade the rest of the Union line . Due to pressure from Ramseur ' s attack on the Union center , Wallace was unable to reinforce Ricketts ; the entire Union line was rendered untenable and Wallace ordered a retreat towards Baltimore , with Tyler ' s brigade and the cavalry acting as a rearguard . Aftermath . By late afternoon the Federals , following the northernmost Confederate victory of the war , were retreating toward Baltimore , leaving behind over 1 , 294 dead , wounded , and captured . On the 11th , after his forces reached Baltimore , Wallace learned that he was relieved by Lieutenant General U . S . Grant of the military command of his department , while being retained " in charge of the administration of the department . " Later Grant would admit that this was a mistake , and restore Wallace to command . Later , Wallace gave orders to collect the bodies of the dead in a burial ground on the battlefield where he proposed a monument to read : " These men died to save the National Capital , and they did save it . " ( Wallace ' s proposed monument was never built . ) The way lay open to Washington . Early ' s army had won the field at Monocacy , but at the expense of 700 to 900 killed and wounded and at least one day lost . The next morning the Confederates marched on , and by midday Monday , Early stood inside the District of Columbia at Fort Stevens . Early could see the Capitol Dome through his glasses , but with his troops spread out far behind him ( exhausted from the heat and the long march ) and seeing the impressive Fort Stevens , decided not to attack . However there were artillery exchanges and skirmishes that day , July 11 , 1864 , and the following day . On July 13 Early retraced his steps and crossed the Potomac back into Virginia at White ' s Ferry . Monocacy cost Early a day ' s march and his chance to capture Washington . Thwarted in the attempt to take the capital , the Confederates retreated back into Virginia , ending their last campaign to carry the war into the North . Union forces in the area attempted to pursue Early , but due to the divided command structure were unable to defeat him . This led Grant to form the Middle Military Division , covering Maryland , West Virginia , Pennsylvania , the District of Columbia , and the Shenandoah Valley , for a coordinated offensive against Confederate forces in the Valley . General Early wrote in a report of the 1864 campaign : General Grant also assessed Wallace ' s delaying tactics at Monocacy : The battlefield remained in private hands for over 100 years before portions were acquired in the late 1970s to create the Monocacy National Battlefield . The park was dedicated in July 1991 . Several monuments were dedicated following the war , including monuments for the New Jersey , Vermont , and Pennsylvania units which fought in the battle , as well as to the Confederate force . In popular culture . The American independent film , " No Retreat from Destiny : The Battle That Rescued Washington " , is a 2006 docudrama that features the Battle of Monocacy . Directed by Kevin Hershberger and featuring Fritz Klein as Lincoln , it won seven awards in 2006 at the Blue Ridge – Southwest Virginia Vision Film Festival for its music , the Festival Prize and the Vision Award .