Patrick K. O'Donnell recounts Jubal Early's 1864 march on Washington, which exploited depleted Union defenses to reach the capital's gates at Fort Stevens. During the crisis, Abraham Lincoln famously stood on the parapet under fire. Early's success was ai

Patrick K. O'Donnell recounts Jubal Early's 1864 march on Washington, which exploited depleted Union defenses to reach the capital's gates at Fort Stevens. During the crisis, Abraham Lincoln famously stood on the parapet under fire. Early's success was aided by John Singleton Mosby, who conducted the Calico Raid to sever communications and draw off defenders. Mosby's men specialized in close-range pistol swarms, notably routing the Second Massachusetts Cavalry at Mount Zion Church. The arrival of the Union's Sixth Corps eventually forced Early to retreat, narrowly saving the nation's capital from capture. (4)
1865