Crosshairs on the Capital: Jubal Early’s Raid on Washington, D.C., July 1864 - Reasons, Reactions, and Results

by James H. Bruns

In an era of battlefield one-upmanship, the raid on the Nation's Capital in July 1864 was prompted by an earlier failed Union attempt to destroy Richmond and free the Union prisoners held there. Jubal Early's mission was in part to let the North have a taste of its own medicine by attacking Washington and freeing the Confederate prisoners at Point Lookout in southern Maryland. He was also to fill the South's larder from unmolested Union fields, mills and barns. By 1864 such southern food raids had become annual wartime events. And he was to threaten and, if possible, capture Washington. This latter task was unrealistic in an age when the success of rifle fire was judged to be successful not by accuracy, but by the amount of lead that was shot into the air. Initially, the Union defenders of the city were larger former slaves, freemen, mechanic, shopkeepers and government clerks, as well as invalids. They might not have known much about riflery and accuracy, but they were capable of putting ample lead on the long until Regular Union regiments arrived. Jubal Early hesitated in attacking Washington, but he held the City at bay while his troops pillaged the countryside for the food Lee's Army needed to survive.

This new account focuses on the reasons, reactions and results of Jubul Early's raid of 1864. History has judged it to have been a serious threat to the capital, but James H. Bruns examines how the nature of the Confederate raid on Washington in 1864 has been greatly misinterpreted--Jubal Early's maneuvers were in fact only the latest in a series of annual southern food raids. It also corrects some of the thinking about Early's raid, including the reason behind his orders from General Lee to cross the Potomac and the thoughts behind the proposed raid on Point Lookout and the role of the Confederate Navy in that failed effort. It presents a new prospective in explaining Jubal Early's raid on Washington by focusing on why things happened as they did in 1864. It identifies the cause-and-effect connections that are truly the stuff of history, forging some of the critical background links that oftentimes are ignored or overlooked in books dominated by battles and leaders.

Genres: Civil War

256 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2021

Reviews

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

This slim volume looks at one of the war's most interesting campaigns: General Early's raid on Washington. For me, the best thing about this book were the illustrations. Many of the pictures within the text I had never seen before. The book itself was a rehash of a much written about, much misunderstood aspect of the war. The author posits that Early's raid was doomed from the start, then explains why he believes this. Overall, a very good, if esoteric, effort.

[Janis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this book is very well researched and written, it has not been one of my favorite Civil War history books to read. I am sure another fan of Civil War literature will rate it much higher and find it more fascinating. A lot of detail is covered in this slim 212 page book. Bruns explains the strategy in General Lee's orders for Jubal Early to raid Washington and the reasons that it technically failed. He did succeed in scouring the countryside for weapons, food, and horses for the beleaguered Confederate Army. Bruns writes an interesting theory of what if Early has taken Washington. I either did not remember or know of some to the key players on the Union side such as Colonel Ullric Dahlgren who lost his life in an attempted raid on the Confederate prison at Belle Isle. As a result Lee ordered Jubal Early to go through the Shenandoah Valley to Maryland and eventually to North Point Lookout Prison camp and conduct a raid on Washington. He was outmanned. I realized as I read and reread the pages that I really didn't know enough background history of this action. An ordinary student in a history class knows about the siege on Petesburg and the events of Gettysburg but not the details of this event. I am glad I read Crosshairs on the Capital because it does provide details that I would not ever have known. I am highly recommending it to Civil War history buffs but not the reader who revels in the excitement of the battles and its heroes. It is definitely a good history lesson for everyone.

[ric · Rating 5 out of 5]

updated history

Up to date and detailed. Expanded angles of consideration of what how and why. Well selected illustrations including maps. Worthwhile.