Existing comment:
A City In Peril
Washington had no natural defenses and was surrounded by a population that at least partially supported the Confederacy. At the beginning of the war it became apparent that the city needed fortifications. By December 1862, there were 53 forts, 22 batteries, 643 guns, 75 mortars, 900 artillery men, 25,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry in Washington. In July of 1864, during Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's raid, Union troops successfully defended the city from its closest brush with danger. |