Remembering those who fought at Monocacy

            General John B. Gordon would write after the war that, “The battle of Monocacy…was

short, decisive, and bloody.”[1] His division saw some of the heaviest action in the battle while

fighting Union Veteran Troops of the 6^th Corps (Army of the Potomac) on the Thomas Farm. He 

notes that, “Nearly one half of my men and large numbers of the Federals fell there. Many of my 

officers went down, and General Clement A. Evens, the trusted leader of my largest brigade, was 

severely wounded.”[2] He goes on to say that, “The Confederate victory was won at fearful cost and 

by practically a single division, but it was complete, and the way to Washington was opened for

General Early’s march.”[3] It was his division through heavy fighting that broken the 6^th Corps line

and as he notes helped General Early’s Army win the battle. Sergeant Tirrell of the 14^th New

Jersey would write of the battle, “Every drop of blood shed at Monocacy, every life lost, was

sacrificed in a noble cause. Those fallen heroes…if they could only know that their lives saved

our National Capital from destruction, would willingly exclaim: ‘I die content, I gave my life to

my country.”[4] Private George Nichols would remember that, “The Sixty-first Georgia Regiment

went into battle with nearly one hundred and fifty men, and after the battle was over we could

only stack but fifty-two guns by actual count.”[5] All these soldiers vividly remembered this battle

despite that fact that Monocacy was a small battle when considered to fights like Antietam and

Gettysburg. But this does not mean that it was not impactful  since it was the battle that helped

save Washington. 

         Like any battle in the Civil War the soldiers who fought at Monocacy would remember what 

they did and saw on July 9^th 1864. During my internship here at Monocacy it has been a joy for me 

to be to learn who these soldiers were. This has come through the writings they left behind and 

through artifacts in the visitor center museum. It is a very powerful experience and shows the human 

side of the battle that is sometimes lost when talking about the overall strategies and tactics of the 

battle. One must always remember that the soldiers who fought this battle were people with hopes, 

joys, and fears who fought for  principles they believed in. The stories that these soldiers tell are 

quite powerful and by hearing them the battle becomes more humanized and one that people can 

connect to. My  greatest joy for this internship has been being able to tell visitors the story of some 

of the those soldiers who fought at Monocacy. I have found it an honor to tell what the battle was 

like for them to the public who come to visit the battlefield find it the best way to honor their 

memory for the brave actions they did, for both the Blue and the Gray.        

                                                              Bibliography

Gordon B. John. Reminiscences of the Civil War. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,1903.

Worthington H. Glen.  Fighting For Time The Battle of Monocacy. Baltimore, MD: Day Printing Company, 1932.           

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[1] John Gordon B, Reminiscences of the Civil War (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons,1903), 309.

[2] Ibid, 312.

[3] Ibid, 313.

[4] Glen Worthington H, Fighting For Time The Battle of Monocacy

(Baltimore, MD: Day Printing Company, 1932),6.

[5] Ibid, 139.