Book Review: Desperate Engagement by Marc Leepson

Desperate Engagement

How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington D.C.

Much happened between July 9 and 12, 1864. Marc Leepson focuses on this brief Civil War period in his book Desperate Engagement.

In the end, the battle changes little, except perhaps delaying the end of the war. General Grant continued his stranglehold on the Confederate Army until Lee surrendered at Appomattox. Nonetheless, if the Hail Mary pass had been completed and General Jubal Early had sacked Washington, we might all be speaking with a Southern accent.

According to Leepson, this outcome was almost realized. He would want us to believe it was close—heart-stoppingly close. Other historians and this reader think that once General Grant's reinforcements arrived, General Early's attack on Washington was doomed.

The risky moves and countermoves, potential payoff, and unbridled heroism on both sides should have made this an exciting book. The Battle of Monocacy and the attempted siege are nicely covered in about four or five chapters, with the remaining chapters mostly filled with letters and memoirs of participants, asides, or research factoids. Civil War buffs should find even the trivia interesting, but a casual reader might view much of this text as filler.

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