By Elliot Carter

This stunning Civil War map lays out a planned Confederate attack on Washington DC. In 1864 General Lee was searching for a way to relieve pressure on his army at Petersburg, where he was under siege. He gambled and sent General Jubal Early and 10,000 troops on a diversion to attack Washington. The hope was that Lincoln would panic and recall some of the Union forces. A good showing against the Capital also had the potential to impact the results of the looming fall elections.

Gen. Early's troops looped around Washington and approached it from the northwest. Soldiers marched down River Road through Bethesda and then fanned out into a massive line of battle stretching from Friendship Heights to Fort Totten. Then the Confederate troops had to rest; they had covered 250 miles over the past month and were in no condition to mount an attack that afternoon.

The yellow lines on this modern map show the fortifications confronting them. Washington's garrison at this time was barely 9,000 old men, convalescents and government employees-turned-soldiers. An official study conducted previously had estimated that a minimum of 25,000 men were required to defend the earthworks.