Queenie B: You have such vast knowledge of the books you write which brings me to my first question. How long does it take you to research a book like this?
Marc Leepson: For Desperate Engagement the process was about three months of pure research, then I started writing. As I did the writing, I filled in gaps with more research.
Queenie B: I like the way you bring personality details to your subjects, Do you spend more time than usual digging up and getting into each personality?
Marc Leepson: Yes, I do. As you have gleaned, I find that I am most interested in personalities when I'm writing history. And in this story we had two very colorful ones, Jubal Early and Lew Wallace.
I read biographies of both and then went to their writings and to what their contemporaries and historians wrote about them. I did the same with the other main figures in the book, such as Robert E. Lee, U.S. Grant, President Lincoln, Army Chief of Staff Henry Halleck but to a lesser extent.
Queenie B: You brought up the two guys I like the most - Lew and Jubal!
Although there were many heroic acts during the Civil War, Lew Wallace's decision, without orders from superiors to move troops to the Monocacy Junction and intervene the Confederate’s march to Washington was an intuitive and accurate move on his part as it turned out. "The very probable" he said, "had become the inevitable" (p 90).
Do you consider him an Unsung Hero of the Civil War?
Marc Leepson: Yes, I do. And for the exact reason you mentioned. Wallace, without any orders to do so (and being in hot water with his superiors to boot), on his own moved troops to the Monocacy Junction, believing he'd be facing as many as 25,000-30,000 veteran Confederate troops.
All he had were inexperience, hundred-days men, and only about 2,300 of them. So, it was a very gutsy move. And what he did worked. With the last-minute reinforcements from Grant, he was able to hold off a much larger Confederate force for an entire day, thereby giving Grant time to get troops to Washington, which was severely under-defended.
Wallace was primarily responsible for, as the subtitle of the book says, saving Washington, D.C. (from a Confederate invasion)
Queenie B: I wholeheartedly agree and I thought he was THE hero of the battle. So why was Union intelligence so inconclusive at this late point in the war in regards to protection of the Nation's Capitol?
Marc Leepson: Union intelligence was abysmal throughout the entire Civil War. So the bad intelligence that surrounded this episode was typical.
Queenie B: Why wasn’t President Lincoln more concerned about the invasion of the Capitol?
Marc Leepson: You are correct. Lincoln was very calm when others in the capital were close to panicking after they learned that Early had defeated Wallace at Monocacy and was moving on Washington.
It's hard to say exactly why he was calm. He wasn't someone who would panic easily. On the other hand, Lincoln was greatly relieved when the veteran 6th Corps troops arrived in Washington at noon time on July 11, 1864. He made it a point to greet them personally as they got off their ships at the old wharves downtown.
Queenie B: Getting back to Lew Wallace, he went on to author the famous book Ben Hur. He also wrote his extensive memoir of the war. Can we still get a copy of that memoir in print anywhere?
Marc Leepson: Wallace's autobiography is out of print. But it's fairly easily obtainable. There are many used copies out there and many libraries have them.
But be warned, it's an 800-page book and the writing is very flowery.
Queenie B: Well I like that! Thanks for the info. Let's talk about the other colorful personality in the book - Jubal Early.
Marc Leepson: Sure. What would you like to know?
Queenie B: Jubal Early- the cantankerous, mean spirited but battle hardened veteran, didn’t want to fight the battle at Monocacy. He wanted the Capital yet he got to the gates of Washington, if you will, skirmished a bit and then turned and left.
What happened to his aggression? Was there no Southern Intelligence informing him of the poor defenses in Washington? He was drinking, eating well, and extorting money in Frederick and Silver spring, Was he a bit of a lush and not so concerned as he should have been about the Southern objectives?
If so, why did General Lee who was a complete opposite in personality like him so much?
Marc Leepson: Yes, Early was a heavy drinker. But I don't believe that had anything to do with why he did not pull the trigger and invade Washington when he arrived at the gates of the city in the early afternoon of July 11, 1864.
From my reading of things, I strongly believe that Early--who, as you correctly note, was one of the South's most aggressive generals--didn't attack because he didn't believe he had enough able bodied men at the time to do so.
Don't forget: His men had been on the march since June 13. It had been a brutally hot summer. They had just fought a full field battle at Monocacy. They were tired and they were strung out for miles and miles behind him.
Early saw the seemingly impregnable forts in front of him. He saw troops manning them. He did not know they were inexperienced men and a rag tag collection of civilians and recovering Union soldiers.
The following day he could see that those men had been augmented by veteran 6th Corps men. And that's why he did not attack on the second day, July 12.
Lee liked Early because he was so aggressive. Plus, there weren't many other generals available to do this mission at the time.
Queenie B: So obviously Early had some good decision making skills in battle.
Marc Leepson: He did and he didn't. Every though Early was a veteran of nearly every battle in the Eastern Theater and fought well in many, he wasn't the best judge of terrain and not a great tactician.
Queenie B: Tell me more about the "missing Brigade" because I'm fascinated with it. (The 67th regiment of Pennsylvania and the 6th Maryland Infantry Regiment who were sent from Baltimore via railroad, and stopped off at the little town of Monrovia and New Market).
They were 8 miles east of the Monocacy Battle going on and missed the whole fight. Did the Commanding Officer not hear the booming of the battle going on? Why didn’t he march forward instead of spending the day in the town?
Marc Leepson: The officer in charge simply decided to sit out the battle. He made some feeble excuse, but was later relieved of his command for the inexcusable action of stopping, as you say, just a few miles from Monocacy and not moving on to the battle.
Queenie B: Guess we'll never know what might have been different if that officer had more of a backbone.
The whole area of the Monocacy is now very built up other then the farms that remain and the historical park service. How do you feel about buildings on Hallowed ground?
Marc Leepson: We are lucky to have so much of the original battlefield now protected in the National Park.
The Thomas Farm, the Best Farm and the Worthington Farm, where most of the fiercest fighting took pace, are all now part of the park.
The new Visitors Center, which opened last June, is a tremendous improvement on the one it replaced. It has a terrific, museum-quality exhibit on the second floor and a great view of most of the battlefield.
It is unfortunate that Interstate 270 bisects the battlefield and that there is a shopping mall not more than a mile away. But I can live with that, knowing that most of the battlefield is preserved.
Queenie B: Yes I totally agree that we are fortunate to have most of the battlefield preserved. Although I often wonder if there are any soldiers, Union or Confederate, that may still be buried there.
Marc Leepson: I am afraid I don't know the answer to that. I do know that both sides did make every effort to bury their dead and after the battle was over many Union families made arrangements to have their loved ones' bodies shipped north for burial.
Queenie B: God bless those soldiers who fought and thank you for writing about it.
I also loved your book Saving Monticello. Are you researching any other historical homes that you might write about? Give us history lovers a hint - what is coming up next for you?
Marc Leepson: Thank you very much for your interest in my work.
I am working on a proposal for my next book, but I make it a practice of not talking about my proposals until they get accepted. That's because it's such an iffy proposition.
I will tell you that the topic will be one dealing with American history--not a historic house, though!
Queenie B: Well I can't wait to find out what it's about!
Marc, thanks so much for taking this time out of your busy teaching, researching, and writing schedule to talk to us. I've already got Flag on my bedside table calling my name!
Marc Leepson: I'll let you know when I get the contract! So keep your fingers crossed.
Again, let me thank you for your interest in my work. It means a lot to an author to hear from informed readers. And it's always great to get rave reviews!
Queenie B: You're welcome and you've got a rave reviewer here!
Thanks again and we look forward to seeing you in person at the Urbana Library on 2/11.
