Desperate Engagement: How a Little-Known Civil War Battle Saved Washington, D.C., and Changed American HistoryMarc Leepson, critically acclaimed author of Flag: An American Biography, examines the Battle of Monocacy a crucial and singular moment in the Civil War with his trademark historical detail and enlivening voice The Battle of Monocacy, which took place four miles south of Frederick, Maryland on a blisteringly hot day in 1864, was a full field engagement between some 12,000 battle hardened Confederate troops led by the controversial Jubal Anderson