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I heard last night on CSPAN that the Confederate soldiers got so close to Washington D.C. that they could actually see the dome on the Capitol building. I'm guessing that this might have been just on the west bank of the Potomac River. Anyone know the date of this and what led to the eventual turn around or withdrawal of rebel troops here?
I dont think the dome was completed until the end of the war was it? All the pictures from that era show it under construction.
Yes I believe that they said the Confederates saw the dome under construction. So that coincides with the pictures you saw.
I believe J.E.B. Stuart made a diversionary ride in the Shenadoah Campaign in 1864 which actually caused a panic in the city and some evacuations were prepared, but Lincoln refused to evacuate. Stuart had no real intentions of invading the capital, he was trying to buy time for the besieged Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in Petersburg. Stuart did battle with Phil Sheridan's cavalry and were forced to finally retreat. The Shenandoah Valley was a lifeblood for the Confederate army and General Grant wanted it cutoff so that Lee couldn't resupply his armies from there any more.
I was doing a little reading tonight and came across something that mentioned Jubal Early and his tropps were actually right across the river from Washington on July 11, 1864.
You're right it was Jubal Early not J.E.B. Stuart. It was called Early's Raid. Thanks for clarifying that. Early would have liked to have raided Washington to lure the Federals back across the Potomac but he realistically understood that was impossible so he concentrated his efforts running Sheridan all over the Shenandoah as best he could.
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