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Show Washington Back In '86 withdraw. That night he confided con-fided to a friend: "WELL, WE haven't taken Washington but we've scared Abe Lincoln like hell!" And at midnight the troops marched away. By the 14th. Early's soldiers sol-diers were resting safely at Leesburg. the final receding tide of the war down the Valley. In the last summer of the Confederacy, with General Grant slowly encircling Richmond Rich-mond and Petersburg. General Jubal Early launched an audacious auda-cious march on Washington from the Shenandoah Valley. MANY TODAY aren't aware that this small army of about 12,000, beginning its advance in June, marched to the very outskirts of Washington. Washing-ton. It was the last time an enemy army was within sight of the capital. General Lee detached Early on June 12. He began pushing Union forces north and west on the 18th, left VMI cadets at Lexington, stopped briefly at Staunton, and reached Winchester Win-chester July 2. He marched on to Harper's Ferry. Martins-burg Martins-burg and across the Potomac at Sheperdstown on July 5. IN A BOLD gamble. Early marched on to Maryland Heights, Frederick. Rockville and finally to Silver Spring, now a Washington suburb, (in the llth the Confederates reached Fort Stevens, one of Washington's fortifications. They were ordered to attack on the 12th, against very sturdy stur-dy fortifications. During the night, however, the Sixth Corps of the U.S. Army, minus one division, moved into the defenses. Early then knew an attack would be hopeless. hope-less. On the 12th, a Confederate army viewed Washington for the last time during the War. That afternoon Union troops launched a weak attack, beaten back with considerable loss. But Early had decided to |