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The
Confederates' achievements were no less important.
For the first time in the War, Confederate forces, under General Jubal Early, were within striking distance of Washington. A small force of
reserves and battle tested veterans stood together to oppose the seemingly endless hordes of gray clad warriors, determined that the Rebels would never reach their beloved Capital. Eventually, the Confederates would make it to the very gates of Washington, where President Lincoln would be the first US President directly under fire at Ft. Stevens.
 Known as the "Battle That
Saved Washington", the battle of Monocacy on July 9, 1864
between 18,000 Confederate and 5,800 Union troops marked the
last campaign of the Confederacy to carry the war into the
north. One of the objectives of this campaign was to capture
Washington, D.C.
Although this
battle was a military victory for the Confederates, it was
also a defeat. Time spent for battle cost the Confederates a
day's delay in marching on the federal capital. The
Federals' defense along the Monocacy River bought critical
time to allow Washington to be reinforced. Early's raid
would be thwarted and the war would be taken to the south
for the rest of the war.
"No Retreat from Destiny" tells this story. However it's not presented
as the standard "business as usual" documentary about a battle that focuses solely on tactics and troop movements. Rather, it shows the importance
of the battle in the context of what was going on in the country as a whole: the mood in Richmond and Washington in the last year of the War, the
dynamics of Lincoln and Davis's staffs and Lee and Grant's military commands, the impact on the citizenry.
The style of the film is as a docu-drama -- presenting facts in a compelling, dramatized manner, similar to HBO's "Band of Brothers" series.
This film represents a fresh filmmaking approach to making a Civil War-set motion picture.
isit our History
Links page to learn more about the Battle of
Monocacy.
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