"Cooling has produced what is sure to become the definitive scholarly account of the campaign. Drawing on a vast array of sources, including seldom-used veterans' accounts, Cooling presents a comprehensive campaign study from origins to aftermath. Not only does Cooling masterfully describe the specific movements of the opposing forces, but he also never loses sight of the wider context in which the campaign was fought. In fact, Cooling's greatest contribution may be his clear demonstration that Grant was fooled by Early's operations and took an uncommonly long time to react to a very serious threat."--American Historical Review "Cooling's superb account of one of the most dramatic ventures of the Civil War, one the peaked with a Confederate army at the gate of the nation's capital even as powerful Union forces threatened a clamp on the capital of Rebeldom . . . reflects most intensive research and provides a strictly objective account of the doings of both sides in the course of Early's thrust at Washington, from his entry into Maryland until his withdrawal back into Virginia."--Journal of Military History