FREDERICK, Md. (AP) — The Civil War clash known as “the battle that saved Washington” could more accurately be labeled “the battle that saved Lincoln’s re-election,” a prominent preservationist said Wednesday as the National Park Service marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Monocacy.

To the sounds of cannon fire and bagpipe music, O. James Lighthizer, president of the Civil War Trust, recounted the circumstances of an engagement overshadowed by the nearby battles of Gettysburg and Antietam, both fought earlier in the war.