 Today, Wallace's reputation is somewhat better, thanks to his actions at the July 9, 1864 Battle of Monocacy (aka "The Battle that Saved Washington") which delayed Jubal Early's attack by a critical 24 hours, allowing Union reinforcements from Petersburg just enough time to arrive and fortify Washington's defenses and defeat Early on July 12.Wallace is also now remembered as the author of "".On the main Union defensive line, starting around 9 a.m., Prentiss's and W. H. L. Wallace's divisions established and held a position nicknamed the "Hornet's Nest", in a field along a road, now popularly called the "Sunken Road," although there is little physical justification for that name.