Fort Johnston, also known as Fort Geary, is a
Civil War
A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country).
The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
era earthen fort atop a peak of
Catoctin Mountain
Catoctin Mountain, along with the geologically associated Bull Run Mountains, forms the easternmost mountain ridge of the Blue Ridge Mountains, which are in turn a part of the Appalachian Mountains range. The ridge runs northeast–southwest for ...
just west of
Leesburg, Virginia
Leesburg is a town in the state of Virginia, and the county seat of Loudoun County. Settlement in the area began around 1740, which is named for the Lee family, early leaders of the town and ancestors of Robert E. Lee. Located in the far northea ...
. Constructed in the winter of 1861-62 following the
Battle of Balls Bluff
The Battle of Ball's Bluff was an early battle of the American Civil War fought in Loudoun County, Virginia, on October 21, 1861, in which Union Army forces under Major General George B. McClellan suffered a humiliating defeat.
The operation wa ...
, it is one of three forts constructed to defend the town from the threat of possible invasion. The fort was built in the design of a four-point star with arm of each point measuring roughly in length. The fort was only sporadically occupied by Confederates, as the main threat of invasion came from the east across the
Potomac. In 1862, when
Loudoun County
Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. Loudoun County's seat is Leesburg. Loudoun C ...
was invaded by the Union army, the fort was abandoned and later occupied by the Federals who rechristened it Fort Geary in honor of their commander. Throughout the war, Leesburg was rarely held in force by either side of the conflict and the fort saw little use. Today, parts of the earthworks of the fort still exist, and are located on private property on Fort Johnston Road.
See also
*
Fort Evans
Fort Evans is a Civil War-era rectangular earthen fort located in Leesburg, Virginia. It was the first of three forts constructed in 1861 to protect Leesburg from possible invasion after Virginia seceded from the Union.
History
The fort, design ...
*
Fort Beauregard
Fort Beauregard, located half a mile north of the village of Harrisonburg, Catahoula Parish, Louisiana, was one of four Confederate forts guarding the Ouachita River during the American Civil War. In 1863, four Union gunboats attacked it, unsu ...
External links
Virginia Forts
References
* Fitzhugh, Turner ed. ''Loudoun County and the Civil War.'' Willow Bend Books; Leebsurg, Va. 1961.
To the Sounds of the Guns:Forts Beauregard and Johnston
{{coord, 39.1293, -77.5847, display=title, region:US-VA_type:landmark
Loudoun County in the American Civil War
Johnston
Virginia in the American Civil War