Fort Marcy was a Union fortification protecting
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. Its remains are now administered by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
as part of the
George Washington Memorial Parkway
The George Washington Memorial Parkway, colloquially the G.W. Parkway, is a parkway that runs along the south bank of the Potomac River from Mount Vernon, Virginia, northwest to McLean, Virginia, and is maintained by the National Park Service ( ...
in
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D.C. ...
.
History
![Fort Marcy Park, November 2020](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Fort_Marcy_Park%2C_November_2020.jpg)
Fort Marcy is approximately south of the
Potomac River
The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...
on the south side of the Chain Bridge Road leading from Chain Bridge to
Langley Langley may refer to:
People
* Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name
* Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer
* Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perfor ...
and
McLean, Virginia
McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxim ...
. By car it can only be reached from the northbound lanes of the George Washington Parkway. The hill on which the fort is located was known as Prospect Hill. It is near the location where the famous but bloodless duel between
Henry Clay
Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. He was the seventh House speaker as well as the ninth secretary of state, al ...
and
John Randolph was fought in 1826.
The perimeter of the fort is . When completed, the fort mounted 18 guns, a 10-inch (25 cm) mortar and two 24-pound (10 kg)
Coehorn mortars. The batteries were aimed toward the south and west.
Originally the fort was called Fort Baldy Smith, after General
William Farrar Smith
William Farrar Smith (February 17, 1824February 28, 1903), known as "Baldy" Smith, was a Union general in the American Civil War, notable for attracting the extremes of glory and blame. He was praised for his gallantry in the Seven Days Battles a ...
, the troops of whose division began construction of the work.
His division crossed
Chain Bridge
A chain bridge is a historic form of suspension bridge for which chains or eyebars were used instead of wire ropes to carry the bridge deck. A famous example is the Széchenyi Chain Bridge in Budapest.
Construction types are, as for other suspens ...
on the night of September 24, 1861, and immediately commenced construction of Fort Marcy and
Fort Ethan Allen
Fort Ethan Allen was a United States Army installation in Vermont, named for American Revolutionary War figure Ethan Allen. Established as a cavalry post in 1894 and closed in 1944, today it is the center of a designated national historic distric ...
.
The
79th New York Highlanders, the
141st Pennsylvania and the
Iron Brigade
The Iron Brigade, also known as The Black Hats, Black Hat Brigade, Iron Brigade of the West, and originally King's Wisconsin Brigade was an infantry brigade in the Union Army of the Potomac during the American Civil War. Although it fought enti ...
also helped complete the work in the fall of 1862.
A force of about 500 contrabands were also employed and the
152nd New York worked on the entrenchments, which are still in a very good state of preservation. The fort was not completed until the fall of 1862.
It is a relatively undisturbed fort and was named in honor of a native of
,
Randolph B. Marcy
Randolph Barnes Marcy (April 9, 1812 – November 22, 1887) was an officer in the United States Army, chiefly noted for his frontier guidebook, the ''Prairie Traveler'' (1859), based on his own extensive experience of pioneering in the west. This p ...
, a distinguished soldier, father-in-law and chief of staff to General
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
.
Detachments of the 4th New York and 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery and the
130th Pennsylvania Infantry
The 130th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
Service
The 130th Pennsylvania Infantry was organized at Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in August 1862 and mustered in und ...
were among the troops that performed garrison duty here during the war.
An interesting incident of history is that the body of troops which afterwards became famous as the "Iron Brigade" was originated at this fort in the summer of 1861, and was composed of the 19th Indiana, the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin Regiments. The 24th Michigan was added to the brigade soon after the
Battle of South Mountain
The Battle of South Mountain—known in several early Southern accounts as the Battle of Boonsboro Gap—was fought on September 14, 1862, as part of the Maryland campaign of the American Civil War. Three pitched battles were fought for posses ...
. These units remained together until the close of the war.
At the end of the Civil War in 1865, the system of fortifications (now known as
Fort Circle Parks
The Civil War Defenses of Washington were a group of Union Army fortifications that protected the federal capital city, Washington, D.C., from invasion by the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War (see Washington, D.C., in the Amer ...
) which surrounded Washington, D.C. were dismantled. The lumber and other materials were sold at auctions and the land returned to pre-war owners.
Modern history
Vincent Foster
The body of former deputy
White House Counsel
The White House counsel is a senior staff appointee of the president of the United States whose role is to advise the president on all legal issues concerning the president and their administration. The White House counsel also oversees the Of ...
Vince Foster
Vincent Walker Foster Jr. (January 15, 1945 – July 20, 1993) was an American attorney who served as deputy White House counsel during the first six months of the Clinton administration.
Foster had been a partner at Rose Law Firm in Littl ...
was found in Fort Marcy Park following his death on July 20, 1993.
Kevin Ward
The body of Kevin Ward, the mayor of
Hyattsville, Maryland
Hyattsville is a city in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States, and also a close, urban suburb of Washington, D.C. The population was 21,187 at the 2020 United States Census.
History
Before Europeans reached the area, the upper An ...
, was found in Fort Marcy Park by United States Park Police officers on January 25, 2022, after an apparent suicide. The cause of death was reported to be a gunshot wound.
References
External links
Fort Marcyat the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
website
{{authority control
Fairfax County in the American Civil War
American Civil War sites
Marcy
Iron Brigade
National Park Service areas in Virginia
McLean, Virginia
Parks in Fairfax County, Virginia
Marcy
1861 establishments in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Fairfax County, Virginia
George Washington Memorial Parkway
American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places