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Fort Totten Park is an
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 ...
memorial on the site of a Union fort in
Washington, DC ) , 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 ...
. It is under the management of 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 ...
.


History

Fort Totten was a
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
defensive earthwork, built during the Civil War and named for
Joseph Totten Joseph Gilbert Totten (August 23, 1788 – April 22, 1864) fought in the War of 1812, served as Chief of Engineers and was regent of the Smithsonian Institution and cofounder of the National Academy of Sciences. In 1836, he was elected a member ...
. It was built up during the fall of 1861, as part of the defense of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War, also known as the Fort Circle. Construction on the fort began in August 1861 and was completed in 1863. Fort Totten was one of seven temporary earthwork forts built in the Northeast quadrant of the city by the
Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...
to protect the city from the
Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...
. From west to east, the forts were as follow:
Fort Slocum Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps comm ...
, Fort Totten, Fort Slemmer, Fort Bunker Hill, Fort Saratoga, Fort Thayer and Fort Lincoln. Today, it has become a
park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...
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 ...
in the
neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...
of Fort Totten.


Structure

Fort Totten was a medium-sized fort, a seven-sided
polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure that is described by a finite number of straight line segments connected to form a closed ''polygonal chain'' (or ''polygonal circuit''). The bounded plane region, the bounding circuit, or the two toge ...
with a perimeter of . It was located atop a ridge along the main road from Washington to
Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially unincorporated, in practice it is an edge city, with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 censu ...
, about three miles (5 km) north of the
Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...
, and a half-mile from the Military Asylum or Soldiers' Home, where President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
spent his summers while president. The fort was of typical design for its time, with earth walls some thick and high. Outside the walls (or "ramparts") was a large ditch or dry moat over seven feet deep and twelve feet wide, and outside that was a broad cleared area surrounding a barrier of tree branches, brambles and general debris (or
abatis An abatis, abattis, or abbattis is a field fortification consisting of an obstacle formed (in the modern era) of the branches of trees laid in a row, with the sharpened tops directed outwards, towards the enemy. The trees are usually interlaced ...
). Along the inner surface of the wall were gun platforms for several types of cannon, some firing over the parapet, others firing through openings in it, and a
banquette A banquette is a small footpath or elevated step along the inside of a rampart or parapet of a fortification. Musketeers atop it were able to view the counterscarp A scarp and a counterscarp are the inner and outer sides, respectively, of a ...
, a kind of shelf on which soldiers could stand to fire over the wall. The fort had the following armement: * Four 6-pounder field guns (bronze) * Eight 32-pounder Parrotts * Two 8-inch siege howitzers * One Coehorn mortar * One 10-inch mortar M. 1841 * Three 30-pounder Parrotts * One 100-pounder ParrottThe Defenses of Washington During the War - The Evening Star - October 9, 1902 - page 21FortWiki - fort Totten - http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Totten_(2) Wartime garrisons were manned by: * 76th New York Infantry (Headquarters in February 1862) * 2nd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery Regiment * 136th Pennsylvania Infantry * 137th Pennsylvania Infantry The fort saw action during the
Battle of Fort Stevens The Battle of Fort Stevens was an American Civil War battle fought July 11–12, 1864, in what is now Northwest Washington, D.C., as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 between forces under Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early and ...
on July 11 and 12, 1864 when Confederate General Jubal A. Early attacked the fort. File:District of Columbia. Men and gun of 3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery at ornamental gate of Fort Totten LOC cwpb.03648.tif, Men and gun of 3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery at the Fort Totten ornamental gate in 1865 File:Officers of Companies A and B, 3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, and crew of 100-pdr. Parrott gun on iron barbette carriage at Fort Totten.jpg, Officers of Companies
A and B
3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery and crew of 100-pdr Parrott gun on iron barbette carriage
at Fort Totten File:Sergeants of 3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, with gun and caisson at Fort Totten.jpg, Sergeants of 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, with gun and caisson at Fort Totten File:Washington, District of Columbia. Officers of 3d Regiment Massachusetts Heavy Artillery.jpg, Officers of 3rd Regiment Massachusetts Heavy Artillery File:Fort Totten, Washington, D.C. Interior view 32755v.jpg, Interior view of Fort Totten File:Washington, District of Columbia. Interior of Fort Totten LOC cwpb.01497.jpg, Interior of Fort Totten File:District of Columbia. Officers of Companies A and B, 3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, before quarters at Fort Totten LOC cwpb.04130.tif, Officers of Companies A and B, 3d Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, before quarters at Fort Totten File:Washington, District of Columbia. James rifles in Fort Totten LOC cwpb.01365.jpg, Washington, District of Columbia. James rifles in Fort Totten


Post Civil War

With the end of the war in 1865, the fort was deactivated. Today, it is maintained by the National Park Service but is in poor state.FortWiki - Fort Totten - http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Totten_(2) A
Washington Metro The Washington Metro (or simply Metro), formally the Metrorail,Google Books search/preview
station, Fort Totten station, is named after the fort. The city street hugging the line to the rear of the fort is called Fort Totten Drive.


See also

*
Civil War Defenses of Washington 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 Am ...
*
Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War During the American Civil War (1861–1865), Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States, was the center of the Union war effort, which rapidly turned it from a small city into a major capital with full civic infrastructure and strong ...
*
Fort Slocum Fort Slocum, New York was a US military post which occupied Davids Island in the western end of Long Island Sound in the city of New Rochelle, New York from 1867 to 1965. The fort was named for Major General Henry W. Slocum, a Union corps comm ...
* Fort Slemmer * Fort Bunker Hill * Fort Saratoga * Fort Thayer * Fort Lincoln *
Battle of Fort Stevens The Battle of Fort Stevens was an American Civil War battle fought July 11–12, 1864, in what is now Northwest Washington, D.C., as part of the Valley Campaigns of 1864 between forces under Confederate Lieutenant General Jubal Early and ...


References


External links


National Park Service Fort Totten

National Park Service: Civil War Defenses of Washington



Amazing Civil War Photos of Fort Totten
- Ghosts of DC blog {{authority control Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C. National Park Service areas in Washington, D.C. Parks in Washington, D.C. Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War Fort Totten (Washington, D.C.)