The Civil War Defenses of Washington were a group of

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 ...

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

that protected the federal capital city,

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, ...

, from invasion by the

Confederate States 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 ...

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 ...

(see

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 ...

). Today, the sites of some of these fortifications are within a collection of

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 ...

(NPS) properties that the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

identifies as the Fort Circle. The sites of other such fortifications in the area have become parts of state, county, or city parks or are located on privately owned properties. A trail connecting the sites is part of the Potomac Heritage Trail. Parts of the earthworks of some such fortifications still exist. Others have been completely demolished.

History

Civil War

During the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

forces built in the Washington area 68 major enclosed

forts A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, used to house soldiers and store artillery and other supplies. They also built 93 prepared (but unarmed)

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

for field guns and seven

blockhouse A blockhouse is a small fortification, usually consisting of one or more rooms with loopholes, allowing its defenders to fire in various directions. It is usually an isolated fort in the form of a single building, serving as a defensive stro ...

s. There were also 20 miles of rifle pits and 30 miles of connecting military roads. The Confederacy never captured any of these forts, though some came under enemy fire. Most were built on the limits of the city, which had remained relatively rural. Most of the land was privately owned and taken over by the military at the beginning of the Civil War. Here are some examples:A Historic Resources Study The Civil War Defenses of Washington Parts I and II – The Land and the Owners in the District – http://www.npshistory.com/publications/cwdw/hrs/chap3-1.htm * Fort Slemmer: A 24-acre plot was owned by Henry Douglas, a florist. Flowers, 1,970 fruit trees, vines, bushes, and other plants were destroyed to complete the fort. This made the land owner unable to work in this trade. * Fort Reno: The land belonged to Giles and Miles Dyer. The farmhouse was used by the Army as the headquarters for various commands encamped in the area. The fortification covered 20 acres of land. Some 50 more acres were used for barracks, camps, and a parade ground. * Forts Chaplin and Craven: These forts were built on land belonging to Selby B. Scaggs. He owned a farm there totaling about 400 acres and worth $52,000. Four laborers also lived there. * Fort DeRussy: The fort was built on land owned by Bernard S. Swart, a clerk. He lived there with his wife, three children and two farmhands. Today his land is part of Rock Creek Park. * Fort DuPont: The fort was built on the land owned by 60-year-old Michael Caton, worth $5,000 in 1860. He lived there with his wife, five children (aged 18 to 30), and one domestic worker. * Fort Slocum: The fort was in part built on the land owned by John F. Callan, also a clerk. He lived there with his wife and their eight children (aged 8 to 24). * Fort Bayard: The fort was built on land belonging to a farmer named Philip J. Buckey, who lived there with his wife, four children and two servants. * Battery Kemble and part of Fort Gaines: The land was owned by William A.T. Maddox, a

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through comb ...

captain stationed in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. * Fort Stevens: The land belonged to Emory Methodist Church. Some some land may have belonged to Elizabeth Thomas, a free black woman. Her house was demolished in the process. Documentation for her ownership was never discovered but the story has become part of the local

folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

. The forts in the District of Columbia were temporary structures. They were in most part built of earthen embankments, timber with limited masonry and were surrounded by trenches and flanked with abatis. They were not designed to serve beyond the Civil War as the land was intended to be returned to its owners at that time. Most of these owners lost possession of their land for the duration of the war and were unable to receive income from it. Only a few received compensation or rent from the land during the war.

Development of the "Fort Circle"

As early as 1898, an interest in connecting the forts by a road was proposed. Known as the Fort Drive, it would connect all the forts from the east of the city to the west. In 1919 the

Commissioners of the District of Columbia A commissioner (commonly abbreviated as Comm'r) is, in principle, a member of a commission or an individual who has been given a commission (official charge or authority to do something). In practice, the title of commissioner has evolved to in ...

pushed

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...

to pass a bill to consolidate the aging forts into a "Fort Circle" system of parks that would ring the growing city of Washington. As envisioned by the Commissioners, the Fort Circle would be a green ring of parks outside the city, owned by the government, and connected by a "Fort Drive" road in order to allow Washington's citizens to easily escape the confines of the capital. However, the bill allowing for the purchase of the former forts, which had been turned back over to private ownership after the war, failed to pass both the House of Representatives and

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Map of the District of Columbia - 1901 LOC 87694449

Map of the District of Columbia showing areas recommended to be taken as necessary for new parks and park connections LOC 87694473

Despite that failure, in 1925 a similar bill passed both the House and Senate, which allowed for the creation of the National Capital Parks Commission (NCPC) to oversee the construction of a Fort Circle of parks similar to that proposed in 1919. The NCPC was authorized to begin purchasing land occupied by the old forts, much of which had been turned over to private ownership following the war. Records indicate that the site of Fort Stanton was purchased for a total of $56,000 in 1926. The duty of purchasing land and constructing the fort parks changed hands several times throughout the 1920s and 1930s, eventually culminating with the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service taking control of the project in the 1940s. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, crews from the

Civilian Conservation Corps The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...

embarked on projects to improve and maintain the parks, which were still under the control of District authority at that time. At Fort Stanton, CCC members trimmed trees and cleared brush, as well as maintaining and constructing park buildings. Various non-park buildings were also discussed for the land. The City Department of Education proposed building a school on park land, while authorities from the local water utility suggested the construction of a water tower would be suitable for the tall hills of the park. The

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

interrupted these plans, and post-war budget cuts instituted by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

postponed the construction of the Fort Drive once more. Though land for the parks had mostly been purchased, construction of the ring road connecting them was pushed back again and again. Other projects managed to find funding, however. In 1949, President Truman approved a supplemental appropriation request of $175,000 to construct "a swimming pool and associated facilities" at Fort Stanton Park. By 1963, when President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

began pushing Congress to finally build the Fort Circle Drive, many in Washington and the National Park Service were openly questioning whether the plan had outgrown its usefulness. After all, by this time, Washington had grown past the ring of forts that had protected it a century earlier, and city surface roads already connected the parks, albeit not in as linear a route as envisioned. The plan to link the fort parks via a grand drive was quietly dropped in the years that followed.

Administration

The

National Capital Parks The National Capital Parks was a unit of the National Park System of the United States, now divided into multiple administrative units. It encompasses a variety of federally owned properties in and around the District of Columbia including memorial ...

(NCP) unit of the NPS administers all of the properties that contain the Fort Circle's sites. The

National Capital Parks-East National Capital Parks-East (NACE) is an administrative grouping of multiple National Park Service sites east of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., and in the state of Maryland. These sites include:Those not noted as official units are ...

unit of the NCP administers Forts Foote, Greble, Stanton, Ricketts, Davis, Dupont, Chaplin, Mahan and Battery Carroll in the District of Columbia and Maryland. The Rock Creek Park unit of the NCP administers Forts Bunker Hill, Totten, Slocum, Stevens, DeRussy, Reno, Bayard, Battery Kemble and

Battleground National Cemetery Battleground National Cemetery is a military burial ground, located along Georgia Avenue near Fort Stevens, in Washington, D.C.'s Brightwood neighborhood. The cemetery is managed by the National Park Service, together with other components of ...

in the District of Columbia. The George Washington Memorial Parkway unit of the NCP administers Fort Marcy in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Fortifications

The 1865 map shows the following fortifications, some of which no longer exist. Forts in ''italic type'' are included in the National Register of Historic Places listing. Battleground Cemetery

Northwest Quadrant

* Fort Cross (MD) * Fort Kirby (MD) * Fort Sumner (MD) * Battery Alexander (MD) * Fort Simmons (MD) * Fort Davis (MD) * Battery Benson (MD) * Battery Bailey (MD) * Fort Mansfield (MD) *

Battery Cameron Battery Cameron was a Union Army defensive site during the Civil War. Battery Cameron was one in a chain of fortifications in the Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C., also known as the " Fort Circle". The battery was located atop a hill on Foxh ...

* Battery Parrott * ''

Battery Kemble Battery Kemble Park is a park in Northwest Washington D.C., administered by the National Park Service. Battery Kemble was a Union Army defensive site during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Artillery battery, battery was located on Ridge Ro ...

'' * Battery Martin Scott * Battery Vermont * '' Fort Bayard'' * Fort Gaines * '' Fort Reno'' * Battery Rossell *

Fort Kearny Fort Kearny was a historic outpost of the United States Army founded in 1848 in the western U.S. during the middle and late 19th century. The fort was named after Col. and later General Stephen Watts Kearny. The outpost was located along the Ore ...

* Battery Terrill * Battery Smead * Battery Kingsbury * '' Fort De Russy'' * Battery Sill * '' Fort Stevens''

Northeast Quadrant

* '' Fort Slocum'' * '' Fort Totten'' *

Fort Slemmer Fort Slemmer sometimes called Battery Slemmer was one of seven temporary earthwork forts part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War built in the Northeast quadrant of the city at the beginning of the Civil War by the ...

* ''

Fort Bunker Hill Fort Bunker Hill was one of seven temporary earthwork forts part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War built in the Northeast quadrant of the city at the beginning of the Civil War by the Union Army to protect the cit ...

'' *

Fort Saratoga Fort Saratoga was one of seven temporary earthwork forts part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War built in the Northeast quadrant of the city at the beginning of the Civil War by the Union Army to protect the city f ...

Fort Thayer Fort Thayer was one of seven temporary earthwork forts part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War built in the Northeast quadrant of the city at the beginning of the Civil War by the Union Army to protect the city fr ...

* '' Fort Lincoln''

Eastern Branch

* ''Fort Mahan'' * ''Fort Chaplin'' * Fort Meigs * '' Fort Dupont'' * '' Fort Davis'' * Fort Baker * Fort Wagner * '' Fort Ricketts'' * '' Fort Stanton'' *

Fort Snyder Fort Stanton was a Civil War-era fortification constructed in the hills above Anacostia in the District of Columbia, USA, and was intended to prevent Confederate artillery from threatening the Washington Navy Yard. It also guarded the approach t ...

* ''Fort Carroll'' * ''

Fort Greble Fort Greble was an American Civil War-era Union fortification constructed as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during that war. Named for First Lieutenant John Trout Greble, the first West Point graduate killed in the U.S. Civil War, it p ...

Potomac Approaches

* '' Fort Foote, MD'' * Battery Rogers, VA *

Fort Washington, MD Fort Washington is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. It borders the Potomac River, situated 20 miles south of the downtown Washington, DC. As of the 2020 census it had a popul ...

Arlington Line – Virginia

Civil War earthworks in the woods, Mount Eagle Park

From North to South: * ''

Fort Marcy Fort Marcy may refer to: * Fort Marcy (Virginia), earthwork fort completed in 1862, now a public park * Fort Marcy (New Mexico), fort in Santa Fe used during the Mexican–American War and the American Civil War * Fort Marcy (horse) Fort Marcy ...

'' *

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 ...

* Fort C. F. Smith * Fort Bennett * Fort Strong (formerly Fort DeKalb) *

Fort Corcoran Fort Corcoran was a wood-and-earthwork fortification constructed by the Union Army in northern Virginia as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Built in 1861, shortly after the occupation of Arlington, Virginia b ...

* Fort Haggerty * Fort Morton *

Fort Woodbury Fort Woodbury was part of the Arlington Line, an extensive network of fortifications erected in present-day Arlington County, Virginia to protect Washington, D.C. from Confederate attack during the American Civil War. Construction began on the A ...

* Fort Cass (later within Fort Myer) * Fort Whipple (later within Fort Myer) *

Fort Tillinghast Fort Tillinghast was a small lunette that the Union Army constructed in Alexandria County (now Arlington County), Virginia, as part of the Civil War defenses of Washington (see Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War). Fort Tillinghast stood ...

* Fort McPherson * Fort Buffalo * Fort Ramsay * Fort Craig * Fort Albany * Fort Jackson * Fort Runyon * Fort Richardson * Fort Barnard * Fort Berry * Fort Scott *

Battery Garesche Battery Garesche or Battery Garesché was a Union Army artillery battery built as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. in the American Civil War at what is now Abingdon Street at South 30th Road in Fairlington, Arlington County, Virginia. Th ...

* Fort Reynolds * Fort Ward *

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

Fort Williams Fort Williams Park is a 90-acre park in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, encompassing numerous historical sites. Perhaps most famous for having Portland Head Light on its grounds, the park also encompasses the decommissioned and largely demolished Unite ...

Fort Ellsworth Fort Ellsworth was a timber and earthwork fortification constructed west of Alexandria, Virginia, as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Built in the weeks following the Union defeat at Bull Run, Fort Ellswort ...

* Fort Lyon * Fort Farnsworth * Fort Weed * Fort O'Rourke *

Fort Willard Fort Willard is a former Union Army installation now located in the Belle Haven area of Fairfax County in the U.S. state of Virginia. It is currently undergoing preservation treatment to protect its earthen walls and trenches. Occupation of No ...

Notes

References

External links

National Park Service: Civil War Defenses of Washington
*, ''NRHP'' *, ''NRHP'' *Floyd, Dale E
Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C.
National Cable Satellite Corporation, March 14, 2012 {{Washington, D.C. hiking trails American Civil War forts in Virginia * Forts in Maryland Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places