Fort C.F. Smith was a

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', "little moon") is a half-moon shaped architectural space, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be segmental, and the arch may be an arc taken ...

that 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 ...

constructed in Alexandria County (now

Arlington County Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

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 are ...

, during 1863 as part of the

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 ...

(see Washington, D.C., in the American Civil War).Cooling, pp. 115-122
: Touring the Forts South of the Potomac: Protecting the Northern Flank of the Arlington Lines—Forts Strong and C.F. Smith: Fort C.F. Smith. It was named in honor of General Charles Ferguson Smith, who died from a leg infection that was aggravated by dysentery on April 25, 1862. Fort C. F. Smith connected 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 Augu ...

to the

Arlington Line The Arlington Line was a series of fortifications that the Union Army erected in Alexandria County (now Arlington County), Virginia, to protect the City of Washington during the American Civil War (see Civil War Defenses of Washington and Washin ...

, a row of fortifications south of Washington, D.C., that was intended to protect the capital of the United States from an 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 ...

. The Army built the lunette on a bluff overlooking the Potomac River and

Spout Run Spout Run is a small stream in Arlington County, Virginia. From its source along Interstate 66, Spout Run flows on a northeastern course paralleling the Spout Run Parkway through a gorge and empties into the Potomac River opposite the Three Sist ...

. Because of its elevation and location, the lunette could protect the Aqueduct Bridge from invaders traveling along each of the two waterways.

History

Civil War

Following the Union Army's defeat at the Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in August 1862, the Army constructed Fort C. F. Smith in 1863. The lunette was located on property that Thomas Jewell had previously owned and that contained a red house. During construction, the fort was therefore referred to "Fort at Red House". The Army destroyed the house while building the lunette and nearby fortifications. The lunette had places for 22 guns and had a perimeter of . General

John G. Barnard John Gross Barnard (May 19, 1815 – May 14, 1882) was a career engineer officer in the U.S. Army, serving in the Mexican–American War, as the superintendent of the United States Military Academy and as a general in the Union Army during the Am ...

wrote in a report that "Fort C. F. Smith was carefully planned and constructed after our latest models." The lunette had a southern and western face and two flanks, as well as a crémaillère line on the north side to protect it from attack up the ravines from the river. A May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery (see Union Army artillery organization) noted the following:

''Fort C. F. Smith, Maj. W. A. McKay commanding.''–Garrison, four companies Second New York Heavy Artillery–1 major, 15 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 548 men. Armament, three 12-pounder field howitzers, two 6-pounder field guns, four 24-pounder siege guns, one 8-inch sea-coast
howitzer A howitzer () is a long- ranged weapon, falling between a cannon (also known as an artillery gun in the United States), which fires shells at flat trajectories, and a mortar, which fires at high angles of ascent and descent. Howitzers, like ot ...
, six 4 ½ -inch ordnance, and four 8-inch siege mortars.
Magazines A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combination ...
, two; dry and in serviceable condition. Ammunition, full supply and well packed. Implements, complete and serviceable. Drill in artillery, very ordinary; wants improving much. Drill in infantry, insufficient; wants more energy and attention given to it. Discipline, great want of improvement. Garrison is sufficient.

In 1865, the lunette's armaments were: one 8-inch sea-coast howitzer, three 12-pounder howitzers, four 24-pounder siege guns, two 10-pound Parrot rifles, six 4 ½-inch ordinance, three 4-inch siege mortars, and six vacant platforms. Fort C. F. Smith and other Union Army fortifications on and near the Arlington Line saw little or no fighting during the war; the Army's biggest enemies in the area were diseases such as

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. ...

and

typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...

, as well as handling live ammunition.

Post-War

After the Civil War ended in April 1865, the Army dismantled and abandoned Fort C.F. Smith during the fall of that year. Wooden structures and

revetment A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material (such as stone, concrete, sandbags, or wooden piles) applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water a ...

s were removed. The Army destroyed the lunette's magazines and bomb-proof in order to salvage their wooden structural remains. Used lumber, timber, hardware, and tools were sold at public auctions. Fort C

Thomas Jewell's family then succeeded in recovering their property. The Deming and Yates families took ownership of the property from 1888 to 1924. Charles Lindsay owned the property from 1924 to 1926. The Hendry family then owned the property from 1927 to 1993. Construction of 24th Street North destroyed about one-third of the lunette's remains. However, the development of the property into a private estate provided a measure of protection to the remains of the lunette north of 24th Street. In 1965, the Arlington County government erected a historical marker near the site of the lunette's remnants. The Arlington County Board designated the lunette to be a local historic district on February 28, 1987. In 1994 and in succeeding years, the County government acquired the lunette's property, created the Fort C.F. Smith Park, and preserved the lunette's remnants at a cost of over $11 million.(1)
(2)
(3
Cooling, p. xii
Introduction: The State and Fate of the Defenses of Washington.
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7) On February 1, 2000, 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 properti ...

listed the fort on 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 ...

. The Virginia Civil War Trails has erected a historic marker near the fort's site. The Arlington County government hosted an event celebrating the opening of a new visitors center in Fort C.F. Smith Park on March 31, 2018.(1)
(2)

Existing remnants

With the exception of those that construction of 24th Street North removed, the

earthen Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, liquids, and organisms that together support life. Some scientific definitions distinguish ''dirt'' from ''soil'' by restricting the former te ...

remains of the lunette survive largely intact within Arlington County's Fort C.F Smith Park. Gun platforms 8-11 are clearly visible, as is a well. The fortification contains

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

s that are unusual within lunettes. The ammunition magazine is also still visible, as is the bombproof area. Soldiers would use the bombproof if they were under siege, as it functioned as a traverse that localized the effects of shell bursts.

Parapet A parapet is a barrier that is an extension of the wall at the edge of a roof, terrace, balcony, walkway or other structure. The word comes ultimately from the Italian ''parapetto'' (''parare'' 'to cover/defend' and ''petto'' 'chest/breast'). ...

s, which protected the soldiers from fire, and the gorge, which protected soldiers from flanking fire, also remain visible.

Notes

References

External links

Historical photographs of Fort C.F. Smith in the collection of the Library of Congress.
Retrieved 2018-03-14 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fort Buildings and structures in Arlington County, Virginia

Smith Smith may refer to: People * Metalsmith, or simply smith, a craftsman fashioning tools or works of art out of various metals * Smith (given name) * Smith (surname), a family name originating in England, Scotland and Ireland ** List of people wi ...

National Register of Historic Places in Arlington County, Virginia Arlington County Historic Districts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia Archaeological sites on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia

American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places