Fort-lyon-alexandria-virginia-vhs00032-1-

Fort Craig was a small

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 take ...

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 September 1861 in

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 is ...

(at that time Alexandria County) 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 ...

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 ...

. The lunette was 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 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 ...

). The lunette stood less than a mile away from

Arlington House Arlington House may refer to: *Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial *Arlington House (London) a hostel for the homeless in London, England, and one of the Rowton Houses *Arlington House, Margate, an eighteen-storey residential apartment bloc ...

, the Union-occupied estate of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. It remained in use throughout the war. The lunette was part of 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 ...

. It tied into

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 ...

approximately 0.6 miles to the north and Fort Albany approximately 0.9 miles to the south. The fortification helped guard the capital from an approach along the Columbia Turnpike and over the

Long Bridge Long may refer to: Measurement * Long, characteristic of something of great duration * Long, characteristic of something of great length * Longitude (abbreviation: long.), a geographic coordinate * Longa (music), note value in early music mensur ...

on 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 ...

Construction

Constructed on local farmland in August 1861, the lunette was named for Lt. Presley O. Craig, 2nd U.S. Artillery Regiment, who was killed at the

First Battle of Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run (the name used by Union forces), also known as the Battle of First Manassas

on July 21, 1861. Oriented to the southwest, it had a perimeter of 324 yards, emplacements for 11 guns, and 2

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 ...

. The fort's armament included four 24-pound guns, one 24-pound field howitzer, five 30-pound

Parrott rifles The Parrott rifle was a type of muzzle-loading rifled artillery weapon used extensively in the American Civil War. Parrott rifle The gun was invented by Captain Robert Parker Parrott, a West Point graduate. He was an American soldier and inven ...

, a 10-inch mortar, and a 24-pound Coehorn mortar. Units garrisoned at the lunette included the 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, 138th Ohio Infantry, 6th Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery, and 16th Maine Infantry. In June, 1865, Fort Craig was ordered dismantled and the site returned to its previous owners. No trace of the lunette remains today in what has become a residential area. A historic marker, near the intersection of South Courthouse Road and 4th Street South in Arlington, shows the location where the lunette once stood. The marker depicts the fort's position on a map of the city's defenses and reads: ''Here stood Fort Craig, a lunette in the Arlington Line constructed in August 1861. It had a perimeter of 324 yards and emplacements for 11 guns.''The Historical Marker Database
- Fort Craig Fort Craig Arlington memorial sign

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government buildings completed in 1861 Infrastructure completed in 1861 Craig 1861 establishments in Virginia