Fort DeRussy was an American Civil War-era

fortification 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 ...

constructed in 1861 on a hilltop along the west bank of Rock Creek within Washington, D.C., as part of the

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 ...

History

The fort was named for Gustavus A. DeRussy, or his father, René Edward DeRussy. It was a trapezoidal earthwork with a perimeter of 190 yards, and places for 13 guns. There were also supporting rifle pits, and abatis in the Rock Creek streambed. The fort provided support during the nearby

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 ...

(July 11–12, 1864), contributing a large amount of cannon fire in the course of that battle; the fort's 100-pounder Parrott rifle was particularly effective then, getting off 32 rounds. Today, the grounds of the fort are administered by the U.S. National Park Service as part of

Rock Creek Park Rock Creek Park is a large urban park that bisects the Northwest quadrant of Washington, D.C. The park was created by an Act of Congress in 1890 and today is administered by the National Park Service. In addition to the park proper, the Rock Cr ...

in the northern portion of the

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle (Washington, D.C.), Logan Circle, Jefferson Memoria ...

. The fort's parapet and dry moat are in a good state of preservation, remnants of powder magazines are still visible, and lines of infantry trenches that protected the fort are still present near the fort. The site, heavily wooded, is easily reached by a trail from the west bank of the creek north of Military Road, so-called because it connected the ring of defensive installations around the capital.

External links

Fort DeRussy Cultural Landscapes Inventory
by the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest- ...

Graduate Program in Historic Preservation and the Chesapeake Watershed Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

Forts around Washington, D.C. during the Civil War

References

Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C., DeRussy, Fort DeRussy DeRussy Forts on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington, D.C. 1861 establishments in Washington, D.C. American Civil War on the National Register of Historic Places Rock Creek Park Military installations established in 1861 1865 disestablishments in Washington, D.C. Military installations closed in 1865 {{AmericanCivilWar-stub