Fort Tillinghast was a small lunette 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 of the collective states. It proved essential to th ...

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 ar ...

, 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). Fort Tillinghast stood about 0.6 miles 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.

History

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

Following the Union Army's rout at the First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas) in late July 1861, the Union Army constructed Fort Tillinghouse in August of that year. 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 ...

and tied into

Fort Craig Fort Craig was a U.S. Army fort located along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, near Elephant Butte Lake State Park and the Rio Grande in Socorro County, New Mexico. The Fort Craig site was approximately 1,050 feet east-west by 600 feet north-so ...

approximately to the south and

Fort Cass Fort Cass was a fort located on the Hiwassee River in present-day Charleston, Tennessee, that served as the military operational headquarters for the entire Cherokee removal, an forced migration of the Cherokee known as the Trail of Tears from the ...

approximately to the north. Along with Forts Cass, Woodbury,

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, and Strong, the fortification covered approaches to the

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and the Aqueduct Bridge (near the modern Key Bridge). The lunette was named in honor of Captain Otis H. Tillinghast, Quartermaster, 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 west, it had a perimeter of , emplacements for 12 guns, and two

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 ...

as well as a bomb-proof. The fortification's armaments included four 24-pound guns, one 24-pound field howitzer, four 30-pound Parrott rifles, two 20-pound Parrott rifles, and two 24-pound Coehorn mortars. Units garrisoned at the lunette included the 16th Maine Infantry, 1st Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, 4th New York Heavy Artillery, and the 145th and 138th Ohio Infantry. A May 17, 1864, report from the Union Army's Inspector of Artillery (see Union Army artillery organization) noted the following:

''Fort Tillinghast, Major Rolfe commanding.''–Garrison, two companies First Massachusetts Heavy Artillery– 7 commissioned officers, 1 ordnance-sergeant, 220 men. Armament, one 24- pounder field howitzer (smooth), two 20-pounder Parrotts (rifled), three 24-pounder siege guns (smooth), one 24-pounder F. D. howitzer, four 30-pounder Parrotts (rifled), two 24-pounder Coehorn mortars. Magazines being rebuilt; at present unserviceable; work progressing slowly; ammunition kept in bomb-proof. Ammunition, full supply and serviceable. Implements, complete and in good order. Drill in artillery, fair. Drill in infantry, fair. Discipline, fair. Garrison sufficient for the work.

In June, 1865, Fort Tillinghast was ordered dismantled and the site returned to its previous owners. The fortification stood near 205 North Wayne Street in Arlington, but no sections remain today. A historic marker, near the intersection of Arlington Boulevard (U.S. 50) and North 2nd Street in Arlington, shows the location where the fort once stood. The marker depicts the fort's position on a map of the city's defenses and states:

Here stood Fort Tillinghast, a lunette in the Arlington Line constructed in August 1861. It had a perimeter of 298 yards and emplacements for 13 guns. A model of this fort, typical of all lunettes in the Arlington Line, can be seen at the Hume School museum of the Arlington Historical Society.

Notes

External links

* National Park Service
A Historic Resources Study: The Civil War Defenses of Washington
{{Civil War DC forts Government buildings completed in 1861 Infrastructure completed in 1861 Tillinghast 1861 establishments in Virginia 1865 disestablishments in Virginia