Fort Williams was a
timber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into dimensional lumber, including beams and planks or boards, a stage in the process of wood production. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, w ...
and
earthwork 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 Alexandria, Virginia as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War.
History
Fort Williams was named for Thomas Williams (Union general), Thomas Williams who was killed at Baton Rouge on August 5, 1862.
Built in the weeks following the Union Army, Union defeat at First Battle of Bull Run, Bull Run, Fort Williams was situated on north of Hunting Creek and Cameron Run, (which feeds into it), near Vaucluse (plantation), Vaucluse.
From its position on Quaker Lane, one of the points west of Alexandria, the fort overlooked the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, the Little River Turnpike, and the western approaches to the city of Alexandria which is the largest settlement in Union-occupied Northern Virginia.
Built by the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment, Fort Williams had a perimeter of 250 yards, and space for 13 guns.
The Fort is now located in the backyard of a property in the Seminary Ridge neighborhood. Portions are also included in a Alexandria, Virginia city park, at 501 Fort Williams Parkway.
Parks E-H , Recreation , City of Alexandria, VA
/ref> A small cemetery with the gravesites of several Union soldiers was located in the woods off the southeast corner of Seminary Road and Fort Williams Parkway. The graves were not well known and were desecrated when homes were built on that plot in the mid-1980s.
Among those stationed at the fort during the war was George Tryon Harding, father of Warren G. Harding, who spent time there in 1864.
References
External links
*U.S. National Park Service]
Historic Resource Study of the Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C.Fort Williams Park
- City of Alexandria
Government buildings completed in 1861
Military installations established in 1861
Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C., Williams
American Civil War forts in Virginia, Williams
Buildings and structures in Alexandria, Virginia
Parks in Alexandria, Virginia
1861 establishments in Virginia
1865 disestablishments in Virginia
Military installations closed in 1865
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