Explore: A Capital Defense
By Kim O’Connell
OCTOBER 2018 • CIVIL WAR TIMES MAGAZINE
Before the Civil War, Washington, D.C., was vulnerable from nearly all sides. The only major fortification was Fort Washington, an early 19th-century brick and stone structure located on the Potomac River 12 miles to the south (now a national park site). When the war began, President Lincoln moved quickly to buttress the lightly defended capital. By the summer of 1861, Union troops had occupied the high bluffs and hills on the river’s Virginia side to develop a system of fortifications, under the direction of the U.S. Army Chief Engineer John G. Barnard, that would encircle the city. By war’s end, that system numbered 68 enclosed forts and batteries, as well as nearly 100 other unenclosed batteries and more than 30 miles of new military roads. So formidable were the defenses that they saw only one battle—at Fort Stevens in July 1864—where Lincoln himself came dangerously close to the action. Today, although several fortifications have been lost to time and development, remembered only by historical markers, nearly two dozen forts and related sites remain viewable in Maryland, D.C., and Virginia, mostly under the care of the National Park Service (NPS). Remnants of high, thick earthworks, rifle pits, and sturdy bombproofs give you a sense of how seriously the Union took the threat against the capital. Because of them, the center held, proving that wars aren’t won just on the battlefield. Be sure to visit the NPS website about the Civil War defenses of Washington for maps and other information, at
www.nps.gov/cwdw. –Kim O’Connell
http://www.historynet.com/explore-capital-defense.htm
