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By 1861-it had
been almost fifty years, the War of 1812, in fact-since an
invading army threatened the capital of the United States.Unlike
that war, Washington was now literally surrounded by the
enemy. Maryland remained a slave state, and if Mr. Lincoln
hadn't suspended the writ of habeas
corpus and jailed
most of its state senators, Maryland undoubtedly would have
joined Virginia and gone South.
Virginia lay just
across the Potomac. From the President's House in Washington,
Confederate flags could be seen waving over the seaport of
Alexandria. Although both the North and the South thought
they'd beat each other pretty fast and life would go on as
each imagined it should, the City of Washington stood totally
undefended. Then came the secession of Virginia, followed
by two shocking Northern defeats at Bull Run.
After
secession, the Union Army quickly occupied the entire northern
Virginia perimeter, including the high ground at Robert E.
Lee's wife's plantation of Arlington. The U.
S. Army Corps of Engineers, led by Brevet Major General John
Barnard, began to build a series of fortifications known
as the Defenses of Washington. These
installations, eventually numbering 68 forts, 93 batteries,
with 807 cannon, 98 mortar, and 30 miles of rifle trenches,
along with roads to connect them, made Washington the most
fortified city in the world.
Today, most of
these locations are remembered throughout many local neighborhoods
in the names of housing developments, apartment buildings
("Fort Strong Apartments, the 'Perfect Place to Call Home'"),
and shopping centers. A
few locations are preserved. In
Arlington, Fort Ethan Allen is the site of a hotly debated
dog walk and Fort C. F. Smith was dedicated in 1994 as a
county park and nature center. Fort
Whipple, now known as Fort Myer, is home to the United States
Army Band and "The Old Guard," the Third U. S. Infantry,
whose duties include guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
and providing ceremonial oversight for the 5400 military
funerals held at Arlington Cemetery each year.
The best preserved
of these locations is Fort Ward in Alexandria, which was
a model of 19th century military construction. Named
for the first Union naval officer to be killed in the war,
Fort Ward was the fifth largest of these installations. Today
we can see most of its original bombproofs, guns and bastions
and over 800 yards of 25-foot high walls. The
gate has been reconstructed as it originally appeared, and
the grounds include an officer's hut and a museum, built
to resemble a Union headquarters building.
The museum has
an impressive permanent exhibit of Civil War artillery, artifacts,
and uniforms. The
current temporary exhibit details the activities of the United
States Sanitary Commission, and includes items displayed
during the Sanitary Fairs. These were popular fund
raising events that collected millions of dollars to support
the Union soldiers. The docents at the museum and gift
shop are welcoming, talkative, and extremely knowledgeable
on many aspects of local as well as Civil War history. Whether
you are a Civil War enthusiast on vacation, or a Washington
area resident who hasn't taken advantage of living near this
little-known gem, visit Fort Ward now, and often!
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Learning Links
View of Arlington House during the Civil War.
The remains of Fort Strong in an Arlington,
Virginia neighborhod. Visit the National
Park Service Web Site for more information about the
Defenses of Washington.
Visit the web site for Fort
Ward Park in Alexandria, Virginia.
Reenactors at the dedication of Fort C.F. Smith
Park and Nature Center. Click
here for more photos.
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