- Joined
- Feb 23, 2013
- Location
- East Texas
Fort Stevens
Earthen Fort Stevens is doubtless the best known of the several dozen that once ringed Washington, D. C., since it was the only one that was ever in any way attacked and because there Abraham Lincoln became the only sitting Chief Executive to come under enemy fire. The park, now a unit of the National Capital Parks, was reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930's. Although today it is completely surrounded by an urban landscape the fort and the nearby tiny National Cemetery serve to commemorate the action there.
This marker shows the original dimentions of Fort Stevens, named for Union Maj. Gen. Isaac I. Stevens, killed Sept. 1, 1862, at the Battle of Chantilly, Va., in the wake of Second Bull Run/Manassas. The smaller redoubt at the right on the model was omitted in the reconstruction, leaving a relatively symmetrical five-sided work that has been left open at the rear or gorge, here shown to have been covered by a palisade or stockade.
The wooden works of stockade and reenforcing timbers have been replicated in cement for durability and look passably realistic, even "in person". Two original 30-pounder Parrott rifled cannon mounted on replica carriages have been placed within the embrasures near the spot where Lincoln supposedly stood on the rampart.
Below, the reconstructed powder magazine.
The battle was occasioned by Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's so-called "raid" on the defenses of Washington, D. C., in the aftermath of his bloody victory at the Monocacy River and its namesake B&O rail junction on July 9, 1964, which opened the way to the Federal capital. President Lincoln had been staying, as was his custom, at the nearby Soldier's Home in Washington's northern reaches about three miles from the White House. Though Lincoln was discouraged from remaining there in what was thought to be an exposed location, he nevertheless wished a closer look at the impending action.
Next, the Battle of Fort Stevens
Earthen Fort Stevens is doubtless the best known of the several dozen that once ringed Washington, D. C., since it was the only one that was ever in any way attacked and because there Abraham Lincoln became the only sitting Chief Executive to come under enemy fire. The park, now a unit of the National Capital Parks, was reconstructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930's. Although today it is completely surrounded by an urban landscape the fort and the nearby tiny National Cemetery serve to commemorate the action there.
This marker shows the original dimentions of Fort Stevens, named for Union Maj. Gen. Isaac I. Stevens, killed Sept. 1, 1862, at the Battle of Chantilly, Va., in the wake of Second Bull Run/Manassas. The smaller redoubt at the right on the model was omitted in the reconstruction, leaving a relatively symmetrical five-sided work that has been left open at the rear or gorge, here shown to have been covered by a palisade or stockade.
The wooden works of stockade and reenforcing timbers have been replicated in cement for durability and look passably realistic, even "in person". Two original 30-pounder Parrott rifled cannon mounted on replica carriages have been placed within the embrasures near the spot where Lincoln supposedly stood on the rampart.
Below, the reconstructed powder magazine.
The battle was occasioned by Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Early's so-called "raid" on the defenses of Washington, D. C., in the aftermath of his bloody victory at the Monocacy River and its namesake B&O rail junction on July 9, 1964, which opened the way to the Federal capital. President Lincoln had been staying, as was his custom, at the nearby Soldier's Home in Washington's northern reaches about three miles from the White House. Though Lincoln was discouraged from remaining there in what was thought to be an exposed location, he nevertheless wished a closer look at the impending action.
Next, the Battle of Fort Stevens
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