Map of Civil War Forts encircling Washington DC
On this day in Arlington history, October 25, 1862: Secretary of War Edwin Stanton appointed a commission to examine and report on a plan of the present forts and sufficiency of the present system of defenses for the City.
In the wake of the First Battle of Bull Run at Manassas which routed Union forces early in the Civil War, the Capital city began building forts on the bluffs around DC to protect it from possible Confederate invasion. These efforts to fortify the city lost steam when Union forces began having some successes in the Western military theater. Secretary Stanton was determined to make sure Congress funded Washington’s defense even though Congress seemed as though it had lost interest.
He placed Major General J.G. Barnard in charge of engineering operations in this area. He took personal responsibility to make sure that the defense of Washington was strengthened. By the end of the war, 68 enclosed forts and batteries surrounded DC with emplacement for 1120 guns. He fortified the ravines and depressions between forts.
From this survey, Battery Garesche in what is now Fairlington was rebuilt as Fort Runyon and re-armed to defend southern approaches to Long Bridge into DC. Two additional forts were built: Fort C.F. Smith to support Fort Strong and Fort Whipple (now Fort Myer) to back up Forts Tillinghast and Cass.
No Confederate attack came through Virginia against DC but Secretary Stanton could say that the ring of forts he commissioned was a strong deterrent.
(From Arlington Historical Magazine v.1 No. 4)
