Battery Kemble (The Palisades neighborhood, Northwest Washington D.C., District of Columbia)

The Palisades neighborhood, Northwest Washington D.C. · District of Columbia · Civil War

History & Significance

Battery Kemble was completed during autumn 1861 as part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, one of 68 major enclosed forts and 93 prepared batteries built by Union forces in the Washington D.C. area. Positioned on elevated terrain 387 feet above the Potomac River, the battery's two 100-pounder Parrott rifles were placed to sweep Chain Bridge along the Potomac River and the Virginia shoreline.

Wartime garrisons were manned by the 2nd U.S. Artillery, 9th New York Heavy Artillery, and Company A, 1st New Hampshire Heavy Artillery. Battery Kemble was built to provide support to Fort Stevens and Fort Slocum and to guard northern approaches to the city.

Forts in the District of Columbia were temporary structures built of earthen embankments, timber with limited masonry, surrounded by trenches, and not designed to serve beyond the Civil War as the land was intended to be returned to its owners. The property was relinquished to the government by William A.T. Maddox, a U.S. Marine Corps officer, and was reacquired by the federal government between 1916 and 1923. Today the site is administered by the Rock Creek Park unit of the National Park Service, with the parapet and gun positions fairly well-preserved and remaining visible.

Map

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Sources

• https://www.nps.gov/places/battery-kemble.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battery_Kemble_Park
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civil_War_Defenses_of_Washington

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