Battery Rodgers (Alexandria, Virginia)

Alexandria · Virginia · Civil War

Quick BriefBattery Rodgers was a Union gun emplacement protecting Washington, D.C., built in 1863 from a 28-foot cliff overlooking Battery Cove to interdict Confederate sea traffic on the Potomac River. The battery was named after Captain George W. Rodgers, a Union Navy officer killed during an attack on Fort Wagner.

Civil WarCoastal defense

History & Significance

Constructed in 1863 on a high cliff overlooking Battery Cove, Battery Rodgers guarded the southern Potomac River and Accotink Road approaches to Washington. Originally known as Water Battery, the earthen gun emplacement also protected Alexandria, a valuable Union supply depot.

It was renamed Battery Rodgers on September 17, 1863, in honor of Fleet Captain George W. Rodgers, killed in combat at Charleston, South Carolina a month earlier. The battery measured 185 feet long with flanking sides of 60 and 80 feet, mounting a 6.4-inch Parrott rifle and a 15-inch Rodman gun—one of the largest artillery pieces in the world at that time.

The complex included two powder magazines, a hospital, barracks, mess hall, and prison, garrisoned by 256 men under six commissioned officers and one ordnance sergeant. During most of the war, the battery was garrisoned by portions of the 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery.

Though powerfully equipped with five 200-pound Parrott rifles and one 15-inch Rodman gun, no shots or men were ever fired on enemy ships by its guns. The battery was deactivated in 1867. In 1911, Battery Cove was filled in by the Army Corps of Engineers, creating 46.5 acres of new land.