Fort Stanton (Anacostia, District of Columbia)
Anacostia · District of Columbia · Civil War
History & Significance
Fort Stanton was intended to prevent Confederate artillery from threatening the Washington Navy Yard and guarded the approach to the bridge that connected Anacostia (then known as Uniontown) with Washington. Construction began in September 1861 and by October 22 the fort was completed with platforms laid for ten 32-pounders.
By February 1862, the fort was fully gunned and garrisoned by companies of the 4th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment and the 88th Pennsylvania Infantry. The fort had a perimeter of 322 yards and mounted 18 artillery pieces, with a garrison of 483 artillerymen and infantry.
The fort was expanded throughout the war and was joined by two subsidiary forts: Fort Ricketts and Fort Snyder. The fort featured two masonry magazines erected in 1863-64.
After the war's conclusion, the fort was dismantled and the land returned to its original owner. The site was purchased for a total of $56,000 in 1926, eventually becoming parkland. Today the Washington D.C. Department of Parks and National Park Service jointly manage 67 acres of parkland on the fort's site, with the NPS managing the mostly wooded acreage containing the remains of forts Stanton and Ricketts.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Civil War earthwork fortification built 1861 to defend Washington, D.C.
- Preserved gun emplacements and earthen ramparts visible across 67-acre wooded park
- Historic site protecting Washington Navy Yard and Arsenal from Confederate artillery
- Part of D.C.'s Civil War defensive ring
- National Park Service-managed grounds with forest setting
Sources
- https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-stanton.htm
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Stanton_(Washington,_D.C.)
- https://historicsites.dcpreservation.org/items/show/822
- https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=46623
Other Forts in District of Columbia
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