Fort Stevens (Brightwood, District of Columbia)
Brightwood · District of Columbia · Civil War
History & Significance
Constructed in 1861 as "Fort Massachusetts" and later renamed "Fort Stevens" after Brigadier General Isaac Ingalls Stevens, who was killed at the Battle of Chantilly, Virginia, on September 1, 1862. The fort guarded the northern approach to Washington City, the Seventh Street Turnpike.
By 1862, it was expanded to accommodate 375 yards and 19 guns. Confederate military leader Robert E. Lee ordered General Jubal Early and 15,000 men to move on the U.S. Capital in early July of 1864, hoping thereby to draw off Union troops during the Richmond-Petersburg Campaign.
The cavalry attacked Fort Stevens on July 11 and July 12, 1864; on July 11, Confederate sharpshooters successfully shot two of the fort's soldiers, but Union soldiers pushed the Confederate soldiers back to a point 300 yards from the fort. The fort was built on land taken from Elizabeth Proctor Thomas, a free Black woman who later recounted that Lincoln approached her and said, "It is hard, but you shall reap a great reward."
By 1900, Lewis Cass White, who had fought with the 102nd Pennsylvania Infantry in the Battle of Fort Stevens, led the formation of the Fort Stevens Lincoln Memorial Association, which raised funds for a stone memorial on the site dedicated on November 7, 1911. Between 1936 and 1938, the Civilian Conservation Corps reconstructed the northwestern section of the fort, including the magazines, parapet, gun platforms, and ditch, using concrete molded to resemble wood. Today, Fort Stevens Park is managed by the National Park Service through Rock Creek Park.
Key Facts
Map
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🧳 Visiting
What you’ll see when you visit:
- Preserved Civil War-era earthwork fortification with original gun positions and trenches
- Site of July 1864 Confederate attack on Washington, D.C.
- Abraham Lincoln observed battle from these grounds
- Part of extensive ring of 68 forts defending the capital
- NPS-maintained grounds with interpretive markers and restored defensive works
Sources
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Stevens_(Washington,_D.C.)
- https://www.nps.gov/places/fort-stevens.htm
- https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/dc1094/
- https://www.battlefields.org/learn/articles/washingtons-civil-war-defenses-and-battle-fort-stevens
- https://patowmackpacket.substack.com/p/the-battle-that-saved-washington
- https://www.battlefields.org/learn/civil-war/battles/fort-stevens
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