Evening star., 1900-06-30
LINCOLN AT FORT STEVENS
STOOD EXPOSED TO THE ENEMY,s
SHARPSHOOTERS,
Reminiscence of Gen. Early's Attack
ON the Capital-should be Pre-.
served for . Park.
William Van zanat Coz; In Success.

Here in the environs of the city Of Wash
| ington, are the remains of the fortress
which resisted the attack Of the confederate
| forces upon the national capital, and the
| exact spot has been located upon which
| President Lincoln stood, on the 18th day OF
July, 1854, his tall form exposed to the
fire of the confederate sharpshooters, his
words of cheer and encouragement lending
| inspiration to the brave troops who saved
| the city that eventful day.
| I venture to assert that the history of the
world does not present a scene Of greater
| human interest than this wherein a Presi-
| dent of the United States. despite the pro-
| tests Of his official friends and advisers,
| braved the danger of enemys fire in or
| der that his presence might give aid and
| encouragement to his men in battle
That day marked the high tide of the con-
| federacy. Washington was the prize 1t
| sought The city was not wholly defense
| less, yet the suddenness of the attack made
| the issue exceedingly doubtful If General
Early had planned his movement for twen-
| ty-four hours earlier the result might have
| been far different.
In those days. as now, the 7th street pike
| (Brightwood avenue) was the leading
thoroughfare to and from Washington, and
height of 321 feet above mean tide, a fort
| was built in October, 1861, by the Massa-
| chusetts troops, who named it Fort Massa-
chusetts, in honor of the old bay state.
The fort being found Inadequate for its
| important purpose, 1t was enlarged, in 1862
and 1853. and, on April Of that year. the
| name was changed to Fort Stevens in
| memory of Brsadier General Isaac L.
| Stevens of Massachusetts. who had been
| identified with it's construction, and had
| just lost his life at Chantily, va.
Aunt Betty's story.
The fort had two magazines; one where
Emory Chapel now stands, and the other
| to the west, where the depression is still
visible The house of Elizabeth Thomas,
who Is still living, was torn down and the
cellar enlarged for this magazine. A bomb
proof about one hundred and thirty feet in
length, extended parallel to the stockade,
i and about seventy-five feet from it.
1t here that President Lincoln came
just before the attack by General Early.
One incident of this preliminary visit is SO
strikingly characteristic of the man that 1
will relate it in the words of Aunt Betty.
| the colored woman whose property had
been utilized in the making of the fort.
Aunt Betty says The soldiers camped
here We're mostly German. l could not un-
derstand them, not even the officers, but
when they began taking out my furniture
and tearing down our house. l understood.
In the evening l was sitting under that
sycamore tree-my only house-with what
furniture l had left around me. I was cry
| ing, as was my six-months-old child, which
l held in my arms, when a tall, slender man,
dressed in black came up and said to me,
| 1t is hard, but you shall reap a great re-
ward 1t was President Lincoln, and, had
| he lived, / know the claim for my losses
would have been paid
The 7th Massachusetts was encamped on
| the White farm on the west side of Bright
| wood avenue; the 10th Massachusetts on
| the Lay farm; the seth New York on the
east side of Brghtwood avenue, opposite
| the hotel; the Rhode Island regiment on
| the old Ray farm, by Piney Branch; the
Maine battery was west: Battery l., 1st
Ohio, was east of Fort Stevens, while the
hundred day men, all from Ohio were
then. as now, everywhere.
1t may be of interest that among the
buckeyes who saw service at Fort Stevens
| in 1864 was Governor Nash Of Ohio, then
| a private in Company X, 10th Ohio Ma
| tional Guard. Marcus A. Hanna, second
lieutenant in Company c, was stationed at
assisted in saving the capital on more than
one occasion.
Threatened by Early.
| On July General Early moved around
Sigel's force, and on the 9th was at Fred
erick. Having exacted a tribute of $780,
| 600, he moved out and defeated General
Lew Wallace at Monocacy river. So ambi-
| tious was Early to capture, or. he af
terward said, threaten Washington, that
| he did not follow up Wallace but marched
at once on the capital On July 10 he ap-
| peared at Rockville ten miles from Fort
| Stevens, where Major Fry of Lowells
cavalry brisky engaged him for an hour
and a half, but who, when Early brought
| his artillery to bear. retreated to within a
couple of miles of Tenleytown.
The rapid and successful movement of
! the energetic. Early, the appearance Of
bodies of his forces in the most unexpected
| quarters, startled the north. Instead of
| for its safety from menace" the capital
was actually threatened by Early's troops,
| flushed with success. Indeed, there was
grave reason to believe that with its de-
fsnSeS Stripnp6 Of the dtScnlina6 arti1orv
by General Grant. the capital would be
captured by the southern veterans, melted
by the prize and inspired by the audacity
of the undertaking. The heart Of the north
beat quickly, for 1t saw that, with the cap
ital in possession of the enemy, grave COM
plcations would follow by the recognition
ers, longing only for a plausible pretext to
begin the diplomatic campaign Of dismem-
berment.
At the front General Grant realized the
gravity of the situation, and decided to send
back the 9th Army Corps, comma nded by
General Horatio G. Wright. to Washington.
The first and second divisions of the corps
left City Point, Va, July 10. A few hours
later General w. H. Emory. with a part
OF the 10Th Corps. just returning from New
Orleans to join Grant, left Fortress Monroe
for Washington without disembarking from
their ocean transports.
Beginning of the Battle.
What picture! Early. with his fighting
north, while fleets bearing veterans Of the
9Th and 10th Army Corps were on their way
from the James river and the Gulf Of Mex
leo to save the capital they loved so well.
North and south looked on with bated
| breath and wondered which In this race Of
armies would reach Washington first.
Shortly after noon, riding in advance of
Rodes, whose division, consisting Of Given's
| and Cox's North Carolinans, Crooks Geor-
gians and Battles Alabamians, in the van
General Early came, as he says. In full
| view of Fort Stevens, and found 1t feebly
manned, as had been reported to him.
Smith Of Imboden's cavalry (Early says)
| drove a small body of Union cavalry be-
| fore him into the works, dismounting his
men and deploying them as skirmishers.
| What must have been the thoughts Of
| Early as he contemplated that "feebly
| manned fort" beyond which he could see
| the (majestic) dome Of the Capitol! I have
| little doubt but that he said to himself that
| the confederate flag would be floating there
before the sun should sink across the Po-
] tomac and behind the Virginia hills.
| The fighting began at once, led by the
25th New York Cavalry, and supported by
| the 150th Ohio National Guard, the Veteran
| Reserve Corps and citizens under arms.
| This force Early was able to drive back
| to the shelter of the untaken fort.
| In vain had that leader tried all the af-
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