The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1903-03-12
THE DEFENsEs OF WASHINGTON.
Extensive Plans for the Protection of the
- Capital City.
BY JOHN GROSS BARNARD,
Ijor- General BY Brcuet and Colonel, Corps o.

it became apparent that the war was t.
be a struggle of long duration, the neces
sity of the thorough terrifying of Wash
ington ceased to be doubtful. The situa
ton was indeed such as to admit of NJ
elaborate plans, scarcely of the adequate
study of the ground necessary to judi
cious location of line SO extensive. The
first exigency was to fortify the position
on the nights of Arlington, the most obvi
Gus manner of doing which was to connect
Forts Corcoran and Albany by intermedi
ate works, within musketry or canister
range of each other, and thus form, with
Fort RunyOn, chain or "courOnne,
covering at the same time the bridges
and the nights. The ground, furrowed by
numerous ravines, proved sufficiently
favorable, and the large lunets o., with
stockade gorges (2), Forts Craig, Filling
hast, Cass, Woodbury. and De kalb Sub
sequently called Fort Strong), were speed
fly laid out and begun. The location of
these works, as also their design and con-
struction, were principally due to MaJs.
Woodbury. and Alexander. Fort COrc0ran
being on 'step" or small plateau of in
ferior level to that of the nights, it was
necessary to continue the line, by Fort
De Kalb toward the river, along the
higher level. AS it requires many days
to obtain. in regularly prOfiled field forts,
so much cover as will make them partially
defensible, temporary expedicnt for i'm
provising defense was found in making a
= wide ..slashing'' through the forest in adj
vance of the line of these intended works,
and a marginal slashing around its edge.
Half-sunk batteries for tield-guns were
prepared between the sites of Forts De
Kalb and Woodbury. and near that of
Fort Craig.* From the nights north of
the Potomac, between Georgetown and
the Distributing Reservoir, which over
looked and commanded the ground in ad-
vance of the defensive line, formidable
flanking fire was obtained by the erection
of Battery Cameron for two rif1ed AZ
Founders.
The wooded ridge which lies north of
and parallel to the lower course of -Four
Mile Run offered favorable position
from which the city, the Long Bridge and
the plateau in advance of it could be
overlooked and cannonaded, and from
which it was important to exclude the
enemy SO long as our defensive line was
thus limited. Access to it was made diff
fcult by telling the forest with which it
was covered (about 200 acres), and the
construction upon it of the large lunet
(F'ort Scott was begun as soon as the site
could be fixed. The subsequent extension
of the line to embrace Alexandria threw
this work and Fort Albany into the rear,
but it retained, nevertheless, a consider
able Importance, since, taken in connection
with Forts Richardson, Craig and others,
1t completed defensive line for Washing
ton Independent of the extension to Alex
andria
While these operations were going on
Gen. Richardson, whose division held
position along the Columbia Turnpike, had
occupied and pointed out the Importance
of an eminence in advance of Fort Albany
commanding the plateau along which that
road passes and fanking the Arlington,
lines. The small Enclosed polygOnal work,
Fort Richardson. was begun thereon
about Sept. 1, 1861.
THE DEFENSE OF ALEXANDRIA.
and its connection with that of Washing
ton was a subject of anxious study. The
exigeney demanding immediate measures,
the first idea naturally was awaiting our
selves of Fort Ellsworth as one point of
the defensive system, to connect it with
Fort Scott by intermediate works on
Mount Ida and adjacent nights. A pro-
tracted study Of the topography for sew
eral miles in advance showed that such
dine would be indefensible. Not only
would the works themselves be COM
manded by nights in advance, but the
troops which should support them would
be restricted to narrow space, in which
they would be overlooked and harassed
by the enemy's distant fire. The occupa-
ton, therefore, of the nights mile in
advance Of Fort Ellsworth, upon which
the Theological Seminary is situated,
seemed absolutely necessary, and eXamina-
ton showed their topography to be favor
able to defensive line, as points of which
the sites of Forts Worth and Ward were
selected and the work begun about the
first of September, and the line thence
continued simultaneously by Fort Rey-
n0lds to connect with Forts Richardson
and Craig. Somewhat later Fort Bar
nard, intermediate between Reynolds and
Richardson, and partially filling the gap,
was begun. 1t commanded the valley of
Four Mile Run and fianked a deep tribu-
tary ravine lying across the approaches
to Forts Reynolds and Ward.
The nights south of Hunting Greek, over
looking Alexandria and more elevated
Fort Ellsworth, were for some time a
subject of anxiety. The fertilization of
the Seminary Nights, which commanded
them, diminished materially the danger of
their temporary seizure by the enemy. As
soon, however (about the middle of Sep
tember) as a sufficient force could be de-
tached to occupy the position and protect
the construction, the large fort (called
Lyon was begun, Maj. Brevet Major
GeneraD Newton, then attached as an
Engineer officer to the staff of Gen.
Franklin, selecting the site and planning
the work. This extensive feldwork occu-
pied month or two in construction, dur
ing which time the position was made
somewhat more defensible by rifle-trenches
across the plateau in advance.
While Strengthening as rapidly as pos
sible our most assailable and, at first, ex-
ceedingly weak position on the south
shore of the Potomac, it was, though per-
haps less urgent, still necessary to pro-
vide
SOME AUXILIARY DEFENSES
to the city itself against approaches along
the northern shores. In the Summer and
Autumn the Potomac is easily fordable at
points not distant from Washington. The
army which had been victorious at
Manassas. and whose advance posts were
soon visible at Munsons Hill, might, it
was thought, improve the critical period
which followed, ere our rapidly-arriving
volunteer regiments could be organized
into a formidable force, and while that
which had fought that battle, disorganiZed
by defeat, was dwindling away by expira-
ton of three months term of service, to
cross the river and assail us, where the
results of success, even il involving
greater risks, would have been the most
decisive.
To meet this emergency works were nec-
essarily thrown up without that deliberate
study of the topography in which the es-
Establishment Of such defensive line should,
II practicable, be based. The first direc-