Evening star., 1945-03-04

son, DR.. c. G. Stone and James E. Kelly,
the well-known sculptor of American
history, stood upon that same parapet.
Gen. Wright said, There near the pike
was the woods that was so full of
Early's men; along this slope is where
our skirmishes deployed; there "a house
was burned, there another and still an
other; over these trenches went the
brave soldiers of the 9Th Corps. Where
is the tree? I cannot find the tree
from which a sharpshooter picked off
my men. The old tollgate has gone.
Also
He paced up and down the top of
the crumbling earthworks for a while,
as if to satisfy himself in regard to
some fact, then said Here on the top
of this parapet between this old en-
brasure and that, is the place where
Lincoln stood, witnessing the fight;
there, by his side, surgeon was wound
ed by mimic ball.
II entreated the President not to
expose his life to the bullets of the
enemy; but he seemed oblivious to
his surroundings; finally, when I found
that my entreaties failed to make any
impression on him, said, Mr.. President,
l know you are commander of the
armies of the United States, but I am
in command here, and as you are not
safe where you are standing, and I am
responsible for your personal safety,
l order you to come down Mr.. Lincoln
looked at me, smiled, and then, more
in consideration of my earnestness than
from inclination, stepped down and
took position behind the parapet. Even
then, he would persist in standing up
and exposing his tall form"
Mrs. Annie c. Osborn, whose ancestors
the Bealls, were large owners of prop
erty in this neighborhood at an early
date, who was born hereabout, and
who resided here during Civil War days,
and who still resides in the District,
says that the sharpshooter who tried
to pick off Lincoln, was later mortally
wounded by another sharpshooter, and
was, upon evacuation of the Confed-
crates, brought down the road and
placed on the lawn in front of her
old nome, where he soon afterward
expired.
Fort Stevens
How many persons in Washington
have ever visited Fort Stevens, in
Brightwood, and viewed the restored
remains of the earthworks thrown up
by the Union forces to defend the
Nations Capital? Quite likely COM
paratively few,
Just how near our country came to
be permanently severed and divided is
a question of opinion. Few who are
familiar with the subject would at
tempt to argue that the Battle of Fort
Stevens meant little in settling the great
questions then involving in war be-
tween the North and the South. Had
Gen. Jubal A. Early succeeded in cap
turing and burning Washington in July,
1854, there is surely no one who believes
for minute that this would not have
prolonged the conclusion of the war.
So the Battle of Fort Stevens meant
great deal more than many persons
at this late day have any idea, for
in addition to saving the Capital from
destruction and consequently conclud-
Ing the war in less time than other
wise would have been the case, it
brought upon the scene the great Civil
War President, Abraham Lincoln, whose
anxiety upon that occasion imperiled
even his own life.
Fort Stevens proper, especially the
site where Lincoln stood upon that mo-
mentous occasion, is now owned by
the Government, and is appropriately
marked with boulder and tablet
placed there by the survivors of the
9Th Army Corps. That part of the
old fort, which has been restored stands
to the rear of Emory Methodist Church,
and can be reached through the church
grounds or by way of the narrow road
running north and south, to the rear
and by way of Thirteenth street.
In order to appreciate the serious
situation the country was in at the
time of the Battle of Fort Stevens, and
to realize what it would have meant
though even temporarily-to have lost