Fort Kearny ( Washington , D . C . ) Fort Kearny was a fort constructed during the American Civil War as part of the defenses of Washington , D . C . Located near Tenleytown , in the District of Columbia , it filled the gap between Fort Reno and Fort DeRussy north of the city of Washington . The fort was named in honor of Maj . Gen . Philip Kearny of the Union Army , who was killed at the Battle of Chantilly on September 1 , 1862 . Three batteries of guns ( Battery Rossell , Battery Terrill , and Battery Smead ) supported the fort , and are considered part of the fort ' s defenses . Construction and operation . Construction of the fort began in the summer of 1862 , as a result of the discovery that the guns of Fort Pennsylvania ( better - known as Fort Reno ) and Fort DeRussy could not adequately cover the hilly terrain between Rock Creek and the Rockville Turnpike . To fix the situation , an intermediate fort was built to cover the dead ground . This fort would become known as Fort Kearny . Construction proceeded slowly , hampered by a lack of workers . In December , the 113th New York Volunteer Infantry Regiment was ordered to assist in the construction of the fort . Reports indicated that " of the 150 men that reported only 50 did any work . " Despite setbacks like these , by Christmas 1862 , reports discussed the disposition of newly built Fort Kearny and several supporting field batteries that were constructed in order to cover blind approaches to the fort . That report described Fort Kearny as " occupying an excellent position , [ and ] a necessary connecting link between Forts Pennsylvania and De Russy . It sees well the upper valley of Broad Branch , and crosses its fires with those of Forts Pennsylvania and De Russy and intermediate batteries upon the dangerous heights in front . It has a powerful armament , and is provided with ample magazines and bomb - proofs , and is well adapted to its location . A field battery , just across Broad Branch , has been built to sweep part of the ravine immediately in front of Fort Kearny ; otherwise unseen . " The battery , later known as Battery Rossell , provided space for eight field guns and a strong powder magazine . The battery was named in honor of Major Nathan B . Rossell of the 3rd U . S . Infantry , who was killed on June 27 , 1862 , at the Battle of Gaines ' Mill . In 1864 , the fort was garrisoned by two companies of the 7th New York Heavy Artillery regiment , commanded by Major E . A . Springsteed . A May 1864 report on the defenses of Washington counted 298 soldiers in the fort ' s complement and stated that the garrison was of full strength . Despite this fact , deficiencies were found in the capability of those soldiers , whose drill was recorded as " indifferent , " and that " improvement [ was ] needed . " In contrast , the physical properties of the fort were found to be fully capable . The same inspection found three 24 - pounder siege guns , three 32 - pounder barbette guns , one 5 - inch siege howitzer , and three 4 - inch rifled guns . In addition , the powder magazine was found to be " dry and in good order " and the ammunition as a whole , " [ in ] full supply and serviceable . " Battle of Fort Stevens . In July 1864 , Confederate forces under the command of Lt . Gen . Jubal A . Early mounted a diversionary attack on the ring of forts defending Washington , D . C . in an attempt to relieve the pressure on Gen . Robert E . Lee , whose army was engaged with Union forces in central Virginia . Though Fort Kearny itself did not come under direct fire from Confederate forces , at the time it was not certain that the Southern soldiers would not attempt to slip through the American lines in the hilly terrain near Tenleytown . On July 11 , the 22nd regiment of the Veteran Reserve Corps , commanded by Lt . Col . A . Rutherford , began taking up positions in the rifle pits and trenches in front of the fort . At 7 : 30 p . m . , the Confederate forces of Early ' s force were seen entrenching north of the Fort Reno - Fort Kearny - Fort DeRussy line . Accordingly , six companies of the 22nd Regiment were released from their entrenchments and ordered to reinforce the line of Union skirmishers that lay to the north of the fortifications . At 6 a . m . on the morning of July 12 , these companies were ordered to advance northward . Doing so , they cleared out a pocket of Confederate sharpshooters that had established themselves on a nearby hilltop and who had been harassing the Union forces overnight . By 7 : 00 a . m . , the 24th regiment of the Veteran Reserve Corps arrived at Fort Kearny to relieve the remaining companies of the 22nd , which were dispatched northward as reserves for the first six companies , which had already advanced two miles north of Fort Kearny . Those few Confederate sharpshooters would mark the closest advance of any recognized Confederate force to the guns of Fort Kearny . The majority of the fighting would take place to the north and east , near forts Stevens and DeRussy . In the wake of the Confederate assault on the Washington defenses , a new report was released containing recommendations on improvements to the forts defending the city . In regards to Fort Kearny , the only suggestion involved the addition of four field guns to Battery Terrill , one of the subsidiary batteries that protected enfiladed approaches to the fort . Post - War Use . After the surrender of Robert E . Lee ' s Army of Northern Virginia on April 9 , 1865 , the primary reason for manned defenses protecting Washington ceased to exist . Initial recommendations by Col . Alexander , chief engineer of the Washington defenses , were to divide the defenses into three classes : those that should be kept active ( first - class ) , those that should be mothballed and kept in a reserve state ( second - class ) , and those that should be abandoned entirely ( third - class ) . Fort Kearny fell into the second - class category . As budget cuts mounted , however , Fort Kearny , which had been scheduled to be mothballed , was abandoned and the land sold . Today , no trace of the fort remains in what is the primarily residential neighborhood of Forest Hills , between Rock Creek Park and Fort Reno Park .