The Battle of Fort Stevens

On July 11and 12,1864, thenation'scapital cameunderattack. Gunsboomed inthe northernsuburbs asConfederatetroops underJubal Earlyprobed

Union defenses. But the city hadbeen hardened by three long yearsof war, and neither the soldiersdefending the capital nor itsinhabitants panicked. A makeshiftforce was thrown together to manthe capital's defenses, and thisassemblage of wounded menrecruited from hospitals, WarDepartment clerks, elderly veterans,and heavy artillerymen held off theattackers until reinforcementsarrived from the Union army atPetersburg. After two days offighting, the Confederates slippedback the way they had come.

The Fortifications of Washington

Washington was poorly defendedwhen the Civil War began in 1861,and after Union forces had beenrouted at the First Battle ofManassas, concern grew about anattack on the capital. The newUnion commander, Major GeneralGeorge McClellan, decided that thecity should be fortified. Whencompleted, the city's defensestotaled 68 forts and 93 batteries

connected by over 20 miles of rifletrenches, making Washington themost heavily fortified city in theworld. Remains of thesefortifications can be seen onNational Park Service land at FortStevens, Fort Totten, Fort Marcy, andFort DeRussy.

Early's Raid

The defenses of Washington hadbeen built during the early part ofthe war, when a Union defeatseemed a real possibility, but theysaw no fighting until July 1864,when victory seemed close at hand.Grant's army had bogged down infront of Petersburg, and Lee soughtto take advantage of the situationby launching a bold raid on the

north. Confederate LieutenantGeneral Jubal Early, in command of14,000 soldiers, marched down theShenandoah Valley and forded thePotomac at Shepherdstown on July5, 1864. On July 9 the Confederatesdefeated a small Union force alongthe Monocacy River at Frederick,

and then advanced towardWashington. At that time, fewsoldiers manned the defenses ofWashington because Grant hadstripped the garrison to reinforce hisarmy in Virginia.

Washington seemed to be at Early'smercy, but the city had been at warfor three years and Union veteranscoolly set about organizing adefense. Among the woundedsoldiers recuperating in the city was

a cavalryman named Major WilliamFry. Fry made the rounds of thecity's military hospitals andassembled nearly 500 troopers bycommandeering every man wellenough to ride. They requisitionedhorses and set out on the road toRockville, Maryland, where they met

the Confederates' ownhorsemen and skirmished allday on the 10th. Thesecavalrymen keptcommanders in Washingtonwell informed about Early'smovements, allowingreinforcements to be sent tothreatened areas around thecity. Meanwhile the VeteranReserve Corps was called toarms, a force of older men,semi-invalids, and clerks fromthe War Department, mostof whom had not been incombat since the MexicanWar. After a great deal ofcommand confusion -reading accounts of thesedays, it sometimes seemsthat there were moregenerals in Washington thansoldiers - Major General

Alexander McCook was put incommand of the defense. Grant hadsent two divisions of veteransnorthward by ship, so McCook'stactic was to delay Early'sConfederates until thereinforcements arrived. Thenewspapers reveled in the city'scalm response, one editorremarking, "The annual invasion ofMaryland, which, next to theweather, supplies the 'sensation' ofthis week, does not excite any very

disturbing apprehension for thesafety of Baltimore andWashington."

Determined to press his advantage,Early pushed on, arriving in front ofFort Stevens about noon on July 11.Here he noted that the fort seemed

undermanned, but, impressed bythe "very formidable character ofthe works," he did not order animmediate assault. Some of his menthought he had made a mistake.One wrote later, "a volley, a Rebelyell, and a vigorous charge wouldhave given us Washington."

Rock Creek ParkDistrict of Columbia

National Park ServiceU.S. Department of the Interior

The Battle of Fort Stevens and the Defenses of Washington Rock Creek Park

Painting by Eugenie de Land Saugstad, c. 1908, of President Lincoln at Fort Stevens.

Confederate Lt. Gen. JubalEarly.

Fort Stevens Parapet, 1900, Courtesy of Ron Harvey, Jr.

A Civil War Map Showing Fort DeRussy and the Other Defenses around Rock Creek.

Fort Stevens in 1863.

Fort DeRussy

The Battle of Fort Stevens

The Archeological Resource Protection Act makes it a federal crimeto damage archeological sites on federal lands or to removeartifacts from federal property. Unauthorized metal detecting andartifact collecting are strictly forbidden in the park and on allother federal property.

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But Early suspected that Unionreinforcements were on the way, and heknew that his own men were tired from along march on a hot, dry day. He wanted tomake a careful reconnaissance, give hismen a rest, and form up his strung-outunits properly for the attack. As it turnedout, he was probably wise to hesitate. Atthe very moment he reached Fort Stevens,steam ships carrying thousands of Grant'sveterans were docking downtown, to thecheers of the residents. Had Early attackedat noon he might have found getting outof the city much harder than getting in.

Meanwhile, the Confederates beganprobing at the defenses around FortStevens. At first the Federals fell back,abandoning their picket posts andretreating to the rifle pits under the guns ofthe fort. But when it became clear that theConfederates were not really pushing theirattack, McCook ordered his dismountedcavalrymen to reclaim their posts, which

was "smartly done" by 1:30 in theafternoon. The Confederates turned awayfrom Fort Stevens and probed its flanks fora weak spot, sending skirmishers into theRock Creek valley. Fighting was under wayin front of Fort DeRussy, west of RockCreek, by 2:30 P.M. Later in the evening awhole brigade of the Veteran Reservepushed the Confederate skirmishers backfrom Fort DeRussy. "The regiment promptlyformed their line and advanced, firingrapidly, and, under a heavy fire, driving theenemy's right back, occupying theirground" along a ridge north of the fort.

The Confederatesformed a line alongthe next ridge to thenorth, and both sidesheld their positions asnight fell. TheConfederates alsotried the east side ofFort Stevens, but theyhad no more luck inthat direction. If theywere to win passageinto Washington, theywould have to do soby assaulting theUnion forts.

Early later reported that on the 11th he haddecided to order an assault on Fort Stevensduring the next morning, but when hescanned the defenses through his fieldglasses he changed his mind. During thenight Union reinforcements had come up,and the Union trenches now bristled withmen flying the flags of the veteran VICorps. Early did not attack, but neither didhe immediately withdraw. Skirmishing andoccasional artillery fire continuedthroughout the day on the 12th.Confederate sharpshooters were keepingForts Stevens and DeRussy under fire, soMcCook gave the order to drive them backout of range. In front of Fort Stevens thisaction was undertaken at 7 P.M. on the12th by men from VI Corps under BrigadierFrank Wheaton. Six veteran regiments ledthe charge, but they met "stubbornresistance" and advanced only a fewhundred yards before the attack washalted. Wheaton's command had 59 menkilled and 145 wounded in three hours offighting. The town once known asLeesborough, Maryland, showed itsgratitude for this service, and its dislike ofthe Confederacy's leading general, byrenaming itself Wheaton. The VeteranReserve tried to dislodge the Confederates

from a farm north of Fort DeRussy.According to their commander, "Theyadvanced gallantly until very near thebuilding, when they were opened on by theenemy from behind a breastwork of logsand brush. They were compelled to retire,the enemy being in such force."

Early met with his division commandersduring the morning of the 12th anddecided to return to Virginia the next day.When heavy fighting broke out in theafternoon, preparations for the withdrawalwere already under way, and the "stubbornresistance" put up by the Confederateinfantry had the character of a rear-guardaction. The Confederates pulled out duringthe night, and by the morning of the 13ththe Battle of Fort Stevens was over.

During the afternoon of July 12, AbrahamLincoln visited Fort Stevens and stood up onthe parapet to get a view of the fighting.Bullets flew around him, and a Unionofficer who did not recognize him snappedat him to get down before he was killed.Lincoln did get down, but he had justbecome the only sitting U.S. president tocome under enemy fire in wartime.

Remains of the Battle

In 2002 to 2006, the National Park Serviceundertook an archeological survey of RockCreek Park. Until that time, most historiansthought that little remained from the battleexcept part of Fort Stevens, in the midst ofa developed area along 13th Street, andthe Battleground Cemetery. However,archeologists working in the park began tofind Civil War bullets and fragments ofartillery shells. A detailed review of thewritten accounts of the battle showed thatfighting did take place in the park. Afurther search was then made of locationssuggested by the battle narratives, andfurther discoveries were made. Much of thebattlefield does survive, within Rock CreekPark.

The first finds of Civil War artifacts were ona southwest- facing slope on the east sideof Rock Creek, an area shown as heavilywooded on pre-war maps. Both fired anddropped bullets were found here. Dropped,unfired bullets show where soldiers werestanding while they were trying to load andfire their weapons, whereas fired bulletsland where people were aiming. Thereforetroops were firing from this slope, andsomebody was firing back at them. Almost

certainly the men firingfrom this spot wereConfederate picketsworking their way into thevalley from the east,probing for a way aroundFort Stevens. The firedbullets and shell fragmentsshow that they did nothave an easy time of it. Thefired bullets were a mixtureof .58 caliber rounds of thetype used in the war's mostcommon infantry arms and.52 caliber rounds fromSharps and Burnsidecarbines. These carbineswere most often used bythe cavalry, and we knowthat many of the Unionpickets at the opening ofthe battle were dismountedcavalrymen.

A search was also made forevidence of fighting northof Fort DeRussy, on thewest side of the creek.Archeologists haveidentified both the ridgewhere the Confederatesbuilt their breastwork andthe ridge to the southwhere the Veteran ReserveCorps set up their line. Thearea of the Confederatebreastwork was too heavilyovergrown for effective useof a metal detector, sonothing was found there,but a large number ofbullets and shell fragmentswere found on the south-facing slopes nearby.Among these were twofragments of a shell fromthe largest gun at FortDeRussy, a 100-poundParrot rifle. Both fired andunfired bullets were alsofound on the ridge wherethe Federals formed theirline. Archeology thereforesupports the obviousinterpretation of theofficers' reports, andconfirms that significantfighting took place withinthe park. The entirebattlefield has notdisappeared, as was feared.

Soldiers' Drawing of the Magazine at Fort DeRussy in 1862.

Plan of Fort DeRussy made in 1863.

Military Artifacts found near one of Washington's Forts: Bullets, Buttons, and theBrass Tip of a Scabbard.

Fired Bullets, a Piece of Iron Case Shot, and a Shell Fragment from the Battle of FortStevens.

Fragment of a 100-pound Parrot Shell, the Heaviest Weapon in Fort DeRussy.

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