Washington DC Fort Ring

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Washington DC Fort Ring - A ring of Union U.S. Civil War Forts scattered around the capital city's perimeter was erected early in the war to protect Washington, D.C. from the threat of Confederate assault. This ring included fortifications in Virginia and Maryland as well as Washington DC. By 1865 the Defenses of Washington DC were said to included some 68 named forts, 93 detached batteries, 20 miles of rifle pits, blockhouses at three key points and 32 miles of military roads. At the beginning of the war there was only a single fort, Fort Washington, protecting the city.

These numbers are difficult to reconcile because of name changes, consolidations and upgrading of batteries to named forts. There is also confusion about what fortifications are included especially the permanent fortifications and the outlying fortifications at Baileys crossroads and Seven Corners. What can be said is that the city was ringed with connected fortifications and that the Virginia side defenses were especially dense with many fortification within close range of each other. The 37 mile circle of fortifications had platforms for some 1,500 field and siege guns with some 807 guns and 98 mortars in place.

The list below attempts to include all of the named fortifications that surrounded Washington DC during the U.S. Civil War. It does not include camps, barracks, unnamed batteries and other administrative facilities.

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Washington DC Fort Ring (edit list)
Fort State County Owner Visible Perim Guns GPS Notes
Fort Albany (1) VA Arlington James Roach and heirs,
J.R. Johnson
No 429 yds 8/4 38.86509,
-77.06569
Battery Bailey (1) MD Montgomery Shoemaker family Yes 0/6 38.95261,
-77.11028
Fort Baker (3) DC Southeast Sarah E. Anderson, Ann A.C. Naylor;
Susan M. Naylor
No 492 yds 22/3 38.86222,
-76.96417
Fort Barnard VA Arlington Philip J. Buckey, Sewall B. Corbettt No 250 yds 19/3 38.84919,
-77.09195
Battery Bayard (2) DC Northwest Unk No 0/3 38.95543,
-77.09114
Fort Bayard (1) DC Northwest Unk No 123 yds 6/2 38.95528,
-77.09167
Fort Bennett (3) VA Arlington Wm. B. Ross, John H. Bogue,
B.B. Lloyd
No 146 yds 5/0 38.90025,
-77.07863
Fort Berry VA Arlington Sewall B. Corbettt No 215 yds 4/6 38.85559,
-77.09161
Fort Buffalo VA Fairfax No 38.87201,
-77.15587
Fort Bunker Hill (1) DC Northeast Henry Quinn Yes 205 yds 13/0 38.93539,
-76.98775
Fort C.F. Smith (2) VA Arlington Thomas Jewell Yes 368 yds 19/6 38.90083,
-77.09056
Battery Cameron DC Northwest J.H. Phillips No 4/0 38.91564,
-77.0888
aka
Battery Georgetown
Battery Carroll DC Southeast Unk No 0/4 38.83709,
-77.00403
Fort Carroll (3) DC Southeast Fenwick Young Yes 340 yds 14/8 38.83735,
-77.00736
Fort Cass (2) VA Arlington Mary Randolph Lee,
U.S. Government
No 288 yds 3/1 38.88519,
-77.08203
aka
Fort Ramsay (1)
Chain Bridge Battery DC Northwest Unk No 2/0 38.930326,
-77.111932
Fort Chaplin DC Southeast Selby B. Scaggs Yes 225 yds 1/11 38.88917,
-76.94306
Fort Corcoran VA Arlington William H. Ross No 576 yds 5/5 38.89626,
-77.07592
Fort Craig (3) VA Arlington Septimus Brown,
Samuel Carison, Elliot
No 324 yds 12/1 38.87041,
-77.08165
Fort Davis (7) DC Southeast Major Sayles J. Bowen,
Daniel F. Lee
Yes 12/2 38.86639,
-76.95056
Fort De Russy (1) DC Northwest B.T. Swart Yes 190 yds 11/2 38.96331,
-77.051
Fort DuPont (2) DC Southeast Michael Caton Yes? 200 yds 9/6 38.87279,
-76.94021
Fort Ellsworth (2) VA Alexandria Henry Rozier Dulany, Rebecca Ann Dulany Some? 618 yds 20/7 38.806,
-77.06867
Fort Ethan Allen (2) VA Arlington Stephen & Mrs. E.M. Meredith Yes 736 yds 45/4 38.92444,
-77.12361
Fort Farnsworth VA Fairfax No 255 yds 10/3 38.78861,
-77.07361
Fort Foote (1) MD Prince George's Francis W. Rozier & wife,
Mrs. M.A. Hill,, Benedict Edelin
Yes 10/0 38.76764,
-77.0287
Battery Gaines DC Northwest 38.93917,
-77.08889
Fort Gaines (4) DC Northwest William A.T. Maddox;
Mr. Loughborough
No 171 yds 6/1 38.93611,
-77.0875
Battery Garesche (2) VA Arlington Margeret B. Dangerfield No 166 yds 8/0 38.83843,
-77.09698
Fort Greble (1) DC Southwest William & Thomas M. Berry,
John C. McFerron,
Lucien and Miss Eliza Berry
Yes 327 yds 17/0 38.82590,
-77.01461
Fort Haggerty VA Arlington Owen; Mary Murray & heirs,
Thomas Cozar, Guardian
No 128 yds 4/0 38.89611,
-77.06863
Battery Jameson MD Prince George's John Veitch Yes 80 yds 1/14 38.92796,
-76.95219
Fort Jackson (8) VA Arlington No 38.87129,
-77.04141
Fort Kearny (5) DC Northwest John Magee Unk 320 yds 10/1 38.94833,
-77.05833
Battery Kemble DC Northwest William A.T. Maddox Yes 2/0 38.93067,
-77.09572
Battery Kingsbury (2) DC Northwest Trace 0/9 38.96333,
-77.04417
Fort Lincoln (2) DC Northeast John Veitch No 466 yds 34/0 38.92591,
-76.95837
Fort Lyon (3) VA Fairfax Unk Yes 937 yds 38/0 38.79389,
-77.07778
Battery Mahan (2) DC Northeast No 0/4 38.895,
-76.94444
Fort Mahan DC Northeast Unk Yes 352 yds 22/2 38.8944444,
-76.9441667
Fort Mansfield (2) MD Montgomery Thomas Dean family, Samuel Shoemaker No 220 yds 11/2 38.95297,
-77.10164
Fort Marcy (3) VA Fairfax Gilbert Vanderwerken Yes 338 yds 20/1 38.93441,
-77.12656
Battery Martin Scott DC Northwest Scott James Weaver
C & O Canal Co.
Trace 3/0 38.93056,
-77.09444
Fort McPherson (3) VA Arlington No 38.87273,
-77.07381
Fort Meigs (2) MD Prince George's Mrs. Stow
Mr. Joseph Trimble
No 500 yds 25/8 38.87351,
-76.92941
Battery Morris (3) DC Northeast No 0/7 38.92889,
-76.97694
Fort Morton (2) VA Arlington No 250 yds 6/4 38.89192,
-77.0871
Fort Munson VA Fairfax Daniel O. Munson No 38.86026,
-77.14507
Fort O'Rourke VA Fairfax No 160 yds 13/3 38.78704,
-77.07319
Battery Parrott (2) DC Northwest Ellen J. King
John H. King
Trace 2/0 38.92055,
-77.0905
Fort Ramsay (2) VA Arlington Charles Upton No 38.87284,
-77.14623
aka
Fort Upton (2)
Battery Reno DC Northwest No 7/3 38.95571,
-77.07614
Fort Reno (1) DC Northwest Giles Dyer
Mrs. James C. Dyer
Miles Dyer
No 917 yds 21/6 38.952768,
-77.077804
aka
Fort Pennsylvania
Fort Reynolds (2) VA Arlington George W. Chase, L.E. Chittenden,
Edward B. Powell, Mary Walker
No 300 yds 13/1 38.83824,
-77.09436
Fort Richardson (3) VA Arlington Yes 316 yds 14/3 38.85773,
-77.07783
Fort Ricketts DC Southeast J.H. Smith
George Washington Talburtt
Yes 123 yds 4/0 38.85786,
-76.97548
aka
Battery Ricketts
Battery Rodgers VA Alexandria Samuel O. Bogot
Manassas Gap Railroad
No 330 yds 6/0 38.79587,
-77.04385
Battery Rossell DC Northwest No 0/8 38.95457,
-77.06956
Fort Runyon VA Arlington James Roach and heirs No 1484 yds 38.86985,
-77.04508
Fort Saratoga DC Northeast John B. Kibbey
William. Kibbey
Executor, Ann McDaniels
No 153 yds 8/1 38.92944,
-76.97833
Fort Scott (5) VA Arlington L.E. Chittenden, Hunter family Yes 313 yds 10/0 38.8475,
-77.05898
Fort Sedgwick (2) DC Southeast John Kennedy No 38.88417,
-76.93639
aka
Kennedy's Hill Fort
Fort Scaggs DC Northeast Selby B. Scaggs No 0/6 38.89112,
-76.94855
Not Armed
aka
Fort Craven
Fort of Circular Form
Battery Sill DC Northwest Trace 0/9 38.96111,
-77.03833
Fort Simmons MD Montgomery S.F. & L. Burrows
Charles Shoemaker
No 177 yds 8/3 38.95209,
-77.09834
Battery Simmons MD Montgomery S.F. & L. Burrows
Charles Shoemaker
No 0/4 38.95182,
-77.09927
Fort Slemmer DC Northeast Henry Douglass No 93 yds 4/0 38.93972,
-77.00139
Fort Slocum (1) DC Northwest John F. Callan,
L.E. Chittenden
Mary Walker
No 655 yds 25/15 38.96016,
-77.01386
Battery Smead DC Northwest B.T. Swart No 170 yds 4/4 38.96139,
-77.06056
Fort Snyder (2) DC Southeast Joseph & Thomas Jenkins,
Badcock Williams
No 210 yds 8/0 38.84694,
-76.9825
Fort Stanton (2) DC Southeast George Washington Talburtt Yes 322 yds 16/8 38.86139,
-76.97722
Fort Stevens (2) DC Northwest Emory Chapel/Methodist Church
Elizabeth Thomas (?)
Rec 375 yds 19/3 38.96436,
-77.02922
aka
Fort Massachusetts (2)
Fort Strong (1) VA Arlington Thomas Dawson,
Allen Pearce
No 318 yds 15/2 38.89694,
-77.08806
aka
Fort DeKalb
Fort Sumner (3) MD Montgomery Albert Lodge No 843 yds 30/13 38.95669,
-77.12247
*
Fort Taylor (7) VA Falls Church L. William Taylor No 6 38.87476,
-77.15898
Battery Terrill (2) DC Northwest No 0/7 38.95694,
-77.06111
Fort Thayer DC Northeast Charles B. Calvert, Executor No 180 yds 8/0 38.92884,
-76.97167
Fort Tillinghast VA Arlington Columbus Alexander No 298 yds 13/1 38.8785,
-77.08383
Battery Totten DC Northeast George Thomas Yes 38.95070,
-77.00552
Fort Totten (2) DC Northeast George Thomas Yes 272 yds 20/0 38.9479,
-77.00519
Battery Vermont DC Northwest U.S. Government No 3/1 38.9375,
-77.11111
Fort Wagner (2) DC Southeast Judson Richardson No 166 yds 5/0 38.86,
-76.96972
aka
Fort Good Hope
Fort Ward (1) VA Alexandria Yes 815 yds 24/0
36/10
38.83026,
-77.10264
Fort Washington (1) MD Prince George's Yes 38.71112,
-77.03485
Fort Weed VA Fairfax No 253 yds 11/1 38.78929,
-77.07832
Fort Whipple (1) VA Arlington Mary Randolph Lee
U.S. Government
No 38.88424,
-77.07835
*
Fort Williams (4) VA Alexandria Samuel Cooper, Willam Silvey,
George A. Smith, John Williams
Some 250 yds 15/0 38.8118,
-77.09
Fort Willard VA Fairfax Samuel R. Johnson
Josiah Willard
Yes 240 yds 16/2 38.78274,
-77.06617
Fort Woodbury VA Arlington John Lambden No 275 yds 13/1 38.88966,
-77.08281
Fort Worth (2) VA Alexandria William Silvey No 463 yds 28/3 38.81472,
-77.09889


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