Fort Albany (1)

Fort Albany (1) (1861-1865) - A Union U.S. Civil War Fort first established in 1861 in Arlington County, Virginia. Named Fort Albany after the state capital of New York. Abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war.

History of Fort Albany

Forts Runyon, Jackson and Albany at Long Bridge

This fort was also one of three forts built to protect the Long Bridge over the Potomac River from Virginia to Washington DC (Fort Albany, Fort Runyon and Fort Jackson). These forts were built early in the war and were the first line of defense for the Virginia end of the bridge. As the war progressed the line of defenses moved further south into Virginia and these forts became far less important and their garrisons were reduced. Fort Runyon and Fort Jackson were built on the road(s) to the bridge and Fort Albany was built later to protect the other two.

Fort Albany was constructed by New York Volunteer Troops supervised by Captain Barton S. Alexander (Cullum 1117), U.S. Corps of Engineers. The fort was built with a perimeter of 429 yards enclosing emplacements for 12 guns, magazines, embrasures and bombproofs. Armament included four 24 pounder siege guns, two 24 pounder howitzers, two 30 pounder Parrott rifles (4 vacant platforms).

The fort was abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war.

Current Status

Marker only in Prospect Hill Park. Site destroyed for the construction of Shirley Highway in 1942.

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Location: Northwest of the junction of Ridge Road and South Nash Street at Prospect Hill Park in Arlington County, Virginia. Map point is the Marker Location. Maps & Images Lat: 38.86509 Long: -77.06569 Multi Maps from ACME Maps from Bing Maps from Google Elevation: .....'

See Also:

• Fort Runyon
• Fort Jackson
• Arlington Line - U.S. Civil War
• Washington DC Fort Ring
• Washington DC Defense System - U.S. Civil War

Sources:

• Roberts, Robert B., Encyclopedia of Historic Forts: The Military, Pioneer, and Trading Posts of the United States, Macmillan, New York, 1988, 10th printing, ISBN 0-02-926880-X, page 801.
• Cooling, Benjamin F. III and Owen, Valton H. II, Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington, Scarecrow Press, 2009, ISBN 0810863073, ISBN 9780810863071, 334 pages, page 90.

Links:

• North American Forts - Fort Albany
• Wikipedia - Fort Albany
• HMDB - Fort Albany

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