Fort Lyon (3)
Fort Lyon (3) (1861-1865) - A Union U.S. Civil War Fort first established in 1861 near Alexandria in present day Fairfax County, Virginia. Named Fort Lyon after General Nathaniel Lyon who was killed at the Battle of Wilson's Creek, Missouri on 10 Aug 1861. Abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war.
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History of Fort Lyon
Established in 1861 as a large earthworks on Eagle Hill about a mile from Alexandria, Virginia. Union forces built the fort as a part of a ring of forts surrounding Washington, DC after the Union defeat at Bull Run. The fort mounted some 31 guns and had a perimeter of 937 yards. Maps of the day show a triangular outline with four bastions, two internal magazines and a central bombproof all surrounded by a ditch 20' deep and 35' wide. Armament in 1862 included four 200 pounders and sixteen mortars. The outer defenses included rifle pits and several abatis.
Construction began in September 1861 under the supervision of General John Newton (Cullum 1112).
On 9 Jun 1863 one of the powder magazines exploded killing 25 soldiers and destroying eight tons of powder and thousands of rounds of ammunition.
The fort was abandoned in 1865 at the end of the war.
Current Status
Marker only located at the north end of the Huntington Metro station in Alexandria, Fairfax County, Virginia.
USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) Database Entry: 1492968
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Location: Huntington Metro station in Alexandria, Fairfax County, Virginia. Maps & Images Lat: 38.7938889 Long: -77.0777778 |
See Also:
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 801-802.
Links:
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