Fort Lincoln (District of Columbia)

Fort Lincoln
Part of the Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Interior view of Fort Lincoln in 1865
Fort Lincoln
Coordinates 38°55′31″N 76°57′04″W / 38.92528°N 76.95111°W / 38.92528; -76.95111
Type Earthwork fort
Site information
Controlled by Union Army
Condition Residential Area
Site history
Built 1861
Built by 11th Massachusetts Infantry regiment
In use 1861–1865
Materials Earth and timber
Demolished 1865
Battles/wars American Civil War

Fort Lincoln was one of seven temporary earthwork forts part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, DC during the Civil War built in the Northeast quadrant of the city at the beginning of the Civil War by the Union Army to protect the city from the Confederate Army. From west to east, the forts were as follow: Fort Slocum, Fort Totten, Fort Slemmer, Fort Bunker Hill, Fort Saratoga, Fort Thayer and Fort Lincoln.

Battery Jamson was a large battery east of the fort overlooking the Anacostia River providing additional support.

Civil War

Fort Lincoln was built starting on August 26, 1861 by the First Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry[1] along the border of the District of Columbia and Prince George's County, Maryland it was named in honor of President Abraham Lincoln by General Order No. 18, A.G.O., Sept. 30, 1861. [2] It was built on the old Baltimore Pike, 2 and 1/2 miles from the city at the time.[1]

The fort had a perimeter of 466 yards (426 m) and places for 34 guns.[3]

The fort was armed with the following guns:

The following troops were garrisoned at Fort Lincoln:

A cavalry outpost was located close by with the 7th Michigan Volunteer Cavalry Regiment composed of about 500 men under the command of Major Darling. During the Battle of Fort Stevens On the afternoon of July, 12, 1864, had a brush with the enemy's cavalry beyond Bladensburg, Maryland. Captain T.S. Paddock was in command of the fort at the time.[1]

To the East, was located Battery Jameson. It was established in 1862 as an outer works of the fort on a bluff in Prince George's County, Maryland under the direction of Brigadier General John G. Barnard and named after Major General Charles D. Jameson, who died of typhoid fever on November 6, 1862. It was at the end of the line and overlooked he Eastern Branch of the Potomac River (now the Anacostia River with several other smaller unnamed batteries around.[1] [5]

Post Civil war

Today, the majority of the remaining fort is within Fort Lincoln Cemetery in Prince George's County, Maryland and can be visited.[6][7] A marker has been placed to commemorate the fort.[8]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 The Defenses of Washington during the War - The Evening Star, Thursday, October 9, 1902 - page 21
  2. ↑ The Historical Marker Database - Fort Lincoln - https://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=46714
  3. ↑ Cooling III, Benjamin Franklin; Owen II, Walton H. (6 October 2009). Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington. Scarecrow Press. pp. 203–208. ISBN 978-0-8108-6307-1.
  4. ↑ FortWiki - Fort Lincoln - http://www.fortwiki.com/Fort_Lincoln_(2)
  5. ↑ FortWiki Battery Jameson - http://www.fortwiki.com/Battery_Jameson
  6. ↑ ""Battery Jameson, Fort Lincoln"" Waymark
  7. ↑ Maryland Historical Trust, Inventory Form for State Historic Sites Inventory - Battery Jameson (PG-68-15a)
  8. ↑ Historical Marker Project - Fort Lincoln - https://www.historicalmarkerproject.com/markers/HMVG5_fort-lincoln_Brentwood-MD.html
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