Fort Willard
Encyclopedia
Fort Willard is a former Union Army
installation
now located in the Belle Haven
area of Fairfax County
in the U.S. state
of Virginia
. It was the southernmost fort built to defend Washington, D.C.
in the American Civil War
. It is currently undergoing preservation treatment to protect its earthen walls and trenches.
in Charleston
, South Carolina
, on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln declared that "an insurrection existed," and called for 75,000 troops to be called up to quash the rebellion. The move sparked resentment in many other southern states, which promptly moved to convene discussions of secession. The Virginia State Convention passed an ordinance of secession and ordered a May 23 referendum to decide whether or not the state should secede from the Union. The U.S. Army responded by creating the Department of Washington, which united all Union troops in the District of Columbia and Maryland under one command.
Brigadier General
J.F.K. Mansfield
, commander of the Department of Washington, argued that Northern Virginia should be occupied as soon as possible in order to prevent the possibility of the Confederate Army mounting artillery on the hills of Arlington and shelling government buildings in Washington. He also urged the erection of fortifications on the Virginia side of the Potomac River
to protect the southern terminuses of the Chain Bridge, Long Bridge, and Aqueduct Bridge
. His superiors approved these recommendations, but decided to wait until after Virginia voted for or against secession.
On May 23, 1861, Virginia voted by a margin of 3 to 1 in favor of leaving the Union. That night, U.S. Army troops began crossing the bridges linking Washington, D.C. to Virginia.
Over the seven weeks that followed the occupation of northern Virginia, forts were constructed along the banks of the Potomac River and at the approaches to each of the three major bridges (Chain Bridge, Long Bridge, and Aqueduct Bridge
) connecting Virginia to Washington and Georgetown
.
While the Potomac River forts were being built, planning and surveying was ordered for an enormous new ring of forts to protect the city. Unlike the fortifications under construction, the new forts would defend the city in all directions, not just the most direct route through Arlington. In mid-July, this work was interrupted by the First Battle of Bull Run
. As the Army of Northeastern Virginia
marched south to Manassas
, the soldiers previously assigned to construction duties marched instead to battle. In the days that followed the Union defeat at Bull Run, panicked efforts were made to defend Washington from what was perceived as an imminent Confederate attack. The makeshift trenches and earthworks that resulted were largely confined to Arlington and the direct approaches to Washington.
On July 26, 1861, five days after the battle, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan
was named commander of the military district of Washington and the subsequently renamed Army of the Potomac
. Upon arriving in Washington, McClellan was appalled by the condition of the city's defenses.
To remedy the situation, one of McClellan's first orders upon taking command was to greatly expand the defenses of Washington. At all points of the compass, forts and entrenchments would be constructed in sufficient strength to defeat any attack. Alexandria, which contained the southern terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
and one of the largest ports in the Chesapeake Bay, was an object of "anxious study."
Lieutenant Colonel William S. Lincoln of the 34th Massachusetts explains in his memoirs that on January 8, 1863 General Barnard, along with a “party of engineers,”
The fort was named in honor of Colonel George L. Willard
, who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg
, on July 2, 1863. The fort was a small, unflanked enclosure with a bombproof and a magazine. The fort had emplacements for fifteen guns, and its armaments consisted of two 24-pound siege guns, two 12-pound howitzers, four 4.5-inch ordinance rifles, four 6-pound guns, two 10-inch siege mortars and two 24-pounder Coehorn mortar
s.
It originally contained three barracks, a guardhouse, officers quarters, a cook house and ordinance sergeants' quarters. Two detached batteries supported the fort. These features have all been displaced by construction of the community around the fort in the 1930s.
Some of the regiments garrisoned at Fort Willard included:
which has designated it as a Resource-based Park.
On October 15, 2011, there was a ribbon cutting for a restoration and interpretive program.
Union Army
The Union Army was the land force that fought for the Union during the American Civil War. It was also known as the Federal Army, the U.S. Army, the Northern Army and the National Army...
installation
Military base
A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. In general, a military base provides accommodations for one or more units, but it may also be used as a...
now located in the Belle Haven
Belle Haven, Fairfax County, Virginia
Belle Haven is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. Nearby CDPs are Huntington, Virginia , Groveton, Virginia and Fort Hunt, Virginia . The population was 6,518 at the 2010 census....
area of Fairfax County
Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County is a county in Virginia, in the United States. Per the 2010 Census, the population of the county is 1,081,726, making it the most populous jurisdiction in the Commonwealth of Virginia, with 13.5% of Virginia's population...
in the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
. It was the southernmost fort built to defend Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. It is currently undergoing preservation treatment to protect its earthen walls and trenches.
Occupation of Northern Virginia
Following the surrender of Fort SumterFort Sumter
Fort Sumter is a Third System masonry coastal fortification located in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The fort is best known as the site upon which the shots initiating the American Civil War were fired, at the Battle of Fort Sumter.- Construction :...
in Charleston
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
, South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
, on April 14, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln declared that "an insurrection existed," and called for 75,000 troops to be called up to quash the rebellion. The move sparked resentment in many other southern states, which promptly moved to convene discussions of secession. The Virginia State Convention passed an ordinance of secession and ordered a May 23 referendum to decide whether or not the state should secede from the Union. The U.S. Army responded by creating the Department of Washington, which united all Union troops in the District of Columbia and Maryland under one command.
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
J.F.K. Mansfield
Joseph K. Mansfield
Joseph King Fenno Mansfield was a career United States Army officer, civil engineer, and a Union general in the American Civil War, mortally wounded at the Battle of Antietam.-Early life:...
, commander of the Department of Washington, argued that Northern Virginia should be occupied as soon as possible in order to prevent the possibility of the Confederate Army mounting artillery on the hills of Arlington and shelling government buildings in Washington. He also urged the erection of fortifications on the Virginia side of the Potomac River
Potomac River
The Potomac River flows into the Chesapeake Bay, located along the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States. The river is approximately long, with a drainage area of about 14,700 square miles...
to protect the southern terminuses of the Chain Bridge, Long Bridge, and Aqueduct Bridge
Aqueduct Bridge
Aqueduct Bridge may refer to:*Potomac Aqueduct Bridge*Aqueduct Bridge , see List of bridges on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana...
. His superiors approved these recommendations, but decided to wait until after Virginia voted for or against secession.
On May 23, 1861, Virginia voted by a margin of 3 to 1 in favor of leaving the Union. That night, U.S. Army troops began crossing the bridges linking Washington, D.C. to Virginia.
Taking the High Ground
Potomac Aqueduct Bridge
The Aqueduct Bridge was a bridge between Georgetown, Washington, D.C., and Rosslyn, Virginia, in Arlington County. It was built to transport cargo-carrying boats on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal in Georgetown across the Potomac River to the Alexandria Canal...
) connecting Virginia to Washington and Georgetown
Georgetown, Maryland
Georgetown is an unincorporated community in Kent County, Maryland, United States. The former Georgetown located in Montgomery County, Maryland, was incorporated into the District of Columbia when it was created in 1790.-References:...
.
While the Potomac River forts were being built, planning and surveying was ordered for an enormous new ring of forts to protect the city. Unlike the fortifications under construction, the new forts would defend the city in all directions, not just the most direct route through Arlington. In mid-July, this work was interrupted by the First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas , was fought on July 21, 1861, in Prince William County, Virginia, near the City of Manassas...
. As the Army of Northeastern Virginia
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
marched south to Manassas
Manassas, Virginia
The City of Manassas is an independent city surrounded by Prince William County and the independent city of Manassas Park in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Its population was 37,821 as of 2010. Manassas also surrounds the county seat for Prince William County but that county...
, the soldiers previously assigned to construction duties marched instead to battle. In the days that followed the Union defeat at Bull Run, panicked efforts were made to defend Washington from what was perceived as an imminent Confederate attack. The makeshift trenches and earthworks that resulted were largely confined to Arlington and the direct approaches to Washington.
On July 26, 1861, five days after the battle, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan
George B. McClellan
George Brinton McClellan was a major general during the American Civil War. He organized the famous Army of the Potomac and served briefly as the general-in-chief of the Union Army. Early in the war, McClellan played an important role in raising a well-trained and organized army for the Union...
was named commander of the military district of Washington and the subsequently renamed Army of the Potomac
Army of the Potomac
The Army of the Potomac was the major Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War.-History:The Army of the Potomac was created in 1861, but was then only the size of a corps . Its nucleus was called the Army of Northeastern Virginia, under Brig. Gen...
. Upon arriving in Washington, McClellan was appalled by the condition of the city's defenses.
"In no quarter were the dispositions for defense such as to offer a vigorous resistance to a respectable body of the enemy, either in the position and numbers of the troops or the number and character of the defensive works... not a single defensive work had been commenced on the Maryland side. There was nothing to prevent the enemy shelling the city from heights within easy range, which could be occupied by a hostile column almost without resistance."
To remedy the situation, one of McClellan's first orders upon taking command was to greatly expand the defenses of Washington. At all points of the compass, forts and entrenchments would be constructed in sufficient strength to defeat any attack. Alexandria, which contained the southern terminus of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal
The Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, abbreviated as the C&O Canal, and occasionally referred to as the "Grand Old Ditch," operated from 1831 until 1924 parallel to the Potomac River in Maryland from Cumberland, Maryland to Washington, D.C. The total length of the canal is about . The elevation change of...
and one of the largest ports in the Chesapeake Bay, was an object of "anxious study."
Planning and construction
Fort Willard was constructed during the latter part of 1862 and early 1863 as Redoubt “D” to Fort Lyon (Virginia) by detachments of the 34th Massachusetts Infantry.Lieutenant Colonel William S. Lincoln of the 34th Massachusetts explains in his memoirs that on January 8, 1863 General Barnard, along with a “party of engineers,”
spent the day running lines for an additional Fort, to be connected by covered ways and rifle pits, with the redoubts we have been constructing; and Lieutenant Schenck [engineer in charge] communicates the not very agreeable information, that the 34th will be required to build the new works. Colonel Wells chafes at this, and says that if we continue our work as we have begun, we shall be converted into a regiment of Engineers.
The fort was named in honor of Colonel George L. Willard
George L. Willard
George Lamb Willard was an officer in the Union Army who commanded a New York regiment and, briefly, a brigade in the American Civil War. He lost his life leading the brigade in the II Corps at the Battle of Gettysburg....
, who was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg , was fought July 1–3, 1863, in and around the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. The battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War, it is often described as the war's turning point. Union Maj. Gen. George Gordon Meade's Army of the Potomac...
, on July 2, 1863. The fort was a small, unflanked enclosure with a bombproof and a magazine. The fort had emplacements for fifteen guns, and its armaments consisted of two 24-pound siege guns, two 12-pound howitzers, four 4.5-inch ordinance rifles, four 6-pound guns, two 10-inch siege mortars and two 24-pounder Coehorn mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
s.
It originally contained three barracks, a guardhouse, officers quarters, a cook house and ordinance sergeants' quarters. Two detached batteries supported the fort. These features have all been displaced by construction of the community around the fort in the 1930s.
Some of the regiments garrisoned at Fort Willard included:
- 34th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
- 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery2nd Connecticut Heavy ArtilleryThe 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery was a volunteer infantry regiment which served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-History:...
- 10th New York Heavy Artillery Regiment
- 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery Regiment1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery RegimentThe 1st Regiment Wisconsin Heavy Artillery was an artillery regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 1st Wisconsin Heavy Artillery was originally organized by companies over a considerable period of time and did not serve together as a complete...
Fort Willard Historic Site
Fort Willard Historic Site is located at 6625 Fort Willard Circle, Alexandria, Virginia 22307-1168. This park contains significant remains of a fort built by the Union Army. The principal features remaining on site consist of earthen fortifications, cannon embrasures or platforms and the remains of a bombproof (bomb shelter) and magazine (arms and gunpowder storage) area. It is owned and maintained by the Fairfax County Park AuthorityFairfax County Park Authority
The Fairfax County Park Authority is a department of the Fairfax County, Virginia county government responsible for developing and maintaining the various parks, historical sites, and recreational areas owned or administered by Fairfax County...
which has designated it as a Resource-based Park.
On October 15, 2011, there was a ribbon cutting for a restoration and interpretive program.