Fort Woodbury was part of the Arlington Line

Arlington Line

The Arlington Line was a series of fortifications erected in present-day Arlington County, Virginia, to protect the City of Washington during the American Civil War....

, an extensive network of fortifications erected in present-day Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington County, Virginia

Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The land that became Arlington was originally donated by Virginia to the United States government to form part of the new federal capital district. On February 27, 1801, the United States Congress organized the area as a subdivision of...

 to protect 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....

 from Confederate

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 attack during 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...

. Construction began on the Arlington Line in May 1861, shortly after war broke out, and accelerated after the Union's defeat at 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...

 in July 1861.

Fort Woodbury was a lunette

Lunette (fortification)

In fortification a lunette was originally an outwork of half-moon shape; later it became a redan with short flanks, in trace somewhat resembling a bastion standing by itself without curtains on either side...

 with a 275-yard perimeter and 19 emplacements for 13 guns. It stood in what is today Arlington's Courthouse neighborhood

Courthouse, Virginia

Courthouse is a transit-oriented neighborhood in Arlington County, Virginia. It is home to the Court House stop on the Orange Line of the Washington Metro....

, near the current Arlington County Courthouse and atop one of Arlington's highest hills. It was close to the current location of Fort Myer

Fort Myer

Fort Myer is a U.S. Army post adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. It is a small post by U.S...

. The fort is named for Major D.P. Woodbury

Daniel Phineas Woodbury

Daniel Phineas Woodbury was an American soldier and an engineer during the American Civil War.-Birth and early years:...

, the engineer who designed and constructed the Line. Woodbury Heights, a high-rise condominium built in the 1980s near the Fort Woodbury site, is also named for the fort.

A historical marker memorializes the fort's location and is located at North Court House Road and 14th Street North. The marker's inscription reads:

"Immediately behind the present Court House stood Fort Woodbury, a Iunette in the Arlington Line constructed in August 1861. It had a perimeter of 275 yards and 19 emplacements for 13 guns. It was named for Major D.P. Woodbury, the Engineer who designed and constructed the Arlington Line."