Fort Marcy
was a Union fortification protecting
Washington, D.C.
during the
American Civil War
. Its remains are now administered by the
National Park Service
as part of the
George Washington Memorial Parkway
in
Fairfax County, Virginia
.
History
[
edit
]
Looking towards Fort Marcy's ramparts, November 2020
Fort Marcy is approximately
1
⁄
2
mile (0.80 km) south of the
Potomac River
on the south side of the Chain Bridge Road leading from Chain Bridge to
Langley
and
McLean, Virginia
. By car it can only be reached from the northbound lanes of the George Washington Parkway. The hill on which the fort is located was known as Prospect Hill. It is near the location where the famous but bloodless duel between
Henry Clay
and
John Randolph
was fought in 1826.
The perimeter of the fort is 338 feet (103 m). When completed, the fort mounted 18 guns, a 10-inch (25 cm) mortar and two 24-pound (10 kg)
Coehorn mortars
. The batteries were aimed toward the south and west.
[1]
Originally the fort was called Fort Baldy Smith, after General
William Farrar Smith
, the troops of whose division began construction of the work.
His division crossed
Chain Bridge
on the night of September 24, 1861, and immediately commenced construction of Fort Marcy and
Fort Ethan Allen
.
[1]
The
79th New York Highlanders
, the
141st Pennsylvania
and the
Iron Brigade
also helped complete the work in the fall of 1862.
A force of about 500 contrabands were also employed and the
152nd New York
worked on the entrenchments, which are still in a very good state of preservation. The fort was not completed until the fall of 1862.
It is a relatively undisturbed fort and was named in honor of a native of
Massachusetts
,
Randolph B. Marcy
, a distinguished soldier, father-in-law and chief of staff to General
George B. McClellan
.
[1]
Detachments of the 4th New York and 3rd Pennsylvania Heavy Artillery and the
130th Pennsylvania Infantry
were among the troops that performed garrison duty here during the war.
An interesting incident of history is that the body of troops which afterwards became famous as the "Iron Brigade" was originated at this fort in the summer of 1861, and was composed of the 19th Indiana, the 2nd, 6th and 7th Wisconsin Regiments. The 24th Michigan was added to the brigade soon after the
Battle of South Mountain
. These units remained together until the close of the war.
At the end of the Civil War in 1865, the system of fortifications (now known as
Fort Circle Parks
) which surrounded Washington, D.C. were dismantled. The lumber and other materials were sold at auctions and the land returned to pre-war owners.
Modern history
[
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]
Entrance to Fort Marcy Park, photos and maps
Vincent Foster
[
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]
The body of former deputy
White House Counsel
Vince Foster
was found in Fort Marcy Park following his death on July 20, 1993.
[2]
Kevin Ward
[
edit
]
The body of Kevin Ward, the mayor of
Hyattsville, Maryland
, was found in Fort Marcy Park by United States Park Police officers on January 25, 2022, after an apparent suicide. The cause of death was reported to be a gunshot wound.
[3]
References
[
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]
External links
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]
Fairfax County in the American Civil War
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