Fort Washington

Located about ten miles south of Washington D.C., Fort Washington helped protect the city from attack for over a century. It was first erected in 1808 and rebuilt between 1815-1824, and remained a military installation until 1946 (except between 1872-1896 and 1939-1941) when it was transferred to the Department of the Interior. It is now a park operated National Park Service. In addition to Fort Washington, the grounds feature the remains of eight batteries, the Fort Washington Light, a visitor center, hiking trails and bike paths, picnic areas, and restrooms. The fort, which was named in honor of President George Washington, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1966. It is located across the river from Fort Hunt Park, which preserves the site of a small base established in the 1890s that also closed in 1946.

President George Washington, who had long recognized the strategic value of the site above confluence of the Potomac River and Piscataway Creek, proposed the construction of a fort here in 1794. His estate, Mt. Vernon, is located a few miles to the west and he often took a ferry across the Potomac to visit a historic home called Warburton Manor, which stood on the grounds of the park between 1729-1819. The fort was built between 1808-1809 and named Fort Warburton (it was eventually called Fort Washington).

On August 27, 1814 in the midst the War of 1812, a British fleet of ten ships approached the fort and began shelling it. However, the commander of 56 Americans stationed at the fort, Captain Samuel Dyson, had ordered his men to abandon and destroy it. At the time, the fort had 26 guns and 3,000 pounds of gunpowder, but only nine of the guns could fire downriver. Dyson was eventually relieved of his command and found guilty of abandoning his post and destroying government property. He was also dismissed from the army.

However, soon after the fort's destruction the acting Secretary of State, James Monroe, ordered the fort to be rebuilt. The work began in 1815 was completed in 1824. The fort underwent repairs and regular maintenance in the coming years but was strengthened and updated to current standards in the 1840s. It was the only fort protecting Washington D.C. until the Civil War when a series of temporary forts were built around the city. In 1872, the garrison was ordered to leave and the fort was unoccupied until 1896. New guns in concrete emplacements were installed and two of the first eight concrete batteries were built (four batteries were eventually built at Fort Hunt as well).

By World War I, the large guns at Fort Washington were no longer needed and were removed. During the war the fort was used as a staging area for troops heading to Europe, including those of the 8th Artillery Battalion, which became the 53rd Railroad Artillery Regiment in France. The fort became the headquarters of the 3rd Battalion of the 12th U.S. Infantry after the war. The battalion served as the ceremonial unit for the Military District of Washington and participated in a variety of functions including parades.

Congress designated the fort as a park in 1930 but the battalion did not vacate it until 1939. By then the fort was intended to be a terminal point for the planned George Washington Memorial Parkway but the U.S. entry into World War II upended that idea. The fort then became the home of the Adjutant General's School. In 1943, the 67th detachment of the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, which was responsible for communications, clerical and transportation duties, became part of the school. A few government agencies, including the Veterans Administration, used some of the buildings at the fort towards the end of the war. Its military usage finally came to an end in 1946.

"Fort Washington Park Foundation Document Overview." National Park Service. Accessed December 1, 2022. http://npshistory.com/publications/foundation-documents/fowa-fd-overview.pdf.

Nickels, Dr. Marilyn. "Fort Washington." National Park Service - National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form. October 15, 1966. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/2d04aefc-d0dd-4c75-88af-5c17febc5ac4.