Fort Washington Park
Fort Washington, located near the community of Fort Washington, Maryland, was for many decades the only defensive fort protecting Washington, D.C. The original fort, overlooking the Potomac River, was completed in 1809, and was begun as Fort Warburton, but renamed in 1808. During the War of 1812, the fort was destroyed by its own garrison during a British advance.
The current historic fort—maintained by the National Park Service—was initially constructed in 1824. It is a stone structure with a good cannon shot down the Potomac River. The fort was extensively remodeled in the 1840s and 1890s. The Fort was turned over to the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1946 after its last military personnel departed.
The expansive grounds of the present Fort Washington Park, with its extensive hiking/bicycle paths and river view, are a scenic venue for picnicking, fishing, and outdoor recreation. Historical re-enactments are held periodically at the Fort, and there is a small museum. In 2006, repairs were done to shore up the crumbling outer wall, in preparation for the 200th anniversary.
The Fort Washington Light, located below the fort, was established in 1857. The current tower, standing 28 feet tall, was constructed in 1882.
History
Native American, colonial, and early independence eras
Native Americans of the Piscataway tribe had long lived in the area where Piscataway Creek meets the Potomac River in southern Maryland and understood the defensive value of the promontory above the river there. When Governor Leonard Calvert first explored the area in 1634, he "found the surrounding heights covered with Indians, to the number of about five hundred, in hostile array." After securing peace with the Piscataway, in 1645 an act for the defense of the province established a garrison of 100 men at the same site at the mouth of Piscataway creek.In 1661, Edward Digges, former Colonial Governor of Virginia established The Manor of Warburton on 1200 acres bounded by Piscataway Creek, the Potomac River and Swan Creek. His heirs continued to live on the property throughout the Colonial period. When George Washington built Mount Vernon, it was almost directly across the river from Warburton Manor. Washington would often visit with the Digges family, or pass through Warburton after crossing the river on his way to Upper Marlboro or Annapolis, Maryland.
Through these visits, and from his vantage point at Mount Vernon, Washington became familiar with the Warburton location and came to understand its defensive advantages on the Potomac River. In 1794, as president, he directed Secretary of War Henry Knox to construct a fortification on the site, with a budget not to exceed $3,000. The money authorized was instead spent trying to construct a fort at Jones Point, on the Virginia side of the river. In 1798 Washington again urged that a fort be built at Digges Point, but no work was done. Finally, in 1805, when Congress was contemplating a second coastal fortification system, the Secretary of War directed Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Williams to evaluate Digges Point for a "circular battery, say of twelve cannon."
1804–1814
Captain George Bomford was assigned to the work and the plans of Fort Madison at Annapolis were used for the Potomac fort. It was soon discovered that the four acres purchased from Thomas Digges was too small. Colonel Williams directed Captain Bomford to lay out the work again but on a reduced scale. The barracks was shifted to one side and one wing shortened to accommodate the new design. Work commenced on April 14, 1808, and was completed on December 1, 1809. It was anticipated that 120 artillerymen would be assigned to the post as a wartime garrison and gunboats from the Navy Yard would support the fort. Captain Bomford described the fort as "an enclosed work of masonry comprehending a semi elliptical face with a circular flank on the side next to the Potomac." There were also quarters for two companies and a total of 15 cannon. On the bluff above the fort, a masonry tower could house one company and six additional cannons. Later, Captain Bomford reported "Fort Washington was really an attempt to adopt a standardized plan to an unsuitable site. It violated a fundamental rule in the art of fortifications—the fort must suit its site."When completed, it was the only fortification on the Potomac River. Perpendicular earthen walls stood 14 feet above the bottom of the ditch that surrounded the river side of the fort. A tower facing the river contained six cannon. Although it mounted twelve or fifteen guns which commanded the river below its position, the American Brigadier General William H. Winder, commanding the military district around Washington, feared that a determined naval force could nevertheless blast its way past the fort. It would then have Washington at its mercy. A survey the previous year also noted that the fort blockhouse was only able to resist musket fire, and could be destroyed by a cannon as small as a twelve-pounder. Its garrison consisted of 49 men under Captain Samuel T. Dyson, of the United States Army's Corps of Artillery, and elements of the U.S. 9th and 12th Infantry Regiments.
On June 18, 1812, the United States declared war on the United Kingdom. At the time, Britain was also at war with France and, with their fleet thus engaged, there was very little British naval activity along or against the American coasts. A British squadron did make an attempt to ascend the Potomac in July 1813, but turned back after meeting some resistance from militia and encountering treacherous shoals. As concern for the security of Washington rose, Major Pierre L'Enfant was sent to evaluate the fort and reported "the whole original design was bad and it is impossible to make a perfect work of it by any alterations." The Secretary of the Navy ordered an additional water battery of 9 guns to be built and manned by seamen under Lieutenant Decius Wadsworth. At this time, the name "Fort Washington" was gaining popularity but official correspondence often indicated Warburton, Digges Point, the Fort at Warburton, Fort Warburton and Fort Washington above the date line.
Destruction
In April, 1814, Napoleon abdicated and was exiled. This freed the British army and navy to focus on the conflict with the United States. In early August, part of a naval squadron under Captain James A. Gordon began ascending the Potomac River from the Chesapeake Bay. The Secretary of War, General John Armstrong, Jr., did not see any military value to Washington. He believed that the British movement toward the Capital was a ruse and insisted that their destination was actually Baltimore, so no effort was made to strengthen the Washington defenses.When the British Army did land near Washington, General Armstrong finally took measures to protect the Capital. On August 22, 1814, Brigadier General Robert Young was ordered to move his 600 militia to the Washington-Piscataway road to defend the approach to the fort now being called Fort Washington. Commander of the Washington defenses, General William Winder, sent orders to Captain Dyson "to advance a guard up to the main road upon all the roads leading to the fort, and in the event of his being taken in the rear of the fort by the enemy, to blow up the fort and retire across the river." Thomas Tingey, Commander of the Navy Yard, proposed placing Marines at Fort Washington but was refused by General Winder who did not consider Fort Washington tenable.
On August 24, the British defeated the American army defending Washington at Bladensburg and captured and occupied the city. While British troops occupied Washington, there were only 56 men at Fort Warburton. The fort had 26 guns ranging from 50-pounder Columbiads to 6-pounder field pieces and over 3,000 pounds of cannon powder. Only nine guns were capable of firing down river. On the 27th, the British fleet of 10 ships approached the fort. Captain Gordon's report states that "A little before sunset the squadron anchored just out of gunshot; the bomb vessels at once took up their position to cover the frigates in the projected attack at daylight next morning and began throwing shells until about 7:00pm. The garrison, to our great surprise, retreated from the fort; and a short time afterward Fort Washington was blown up." The next morning the fleet paused in front of the fort, completed the destruction, then sailed to and captured the city of Alexandria, Virginia, just a few miles upriver.
Captain Dyson was subsequently relieved of his command and ordered to his home in Alexandria. A court martial found him guilty of abandoning his post and destroying government property. He was dismissed from the service, but received no other punishment. The Secretary of War, General Armstrong, was forced to retire and abandon his ambition to become president because of his failure to protect the Capital.
Post-destruction to 1860
Within less than a month of its demolition, Fort Washington began to be rebuilt. The project was directed by James Monroe, acting secretary of war, who again hired Pierre Charles L'Enfant. As work progressed, however, the threat diminished. Concern about the defenses of Washington had lessened considerably by the time news arrived that a peace treaty had been signed in Ghent, Belgium, on December 24, 1814, and that American troops had handily defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans, January 8, 1815.Even before the Treaty of Ghent, Monroe had begun to rein in L'Enfant. In November 1814 he questioned L'Enfant's removal of some of the old fort and asked for greater economy. L'Enfant was told to submit reports on the work in progress and to prepare detailed plans of the new fort for the War Department. Believing he had been insulted, L' Enfant refused to comply. On July 18, 1815, work was halted and two months later, on September 15, L'Enfant was dismissed. He was replaced by Lt. Col. Walker Armistead of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who, within a few weeks, presented the first detailed plans of the proposed work. Construction of the new brick fort progressed steadily under the direction of Armistead's assistant, Capt. T.W. Maurice. On October 2, 1824, the fort was declared finished, though as yet unarmed. It had cost $426,000.
In the 1840s the fort underwent an extensive remodeling program to bring it up to the standards of the third generation of coastal fortifications. Work crews constructed 88 permanent gun platforms, increased the height of the east wall, rebuilt the drawbridge, strengthened the powder magazines, and added a caponier to protect the approaches from Piscataway Creek.
Growing shortages in the number of personnel after the Mexican War stretched the resources of the U.S. Army. At Fort Washington, as at many other posts, the garrison was withdrawn leaving only a skeleton maintenance staff. In fact, between 1853 and 1861, only one soldier, Ordnance Sergeant Joseph Cameron, was stationed full-time at the fort.