Fort Washington Park

Fort Washington Park
13551 Fort Washington Road
Fort Washington, MD 20744
(301) 763-4600

You can run, but you can’t hide. While the Napoleonic Wars were bringing unprecedented destruction to the European continent, the United States of America attempted to maintain a policy of strict neutrality. As the conflict extended to the Caribbean, Congress thought the war dangerously close and authorized establishment of a system of fortifications to protect the nation’s most important seaports. A masonry fortification guarding the approach to the nation’s capitol via the Potomac River was completed in 1809. The name Fort Warburton was commonly used for the first couple of years, but the alternative name Fort Washington gained in popularity until its usage became universal.

American entanglement in the European conflict increased, and Congress declared war on Great Britain in 1812. Napoleon was forced to abdicate in 1814, which freed the British to launch a campaign against the Americans in the Chesapeake Bay region, which resulted in the Burning of Washington. Fort Washington had been spared because the British advance on the American capitol had not been by way of the Potomac River, but a few days after the Burning of Washington a British fleet approached the fort. Realizing that their position was untenable, the American garrison retreated and blew up the original Fort Washington.

Remember: You can run, but you can’t hide.

After the War of 1812 there was widespread belief that Britain would never allow America to rise to national greatness or become an independent economic power. The government began preparing for the next American-European war by planning a new seacoast fortification system. The new Fort Washington was completed in 1824 and armed with large seacoast cannons in 1842. During the Civil War, Fort Foote and Battery Rogers were constructed upriver and 68 forts were built around the Capital to protect against land attack. After the Civil War, the circle of forts was dismantled. Fort Washington and Fort Foote were retained as seacoast forts but the structures were considered to be outdated, and plans were made to reinforce them with heavy gun batteries.

Work progressed slowly until the War with Spain in 1898. When the Battleship Maine went down, Washington D.C. defenses consisted of three heavy gun batteries at Fort Washington. The threat of a Spanish invasion created new interest in defense and Fort Washington became a large military post and headquarters for the Artillery District of the Potomac, a state-of-the-art defense system that included works on both sides of the Potomac River. By 1906, Fort Washington had eight gun batteries and two mining casemates, which were underground rooms for firing electrically detonated mines.

During World War I, the post was used as a staging area for troops being sent to France, and three of Fort Washington’s 10 inch-guns were removed and sent to Europe for use on railroads. After the war, the post was occupied by a ceremonial infantry unit and only a caretaker detachment of coast artillerymen remained. Finally, in 1939, the remaining coast artillery guns were removed from Fort Washington and the Artillery District of the Potomac ceased to exist. The ever escalating power of artillery, the invention of the airplane and the rise of mobile warfare had combined to render permanent fortifications obsolete.

Today’s Fort Washington Park includes expansive park grounds used for fishing and outdoor recreation. There are extensive hiking and bicycle paths, and the river view provides a scenic backdrop for a family picnic. Historical reenactments are held periodically at the fort, and a small museum is in the visitor center.

The main gateway faces north; it was constructed between 1820 and 1824 with a drawbridge in front. The drawbridge could be raised upon the approach of an enemy force. To your right the Potomac River flows towards the distant horizon, i.e. to the south. The second photo was taken while standing above the guard house, which is adjacent to the main gateway.

In the top photo I’m standing at the southern corner of the inner wall, so the gatehouse is now at the opposite end. The second photo shows the gatehouse from up close. To the right of the archway is the guard house, and to the left is the guard room. The guard house was for soldiers on duty, and the guard room contained a small cell for solitary confinement and a larger cell for general confinement. The long building to your right (in the top photo) was the officers quarters, and was completed in 1824. They were designed to accommodate Commissioned Officers and their families.

This is the northwest demi-bastion. A demi-bastion is a section of the fort that projects beyond the main wall and provides concentrated defensive fire. The bastion design includes two levels of artillery. Guns were mounted on the parapet above and in the casemates at the base of the wall. When the fort was armed in the 1840s, however, guns were installed at the upper level only.

The top photo shows the remains of Battery Decatur, a reinforced concrete emplacement completed in 1891. The view is facing north, the fort is behind you and the Potomac River is to your left. The ground in front of the battery was maintained to resemble a natural earth slope and care was taken to insure that the exact position of the battery was not easily ascertained from the water. It mounted two 10-inch disappearing guns whose firing range was approximately seven miles. The lower rooms of the battery were for shot, shell, and powder storage with cranes and hoists for moving heavy ammunition up to the gun platforms.

The guns were aimed and fired by means of complex range finding and fire control equipment centered in the battery commander’s station, shown in the second photograph.