Fort Williams (Virginia)
| Fort Williams | |
|---|---|
| Part of the Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C. | |
| Alexandria, Virginia | |
 Fort Williams located in the backyard of 212 Quaker Lane in Alexandria, Virginia | |
| Coordinates | 38°48′42″N 77°05′24″W / 38.81180°N 77.09000°W |
| Type | Earthwork fort |
| Site information | |
| Controlled by | Union Army |
| Condition | Dismantled |
| Site history | |
| Built | 1861 |
| Built by | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| In use | 1861–1865 |
| Materials | Earth, timber |
| Demolished | 1865 |
| Battles/wars | American Civil War |
Fort Williams was a timber and earthwork fortification constructed in Alexandria, Virginia as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War.
History
[edit]Fort Williams was named for Thomas Williams who was killed at Baton Rouge on August 5, 1862.
Built in the weeks following the Union defeat at Bull Run, Fort Williams was situated on north of Hunting Creek and Cameron Run, (which feeds into it), near Vaucluse. From its position on Quaker Lane, one of the points west of Alexandria, the fort overlooked the Orange and Alexandria Railroad, the Little River Turnpike, and the western approaches to the city of Alexandria which is the largest settlement in Union-occupied Northern Virginia.
Built by the 2nd Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment, Fort Williams had a perimeter of 250 yards, and space for 13 guns.[1]
The Fort is now located in the backyard of a property in the Seminary Ridge neighborhood.[2] Portions are also included in a 7.80 acres (31,600 m2) Alexandria, Virginia city park, at 501 Fort Williams Parkway.[3] A small cemetery with the gravesites of several Union soldiers was located in the woods off the southeast corner of Seminary Road and Fort Williams Parkway. The graves were not well known and were desecrated when homes were built on that plot in the mid-1980s.
Among those stationed at the fort during the war was George Tryon Harding, father of Warren G. Harding, who spent time there in 1864.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Cooling III, Benjamin Franklin; Owen II, Walton H. (6 October 2009). Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington. Scarecrow Press. pp. 64–70. ISBN 978-0-8108-6307-1.
- ^ oldtowncrier (1 March 2017). "Traitor's Hill". Retrieved 26 July 2017.
- ^ Parks E-H | Recreation | City of Alexandria, VA
- ^ Young, Jeff C. (1997). The Fathers of American Presidents: from Augustine Washington to William Blythe and Roger Clinton. Jefferson NC McFarland & Co. p. 143. ISBN 0786401826.
External links
[edit]- U.S. National Park Service Historic Resource Study of the Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C.
- Fort Williams Park - City of Alexandria
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- Government buildings completed in 1861
- Military installations established in 1861
- Civil War defenses of Washington, D.C.
- American Civil War forts in Virginia
- Buildings and structures in Alexandria, Virginia
- Parks in Alexandria, Virginia
- 1861 establishments in Virginia
- 1865 disestablishments in Virginia
- Military installations closed in 1865
- American Civil War stubs