Civil War Defenses of Washington
On forested hills surrounding the nation's capital are the remnants of a complex system of Civil War fortifications. These strategic buttresses transformed the young capital into one of the world's most fortified cities. By 1865, 68 forts and 93 batteries armed with over 800 cannons encircled Washington, DC. Today, you can visit 17 of the original sites now managed by the National Park Service.
Please call 202-829-4650. Directions vary based on your preference of site.
- Arts and Culture
- Theater
- Biking
- Mountain Biking
- Road Biking
- Food
- Picnicking
- Guided Tours
- Self-Guided Tours - Walking
- Self-Guided Tours - Auto
- Hiking
- Living History
- First Person Interpretation
- Junior Ranger Program
- Wildlife Watching
- Park Film
- Burial, Cemetery and Gravesite
- National Cemetery
- Enslavement
- Forts
- Industry
- Mills
- Laborer and Worker
- Military
- Infantry and Militia
- Artillery
- Battlefields
- Monuments and Memorials
- Reconstruction
- Social Movements
- Civil Rights
- Wars and Conflicts
- Civil War
- Animals
- Birds
- Trails
Civil War Defenses Of Washington
Fort Davis (Fall Day)
Battleground National Cemetery
Battleground National Cemetery Luminary
History at Sunset
History at Sunset at Fort Stevens Park, 2021.
Washington DC at War
Fort Stevens Park in Washington DC
The Civil War Defenses Then & Now
Fort Totten Then & Now