Fort Marcy was a Union fortification protecting Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War. Its remains are now administered by the National Park Service as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway in Fairfax County, Virginia.
History
thumb|left|Looking towards Fort Marcy's ramparts, November 2020
Fort Marcy is approximately south of the Potomac River on the south side of the Chain Bridge Road leading from Chain Bridge to Langley and McLean, Virginia. By car it can only be reached from the northbound lanes of the George Washington Parkway. The hill on which the fort is located was known as Prospect Hill. It is near the location where the famous but bloodless duel between Henry Clay and John Randolph was fought in 1826.
The perimeter of the fort is . When completed, the fort mounted 18 guns, a 10-inch (25 cm) mortar and two 24-pound (10 kg) Coehorn mortars. The batteries were aimed toward the south and west.
Originally the fort was called Fort Baldy Smith, after General William Farrar Smith, the troops of whose division began construction of the work.
His division crossed Chain Bridge on the night of September 24, 1861, and immediately commenced construction of Fort Marcy and Fort Ethan Allen.
Kevin Ward
The body of Kevin Ward, the mayor of Hyattsville, Maryland, was found in Fort Marcy Park by United States Park Police officers on January 25, 2022, after an apparent suicide. The cause of death was reported to be a gunshot wound.
References
External links
- Fort Marcy at the National Park Service website