Fort Carroll Marker

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Anacostia in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Fort Carroll
Civil War Defenses of Washington
— 1861-1865 —

Fort Carroll Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008

1. Fort Carroll Marker

Inscription. Earthworks of Fort Carroll are visible 100 yards to the right at the top of the hill.

Fort Carroll was named in honor of Maj. Gen. Samuel Sprigg Carroll, a West Point graduate from the District of Columbia.

Erected by National Park Service.

Marker series. This marker is included in the Defenses of Washington marker series.

Location. 38° 50.223′ N, 77° 0.417′ W. Marker is in Anacostia, District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is on Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE 0.1 miles north of South Capitol Street, on the right when traveling west. Click for map. Located in the Fort Carroll Park. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3720 Martin Luther King, Jr. Avenue SE, Washington DC 20032, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, as the crow flies. In Memory of Col. Raynal C. Bolling (approx. 0.4 miles away); Republic F-105D Thunderchief (approx. 0.6 miles away); Fort Greble (approx. 0.9 miles away); Bolling Air Force Base (approx. 0.9 miles away); Giesboro Park (approx. 0.9 miles away); St. Elizabeths Hospital (approx. 1.4 miles away); "The Gun" (approx. 1.4 miles away); T-28 Trojan (approx. 1.7 miles away). Click for a list of all markers in Anacostia.

More about this marker.

Close Up of the Fort Plan and Map of other Forts Photo, Click for full size

By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008

2. Close Up of the Fort Plan and Map of other Forts

The marker displays a plan of Fort Carroll from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drawing. A map shows other Civil War fortifications surrounding Washington, D.C. administered by the park service. The bottom of the marker is a wartime photo, used on many markers of this series, of a gun at Fort Totten, captioned During the Civil War, Washington's forts overlooked farm land.

Also see . . . Fort Carroll. National Park Service page on the fort and nearby Fort Greble. (Submitted on August 22, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)

Additional comments.
1. Fort Carroll Particulars
From "Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington," by Benjamin Franklin Cooling III and Walton H. Owen II:

The fort had a perimeter of 340 yards. It covered what was Piscataway Road, passing up Oxen Run. Battery Carroll, with four unoccupied positions and another small redoubt were outer works to Fort Carroll

In 1862 armament included two 8-inch siege howitzers, four 32-pdr. seacoast guns, six 12-pdr field guns, one 30-pdr Parrott rifle, and one 24-pdr. Coehorn mortar. However by 1864 the armament had evolved to one 12-pdr field gun, twelve 32-pdr seacoast guns, one 8-inch siege howitzer, two 30-pdr Parrott rifles, and one 24-pdr Coehorn mortar.

Units which spent time at this fort included the 70th New York Infantry, 4th and 10th New York Heavy Artillery, 17th and 19th Maine Heavy Artillery, 9th Rhode Island Infantry, and 8th Massachusetts Heavy Artillery.

In addition to the fortifications, the grounds became an administrative hub for this section of the Washington Defenses, including hospitals, provost marshal facilities, and garrison headquarters. After the war the fort was used for a short time by the Signal Corps.

By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008

3. Fort Carroll Marker

The fort and battery remains are behind the marker to the west of the avenue.

— Submitted August 22, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.

View westward from near Fort Carroll Marker Photo, Click for full size

By Richard E. Miller, November 27, 2009

4. View westward from near Fort Carroll Marker

South Capitol Street intersection with the Anacostia Freeway (I-295), Bolling Air Base beyond, and downtown Washington in the background across the Potomac River.