| Maryland (Prince George's County), Fort Washington — Fort Foote — Protecting the Nation’s Capital |
| | High on a bluff, a hundred feet above the Potomac River, twelve heavy guns commanded the approach to the city. Smaller cannon were placed to protect Fort Foote from landward attack. Numerous buildings were constructed to house and support the large garrison of troops that built the fort and manned the big guns. Construction of this Civil War earthworks began in 1863. It was the largest and southernmost bastion in a ring of 68 forts that were hurriedly laid out, armed and manned. Fort Foote . . . — Map (db m4168) |
| Maryland (Prince George's County), Fort Washington — King's Depression Carriage |
| | Capt. Rufus King, Jr. devised a counterweight system and front-pintle mount that would allow the 49,000 pdr. Rodman Gun to depress during loading. Except for the brief periods of exposure to enemy fire during the aiming and firing of the gun, the crew could remain protected behind the high parapets of the fort. — Map (db m7625) |
| Maryland (Prince George's County), Fort Washington — Northwest Bastion |
| | Protecting the fort against land attack Armed with smaller field and siege guns, the landward bastions could deliver a sustained cannonade of 12- and 30-pounder shells. The long central traverse provided protection and contained magazines and bombproofs. — Map (db m7632) |
| Maryland (Prince George's County), Fort Washington — The Defenses of Washington |
| | At the start of the Civil War, Washington was protected by only one fort, Fort Washington guarding the Potomac River approach. The capital city was uncomfortably close to Confederate forces operating in Northern Virginia. by 1864, a system of earthen fortifications had been completed. The forts were well garrisoned and armed with large numbers of guns of diverse sizes and calibers. The war ended in the spring of 1865, and a year later all but a few forts were abandoned and their brief service ended. — Map (db m7635) |
| Maryland (Prince George's County), Fort Washington — 15-inch Rodman Smoothbore |
| | Among the largest cannon used in the Civil War Monumental in size, these two immense guns remain as sentinels ready to repel an attack on the Nation's capital. With their extended range and commanding location above the river, they were the key defensive feature of the fort. Perhaps because of their formidable weight, the guns (original armament of the fort) have not been moved since their installation in 1864. Immobile as these huge guns may appear, a well drilled crew of 12 men could . . . — Map (db m7636) |
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