Step Back in Time

Step Back in Time. . The Fort Design , You are at the front gate of Ashby's Fort, indicated by the wooden marker you see in the ground. Washington's fort design featured bastions: diamond-shaped structures jutting from each corner. Each bastion enabled a clear, 270° view of approaching forces as well as an excellent position from which to fire on anyone attempting to breach the walls. , , You can see original bastion outlines in the ground to your left and right. Washington urged his men to carry their work out quickly, wasting no effort, for there were neither men nor tools enough to carry on the undertaking "with vigor. , , The four-foot wide front gate opening looks narrow to us, but was wide enough to accommodate horses and the small wagons that could travel the rugged terrain and through virgin forests., Bastions and Accommodations , Although Col. Washington ordered a barracks to be built, it seems that people lived within the bastions, as archaeological evidence that at least two of the bastions were open with room partitions rather than dirt filled to support heavy artillery, as was common on larger military forts.