Fort Richardson

Fort Richardson. . , A critical part of the Civil War Defenses of Washington, D.C., Fort Richardson defended the high ground that Confederate artillery could have commanded to shell the nation's capital across the Potomac River. Located on a plateau overlooking Columbia Turnpike, the fort defended a main access point from Virginia to Washington, D.C. via Long Bridge., Defenses of Washington , Fort Richardson was one of 164 Civil War forts and batteries, and one of 68 enclosed forts, that formed the Defenses of Washington, which created a nearly 37-mile defensive perimeter around the Union capital., Protecting the Arlington Line , Fort Richardson was on The Arlington Line, which comprised the Defenses of Washington south of the Potomac River. These fortifications formed a double line. Located on the outer rim, Fort Richardson acted as a first line of defense for forts to its east., Union Troops Cross the Potomac , Virginia seceded from the Union on May 23, 1861. In the wee hours of May 24, Union troops stationed in Washington, D.C. crossed the Potomac River and occupied what is now Arlington County. The following day, construction of fortifications on Arlington Heights began. , (caption) The Advance Guard of the Grand Army of the United States Crossing Long Bridge over the Potomac, at 2 A.M. on May 24, 1861 from Harper's Weekly, June 8, 1861., Abraham Lincoln , In late May 1861, President Lincoln approved his generals' plans to build fortifications in strategic areas of northern Virginia across the Potomac River from the nation's capital. Fort Richardson's construction began on September 1, 1861. Library of Congress, Display provided by the ANCC Foundation