Tenleytown in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
A Field of Many Battles
Civil War Defenses of Washington
| | National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior | |
Many people have crossed this land before you.
Can you hear them when you look over these fields?
Laughter as children run between the neighborhood called Reno. Shouts from soldiers as they rush to their positions on the fort. the first kick of drums echoing over a concert crowd. Songs of sorrow and hope voiced by enslaved people working on plantations named Mount Airy and Oak Lawn.
Take a moment to reflect on how our voices might mingle with theirs.
Many people have valued the field under you. The Piscataway are the oldest known people to make use of it. European colonists claimed it, then the Union Army, African Americans, and finally the District and the Federal governments.
The image below was taken from the brick water tower nearby. It shows the largely Black Reno neighborhood in the early 1930s, before it was cleared for the exclusive suburbs that appear beyond the fields where Jackson-Reed High School now stands.
There is a lot of detail in this image.
Do you see the person in the fields?
Can you find laundry hung up behind someone's house?
Can you see the National Cathedral under construction?
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Forts and Castles • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil.
Location. 38° 57.058′ N, 77° 4.644′ W. Marker is in Northwest Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Tenleytown. It is on Chesapeake Street Northwest west of Nebraska Avenue Northwest, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3815 Chesapeake St NW, Washington DC 20016, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Washington Metropolitan Area. It is also in the American Northeast, in the Upper South, in the Mid-Atlantic, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Fort Reno (a few steps from this marker); The Civil War Defenses of Washington (within shouting distance of this marker); Reservoir / Reno City (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Fort Reno (within shouting distance of this marker); a different marker also named Fort Reno (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Reno City (about 400 feet away); a different marker also named Fort Reno (about 500 feet away); a different marker also named Fort Reno (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Northwest Washington.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on March 14, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 13 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 14, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
