Woodland in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Battery Ricketts
Civil War Defenses of Washington
— 1861-1865 —
Photographed By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008
1. Battery Ricketts Marker
Earthworks of Battery Ricketts are visible inside the wooded area in front of you.
Battery Ricketts, built to defend an area in front of Fort Stanton, was named for Maj. Gen. James B. Ricketts.
Erected by National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Forts and Castles • War, US Civil. In addition, it is included in the Defenses of Washington series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1861.
Location. 38° 51.401′ N, 76° 58.512′ W. Marker is in Southeast Washington in Washington, District of Columbia. It is in Woodland. Marker is at the intersection of Bruce Place Southeast and Raynolds Place Southeast, on the right when traveling north on Bruce Place Southeast. Located in Fort Stanton Park. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2782 Bruce Place Southeast, Washington DC 20020, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Thurgood Marshall (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Allen Chapel AME Church Stormwater Features (approx. ¼ mile away); Freedom Grove (1838) (approx. 0.3 miles away); Memorial Grove (1841-1895) (approx. 0.3 miles away); Escape Allée (1838) (approx. 0.3 miles
this page online
More about this marker. The marker displays a plan of Battery Ricketts 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 . . .
1. Fort Ricketts. National Park Service page on the fort. (Submitted on August 22, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)
2. Fort Stanton. Wikipedia entry covering Fort Stanton and surrounding fortifications. (Submitted on August 22, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.)
3. James Brewerton Ricketts, U.S. Army. (Submitted on March 13, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland.)
Additional commentary.
Photographed By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008
2. Battery Ricketts Marker
The remains of Battery Ricketts are behind the marker in the overgrowth.
From "Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington," by Benjamin Franklin Cooling III and Walton H. Owen II:
Noted as a "Fort" in some references, this work had a perimeter of 123 yards. The form was an enclosed battery or redoubt. Its purpose was to defend an exposed ravine, which was a blind side to nearby Fort Stanton. Thus Forts Stanton, Ricketts, and Fort Snyder (further to the south) defended the approaches to the Navy Yard Bridge.
The fort's armament evolved over time. In February 1862 it boasted four 32-pdr seacoast guns. By March 1864 these were replaced by three 12-pdr howitzers and one 8-inch siege howitzer. A year later the howitzers were upgraded to 12-pdr Napoleons.
Units stationed at different times at the fort included the 59th New York Infantry, 4th, 9th, and 10th New York Heavy Artillery, 88th and 99th Pennsylvania Infantry, 9th Rhode Island Infantry, 17th and 19th Maine Infantry, 3rd Massachusetts Heavy Artillery, Batteries F and G Independent Pennsylvania Artillery, and the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery.
The fort was likely named for General James B. Ricketts. But may also have been named for Captain R. Bruce Ricketts, later chief of artillery of the IX Corps.
— Submitted August 22, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, 
Virginia.
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, August 19, 2011
3. Fort Stanton and Fort Ricketts
- signage on Fort Place, SE (around the corner from the Ricketts marker), reflecting the contiguous situation of the two Fort Circle Park units.
Brady (Library of Congress)
4. General Ricketts
Photographed By Richard E. Miller, August 19, 2011
5. Anacostia Community Museum
1901 Fort Place, SE - the neighborhood's main attraction - across the street from the Fort Circle Parks.
National Archives
6. Rickett's Battery
Plan and Section of Battery Ricketts and Plan and Section of Fort Wagner - NAID: 117886829, Drawer 170, Sheet 022, Maps and Charts.
Credits. This page was last revised on March 23, 2024. It was originally submitted on August 22, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 3,052 times since then and 24 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on August 22, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. 3. submitted on August 30, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 4. submitted on March 13, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 5. submitted on August 30, 2011, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. 6. submitted on March 22, 2024, by Allen C. Browne of Silver Spring, Maryland.
