Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) in Washington, District of Columbia — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)

Giesboro Park

By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008

1. Giesboro Park Marker

Inscription. The Gisborough Estate (1680-1890) was a large colonial land grant that included part of what is now Bolling Air Force Base. That name eventually came to be spelled "Giesboro" and from 1863 to 1866 this area was the location of a large cavalry depot for the Union Army, and an adjoining cavalry base, Camp Stoneman. The Giesboro plantation residence was located in the area that now comprises Giesboro Park.

Location. 38° 50.85′ N, 77° 1.087′ W. Marker is in Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), District of Columbia, in Washington. Marker is on MacDill Boulevard. Touch for map. Located at the entrance to the athletic fields in Giesboro Park. Marker is in this post office area: Washington DC 20032, United States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Republic F-105D Thunderchief (approx. 0.4 miles away); Bolling Air Force Base (approx. half a mile away); In Memory of Col. Raynal C. Bolling (approx. 0.6 miles away); "The Gun" (approx. ¾ mile away); Engineering a Landmark (approx. 0.9 miles away); Fort Carroll (approx. 0.9 miles away); Congress Heights School (approx. 1.1 miles away); T-28 Trojan (approx. 1.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB).

Categories. • Settlements & Settlers • War, US Civil •

Giesboro Park Entrance image. Click for full size.

By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008

2. Giesboro Park Entrance

Giesboro Today image. Click for full size.

By Craig Swain, August 7, 2008

3. Giesboro Today

No vestiges of Camp Stoneman or the depot exist today. The ridge line paralleling the Potomac River at this point (in the distance beyond the houses) was heavily fortified during the Civil War. The cavalry camp occupied the low ground between the ridge and the river. Since the 1860s land has been reclaimed from the river, new road structures in place, and new buildings erected.

Band at Camp Stoneman image. Click for full size.

Library of Congress Collection

4. Band at Camp Stoneman

A view of the camp streets when the cavalry camp was in use. Today the United States Air Force Band uses several buildings on the Air Base.
[Libray of Congress: Civil War photographs, 1861-1865 / compiled by Hirst D. Milhollen and Donald H. Mugridge, Washington, D.C. : Library of Congress, 1977. No. 0782, Call number LC-B817- 7350]

Cavalry Depot image. Click for full size.

Library of Congress Collection

5. Cavalry Depot

This wartime photo looks from the high ground near where today South Capital Street and Interstate 278 pass. Several distinctive "Sibley" tents are arranged on the low ground. In the distant right center is a rather prominent building, that may be the U.S. Capital dome. If so, then the camera was angled almost due north, looking across the Anacostia River. The photo is dated May 1864.
[Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, Call Number LC-B817- 7015[P&P]]

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on August 7, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 4,222 times since then and 33 times this year. Last updated on March 24, 2013, by Richard E. Miller of Oxon Hill, Maryland. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 7, 2008, by Craig Swain of Leesburg, Virginia.