Neighborhood Conservation Project at Fort Park Arlington, ✯ 50% Interpretive Design Presented April 17, 2013 Schematic Site Plan • January 2013 Evaluating the height of the fence, especially by the soccer Considering suggestion to add eld. a trash can along Old Glebe Road or along the sidewalk by the parking lot.

FENCE

Refined Site Plan • April 2013 Fort Ethan Allen Park

Parking at Madison Community Center

Property Sign - 54” x 36” face low profile rail mounted unit nearest parking lot low profile traditional unit in other locations

Panel Samples - 24” x 36” Angled Face Proposed Fence Mesh • Invisinet Exclusion Cable Alternate Fence Mesh • Bankers Wire Alternate Fence Mesh • Wire Mesh Enlarged Site Plan • Viewing Area A PNIELCIIIOONC.WM.L.

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FOUNDATION PLAN

SITE PLAN -VIEWING AREA "A" 1W=1'-o"

Viewing Area A - Plans and Section Welcome to Fort Ethan Allen Much remains of Fort Ethan Allen, a critical part of the defense of Washington, D.C., during the Civil War. Fort Ethan Allen defended the southern approaches to Chain Bridge, one of three spans Confederates could have used to cross the Potomac and invade Washington. Unlike many Civil War sites, Fort Ethan Allen saw no major battles. But that does not diminish its value: The fort’s very existence deterred an assault. The Confederate army never launched a large-scale attack on the capital. “The possession of Chain Bridge communication with the opposite shore of the Potomac . . . was essential to the operation of our forces Defenses of Washington Washington, D.C., was the most heavily forti ed in Virginia and to the prestige of our arms.” city in the Union during the Civil War. By the war’s end, 164 major forts and batteries — General John G. Barnard, U.S. Army, 1871 comprised a 37-mile defensive perimeter.

View across Chain Bridge from Washington Forth Ethan Allen served as a bridge- head, defending Chain Bridge from in ltration from the south. Non-mili- tary uses of the bridge ceased in 1861 in order to maintain communi- cation and troop movement across Abraham Lincoln the Potomac between Washington In late May 1861, President Lincoln and Union-held territory in Virginia. ordered US Army troops to seize strategic areas in Virginia across the for forti cations. Lincoln inspected Fort Ethan Allen during its construction in September of 1861. Fort Marcy Fort Ethan Allen Chain Bridge Fort Ethan Allen and nearby Fort Marcy The fort was located on high ground bounded by a The strategic importance of Chain Bridge were connected by xxxx to shore up their natural ravine, Pimmit Run. Surrounding land was was re ected in the degree of protection protection of Chain Bridge. cleared of trees to open sight lines in all directions. it received on both sides of the Potomac.

Will be adding labels to the map for Fort Ethan Allen, Fort Marcy, Pimmit Run, Chain Bridge, Potomac River, Washington DC batteries at the DC end of Chain Bridge, route to Leesburg. Will shadow in and label Military Roard, Old Glebe Road, and George Washington Parkway as a current-day reference.Also more detailed topography.

Interpretive Panel 1 • in progress Illustration will be detailed and in full color A Defensive Stronghold, Heavily Armed No enemy would have gotten as close to Fort Ethan Allen as you are now. A half-mile perimeter of earthen walls and deep ditches enclosed the fort. Inside, as many as 1,000 soldiers manned the fort’s of 36 guns, some with a range of several miles. A rugged, steep ravine between the fort and the Potomac River near Chain Bridge also deterred an attack. The closest ghting to Fort Ethan Allen occurred at

Man Your Guns Fort Stevens, six miles to the northeast in Washington, D.C. When ring cannons, artillery soldiers stood on a level earthen platform behind the fort’s thick, steep walls. A replica 20-pound Parrott Ri e, is behind the “Quote to come quote to come quote to come quote to come quote surviving rampart in front of you. to come quote to come quote to come quote to come quote to A Confederate Sneak Attack? Unlikely. Attacking Confederate soldiers would come quote to come quote to come quote to come quote to come have been moving across open terrain and greeted by Union ri emen, concealed in deep quote to come quote to come quote to come.” trenches and ring from higher ground.

The Face of The Fort in Pro le Sections of the Fort Remain the Fort parapet glacis The red line superimposed The red line indicates the Parts of the south face of the fort are visible. rampart on an 1871 engineer’s location of the gunports drawing shows changes in A rampart — the fort’s main earthen wall — rose and the height of the ram- the pro le of the land- part before they had scape. behind a deep ditch that surrounded the fort to eroded. Trees now grow impede enemy access. Cannons red through up in what was a steeply sloped, six-foot ditch. ditch gunports, usually openings in the top of a parapet elevated on the main wall.

Help us preserve this piece of Civil War history . Please do not climb on the remaining earthworks. Thank you.

Interpretive Panel 2 • in progress Illustration will be based on Versar’s 3D rendering

A Bastion-Style Fort Is a Mighty Fortress

Surviving Magazine, Fort Ethan Allen’s star-shaped design Guard House helped to prevent sneak attacks. Surviving Bombproof

Constructed primarily from earth and wood, Fort Ethan Allen Surviving Rampart was a bastion-style fort. Bastions are angular structures that jut out from the enclosing walls. They eliminate blind spots, giving defending soldiers a full range view of oncoming troops. Bastions also allowed cross re from multiple angles, making it nearly impossible for an attacker to approach the You are here fort or scale its walls without being in the line of re. Abatis

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Headquarters Abatis Anatomy of the Fort Was located outside of the fort, Sharpened branches from along with baracks and other Considering suggestion to “Quote to come about the construction of the fort trees cut to clear land for the Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, cons ectetuer support buildings. This photo fort were used as a protective adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh eu replace this image with one of wasor takenabout after theAbraham assassina- Lincoln visiting it while it was perimeter barrier called abatis. tion of President Lincoln, as in- This soldier’s sketch shows ismod tincidunt ut laore et dolore magna the Potomac lled with silt dicated by black crepe draped tree stumps and abatis around aliquam erat vol utpat. Ut wisi enim ad fromunder the buildings. construction. Quote to come about the con- nearby Fort Marcy. from all the clear-cutting. Ties minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation well with the sketch at right. struction of the fort or about Abraham Lincoln ullamcorper sus cipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip visiting it while it was under construction.” ex ea commodo consequat.

Walk up Old Glebe Road to view additional remaining earthworks and a model of Fort Ethan Allen.

Interpretive Panel 3 • in progress Enlarged Site Plan • Viewing Area B .------c-·-·------+IUY.•~.G'

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Viewing Area B - Plans and Section U.S. Parrott 3.67 (20-Pounder) 20-pounder Parrott Ri e on a #3 Field Carriage (replica) A Defensive Artillery Fort Arming the Fort Armaments at Fort Ethan Allen Field guns like the one in front of you were portable and could be called into service something something when needed.

The forts that comprised the Defenses of Washington Fort Ethan Allen had emplacements for 36 were spaced at half-mile intervals, supplemented with guns. [something about the term pounder, batteries and ri e pits, making a near continuous guns, etc.] The fort’s inventory in 186x included: connection between them. The artillery was chosen • three 6-pounder guns for their range of re and positioned to ensure there Positioning the Guns • four 24-pounder guns Fort Ethan Allen’s con guration of guns would have been similar to this one at Fort Lincoln in Washington, D.C. were no gaps in the line of defenses. The strategy • three 32-pounder guns worked as no major attack on Washington, D.C. • two 8-inch howitzers A canister — a thin-walled metal cylinder occurred during the war. • three 32-pound howitzers lled with lead pellets, scraps of metal, and sawdust — delivered a lethal load • three 10-pounder Parrotts when shot from a cannon. If the sawdust got wet it would expand and the projec- • eleven 30-pounder Parrotts tile would not t down the barrel of the Guns vs ri es vs cannons • six 12-pounder Napoleon guns cannon. Add about cannon Balls. maybe a brief description of You • four 10-inch mortars are here the terms and how they di er • two 24-pounder mortars

Overlapping repower use the map with overlapping circles How many men did it take to fire this gun? showing the range of guns in progress

Load Aim Ready Fire Crewman 1 sponges the bore as 2 The gunner steps to the back to aim 1 and 2 stand clear while 3 shoves the pick Now the gunner commands “Fire.” 3 receives the round from 5 and places the piece, while 3 drops back and shifts through the vent and into the powder steps back from the wheel and 4 pulls it in the muzzle. Number 3 closes the the gun according to the gunner’s bag. 4 hooks a friction primer to the lan- the lanyard, ring the gun. When the vent as 1 rams the the round home. directions. When the gun is aimed, the yard and inserts the primer in the vent. gun has recoiled, the crew pushes it back gunner commands “Ready.” into position and loads again.

Interpretive Panel 4 • in progress The View in 1865 Taken from near where you are standing.

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3 11 4

8 1 6

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Company M, 2nd New York Heavy 1 Entrance to Powder 3 Revetment 5 Gunner 7 Sentry Post on Parapet 9 Company Commander Artillery, August 1865 Magazine/Fillingm Roo Horizontal timbers helped to This soldier, standing by a 20- Instead of a wood sentry box Captain William Parrish stands to Taken at the end of the war, the men are Ammunition was kept in under- support the fort’s earthen walls. pounder Parrot Ri e, wears a like at the front gate, this struc- the right of the little girl, who is not posing to mark their place in history before ground storage rooms. Shells were Vertical poles were preferred: they tube pouch with No. 23 sten- ture was covered with canvas. his daughter but could be a visiting returning home. To take this image, the pho- armed and sometimes stored in the were stronger if a round hit the fort, ciled on it. The pouch held gun- If the enemy approached the relative. After the war he becomes tographer stood on top of the bombproof to lling room, while the magazine but more time-consuming to install. powder to be used at platform canvas could be easily removed the sheri of Genesee County, NY. your right and looked towards the magazine was used to hold black powder and 23 on the south face of the fort. to clear the eld of re. that would have been directly in front of you. projectiles. 4 Folded Tarpaulin 10 10-inch Tarpaulins were used to protect 6 Parapet Ladders Limber Freedman 8 A model 1841, 10-inch mortar sits 2 cannons from harsh weather. A O cers, depending on rank, Were used by soldiers for quick Photographer A two-wheeled carriage (limber) on its platform. was here folded tarp can be seen on top of a were allowed paid “servants.” access to the top of the parapet. was hitched to a eld cannon and canister box. They often appear in photo- Soldiers were not allowed to its carriage to form a four-wheeled graphs standing near their walk on the parapets unless 11 30-pounder Parrott Ri es vehicle that was pulled by a team of o cer. They were paid, given they were on guard duty or if Although they could be moved horses. The company mascot—a room and board and were often o cers needed a better view of from battle eld to battle eld, dog— stands on the lid on one of supplied with military clothing. some distant target. these guns were used as You the limber chests. are here cannons at Fort Ethan Allen.

Interpretive Panel 5 • in progress Enlarged Site Plan • Viewing Area C bronze 3D model of Fort Ethan Allen

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granite base

paving with inset polished concrete granite strips pedestal

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SITE PLAN- VIEWING AREA "C" 114"=1'-()" Viewing Area C - Plans and Section Scale Model in Progress (1”= 24’) Names of Regiments Engraved into Granite Strips Surviving Magazine, Fort Ethan Allen — Guard House What to Look For Entrance Surviving Bombproof The earthen mounds that surround you are Magazine Guard House the remains of the fort’s construction. You are here The model behind you re-creates Fort Ethan Allen as it was Magazine depicted in U.S. Army engineering drawings published Bastion after the war. Use the drawing and model to locate features that survive and to visualize those lost by erosion and later Magazine development. Imagine the area during the war: cleared of trees, orchards, and farms to make way for forts, ri e Magazine trenches, and military roads.

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Entrance Powder Magazines and Bombproof Civil War Engineering Description of the construction and Filling Rooms Description of the construction and function of the entrance. Cut Ammunition for the fort’s guns was function of a bombproof. Descrip- Fort Ethan Allen shared features“Quote with other to come forts inabout the throughconstruction the raised parapets of theand fort orkept in underground storage rooms. tion of the construction and function the northern Virginia defenses of Washington. Built ramparts. Shells were armed and sometimes of a bombproof. stored in the lling room, while the in 1861, Fort Ethan Allen was oneabout of the Abraham earliest and Lincoln visiting it while it was undermagazine was used to hold black Guard House powder and projectiles. Implements Stockade Where did it go? largest of these forts. All followed the engineering Description of the construction and construction. Quote to comeDescription about of the theconstruction construction and for of ring the cannons could also After the war, the fort was ordered closed. function of a stockade. Description directives of General John G. Barnard, the chief function of a guard house and how it be kept in the lling room. The mag- At public auction, the U.S. Army engineers of the construction and function of a di ered from the guard posts. azine was often protected by a guard sold whatever materials and tools could be engineer for the U.S. Army Corpsthe of fort Engineers. or about Abraham Lincoln visiting it while it stockade. Description of the con- and soldiers had to take special salvaged. Lumber retrieved from the fort was struct ion and function of a stockade. precautions handling the powder. used to construct the house at 3311 North was under construction.” Glebe Road, known as Bellevue. Walk down Old Glebe Road to view additional remaining earthworks and a 20-pounder Parrott Rifle.

Interpretive Panel 6 • in progress Lives of the Soldiers O ces & XYZ Commissary At the peak of the Civil War, as many as 1,000 Store O cers soldiers were garrisoned at Fort Ethan Allen. Quarters

The men who built and defended the fort belonged to Mess Barracks volunteer regiments recruited from New York, Massachusetts, House O cers Quarters The Bonds of War and other northern states. While stationed at Fort Ethan Allen, Often acquaintances or kin before the war, the reg- iment became a soldier’s family away from home. troops saw little action, but continually trained, maintained Barracks When not working, the soldiers played pranks, Mess Cook wrote letters home, played chess and cards, read their weapons and cleared trees to keep a clear line of sight Houses Barracks House books, smoked pipes, and occasionally visited Checking Nunda, NY Washington City, the Smithsonian, and Mount Ver- toward Chain Bridge and Leesburg Pike. non. War forged enduring relationships that only Mess Historical Society for ended in death in battle or old age after the war. Fort Ethan Allen Houses Cook photo(s) of James “He [Lincoln] will shake hands with a common soldier that he House Randall “This morning, we had to pitch our tents in line and then wash up so as to be clean as pos- has never seen or heard of before with as much warmth and sible for inspection. Then I got a chance to A Sense of Community go where I wanted to for a long time. I went friendship as he would with an old acquaintance.” housed in barracks, while infantrymen As one of the rst forts to be built, Fort lived in tents further away from the fort. in the direction of Fairfax Courthouse.” Ethan Allen initially housed troops in tents — Venando Bruce, private, Fourth New York Heavy Artillery, After serving at Fort Ethan Allen, the sol- inside the parapet walls. Later barracks, diers and their equipment often headed — James B. Randall, sergeant, Co. F, in a letter to Wallace McElroy, August 7, 1862, on a visit o cers’ quarters, mess houses, and cook to southern campaigns where life on the 169th New York Volunteer Infantry, to Fort Ethan Allen by President Abraham Lincoln houses were built outside the fort. Troops eld of battle was harsher than in the forts October 19-23, 1862 garrisoned at the fort were generally and camps around Washington, D.C.

Not Only Men “Friday night in camp was a jolly time being Hallow Eve. We had a giant com- At Fort Ethan Allen and other posts, o cers pany—a giant being two men, one on the often hosted their wives, children, or rela- shoulders of the other, with a blanket over tives during the winter season when the thetop man’s shoulders which is drawn armies went into winter camp. In addition, Camp Stationary each fort had two authorized laundresses, Fort Ethan Allen Camp Stationary used closely around the bottom man to make by the 4th New York Heavy Artillery. often soldiers’ wives. One such wife added them both appear as one man.”

pie making to her services, and ended up — John Carpenter, private, making more money than her husband. Fourth New York Heavy Artillery, Brigadier General John A. Rawlins, Chief Tent life of the 31st Pennsylvania Infantry in a letter to his mother, 1862 of Sta , with his wife and daughter at the (later, 82d Penn. Inf.) at Queen’s farm, near door of their quarters. City Point, Virginia. Fort Slocum, DC.

Interpretive Panel 7 • in progress Barracks image will likely be moved to another panel and something more related to signalling used to replace it.

Communications Along the Defensive Line Fort Ethan Allen was a repeating station, transmitting messages back and forth to other nearby stations. The forts that comprised the defenses of Washington communicated by a series of signal stations: Coded messages were relayed — repeated — from station to station. U.S. Army records list 70 such stations in 1863. Soldiers who served in these stations had to learn new

Barracks at Fort Ethan Allen languages, communicating by waving ags, winking lights, Photographed from the window of a barracks building up the hill from the o cers’ quarters. aring rockets, or telegraphy. “It was a repeating station in every sense of the word. I gradually Signal Tower Fort Ethan Allen built a signal tower atop a large opened with other stations until the number of directly chestnut tree with a circumference of 21 feet and a 16-foot distance between its forks. The log house at the base of the tree was used by the communicating was six. This compelled me to destroy the beauty fort’s commanding o cer. The house became the residence of the superior signal o cer and nally of the large chestnut . . .” Lt. J. Willard Brown, [month] 1864 the signal station itself.

A First in American Warfare On September 24, 1861, Thaddeus S.D. Lowe, Chief of the U.S. Aeronautical Corps These are from the Peninsula Cam- newly formed U.S. Army Aeronautical Corps, launched a paign (near Williamsburg/Richmond, balloon from to direct artillery re on but the visuals would be similar. Pro- fessor Lowe was a colorful character Confederate soldiers in Falls Church — three miles away. and we can give him a shout-out From above, Lowe signaled trajectory instructions to here. soldiers on the ground, who in turn relayed messages to the gunners at Fort Ethan Allen. It was the rst time in warfare that gunners were able to accurately re on an enemy they could not see. On September 29, the Confederates withdrew to the south and west.

Interpretive Panel 8 • in progress Protecting the Fort Fort Ethan Allen depended on more than its thick exterior walls for protection from enemy attack and infiltration. Outside the fort, sentries checked every wagon, animal, and person that neared the fort. Underground bunkers with x-foot walls and heavy timber roofs housed stores of ammunition, a guardroom, and bomb-proof shelters for soldiers in the event of an enemy attack. Guards patrolled the inside the fort and stood watch on the fort’s parapets.

Posted guards Checking orders Guarding Ammunition and Similar to this image taken at Fort With his eld o cers and orderlies Weapons Reynolds, a wooden sentry box stood looking on, Colonel Robert O. Tyler, At Battery Rogers in Alexandria, a guard outside the main gate of Fort Ethan First Connecticut Heavy Artillery, was posted outside the fort’s magazine Allen. A roof and canvas door sheltered examines a dispatch delivered to and lling rooms, where ammunition and the guard from weather. the garrison of Fort Richardson. weapons were stored .

Illustration will be detailed and in full color, depicting the guard house, not a magazine

Interpretive Panel 9 • in progress Brewer plan mis-identi ed this structure as a magazine, but it was a guard house.

Research Courtesy of Wally Owen, Fort Ward Museum Correction to Brewer Overlay Drawing Illustration Style/Quality Samples 1 - Was not taken from signal tree as previously thought but instead may have been taken from the window of the barracks building up hill from the ocers' quarters.

Research Courtesy of Wally Owen, Fort Ward Museum New Research and Information 3 - Image from Pennsylvania 2 - Image from Virginia State University Historical Society

De nitively locates the signal tree.

Research Courtesy of Wally Owen, Fort Ward Museum New Research and Information 4 - The statement that the Headquarters image was probably taken after Lincoln’s assassination is correct. There was a general order to decorate buildings in crepe and ocers were to wear a mourning ribbon on one arm.

Research Courtesy of Wally Owen, Fort Ward Museum New Research and Information MEMORIAL WALK PAVING DETAIL 3 PLATFORM DETAIL

MEMORIAL AREA PAVING DETAIL 4 SIDEWALK PAVING DETAIL 2

Section Details , FOOTING

Demolition Plan Consultant prepares initial Design Development plan with cost estimate January 10 – January 31, 2013

Working group meeting and review Design Development plan January 31 – February 8, 2013

Consultant re nes Design Development plan / Additional reviews if required February 8 – March 28, 2013

Civic Association Approval of Design Development April 2 – April 20, 2013

Consultant prepares construction drawings and technical speci cations April 21 – June 19, 2013

Permitting / regulatory agency reviews / Additional reviews if required June 20 – July 29, 2013

Bidding / Contract award and budget review July 29 – August 26, 2013

Project mobilization August 26 – September 26, 2013

Construction and installation September 26 – November 24, 2013

Project close-out November 25, 2013 Neighborhood Conservation Project at Fort Ethan Allen Park Arlington, Virginia ✯ 75% Presentation May 15, 2013