w y Fort Ward Alexandria Pirginie j yYGrY Exploratory Egoavation rt oP the Northwest Bastion f JuneJuly 1961 t rte a 1 3 Yti 1 by Edward Mob4 Larrabee Contraoting Arohaeologist August 26 1981 f3 4x t irrk r x gr d 51 th7c3yyri St7 RY KYs p i zx vtc U x I 1 I O i i I rC 1 o I t d Q o 1 u i i a o moo I W V e a iw i i r i 1 Historic Drawin Ys g No plans for the Wooden Gnte of Fort Ward 141 170 wl Table ofContents List of Drawings and Maps i List or Photographs li Aolmowledgements 1 I Introduction and Description Projeot History Working 9ohedule and Crew Site Description gho rt His tory4 II Esoavation and Findings A Filling Room 12 B Powder Magazine 16 C Parapet and Ditoh 24 D Gun 1lnbrasure 30 E Auger Test Line 33 III Sample Reoonstruotion 36 N Cono lus ions A Summary oP Structures an dFindings44 B Archaeologioal Conclusions 46 C ldfilitary Engineering48 D Historioal Conolusions 54 56 Appendix I Descriptive Terminology Appendix II List of ftis torio Iiaps 60 65 Appendix I II Outlying Struo to res Appendix IP Table oP ArtiPaots 67 r a SG o List of Drawings and Maps T b k y1 f Fart 1 His torso Drawing 170141Gate of WardFroatispLeoe gistorio Drawing 139170Original Contours6 3 Prot ile of Filling Room 14 4 Profile of Powder Magazine 19 i 5 Profile ofParapet and Ditah 28 fig Plan of Gun Embrasure 32 34 7 Profile oP Auger Line 8 Historic Drawing 170141Old Fart early stage51 t later 9 Histor is Drawing 170 133 Old Fort stage z t Final Plan53 10 Historic Drawing 171104New Fort 11 Drawing to Illustrate Terminology 59 end of 12 Plaa of Northwest Bastion Foldout report end oP Park 13 Eaoavat ion Master PlanFort Ward Foldout report y r ii r j j List of fiotoraphs at beginning of cavation10 I Typical Underrocth Ditch after Clearing10 II Present Profile of III Test Trench across Filling RoomDepression15 ion ilarked for Eccavation20 nr Powder Iagaz ine Depress 21 V Mall of sowder iagazine Trench 7 of Powder Trench22 VI Rotted Beam at End Sagazine at E End of Powder VII Buried Ditch of OldFOrt 23 Piagazine Trench Glacis and VIII ide Trench and Ramp Cut Through Counterscar 27 LY Parapet and ide Trench through Countersc3rp27 25 X rradall Starting Trench in Parapet t Trench 2a r XI Gradall Cuttin Test to Refill Test XII Conveyer elt ein Used Parapet Trenc 29 Glacis XIII Poer Tamper acking Hirt for Slope2 larked before Borin 35 XIV Auer Test Line o god locks in V Hand Tarpin F3ehind dll Counterscarp 3 Gab ion for the Gun Fnurasure3 XVI reavin a licker Gun Librasure40 XVII Restored Section of Parapet and VIII Abattis in lace on Glacis S1ope Yl Breasthe XIX Restored Gun Embrasure and ight42 Gun Einbrasure43 X Restored Section fro abotre i 5 t r r F e would like to thsnk a rest mary people for the help they beve given usand the interest they have sown in tis excavation Among those who helped tis constantly in the governMent of the City of Alexandria Virginia are Ir Eugene Barnyell Assistant City4anager ir Francis S fenny Director of City Planning Sr Ward Rothgeb Deputy Director of Public orks Ir Charles Hendricks City Arborist and rrinifred Drumheller Clerk of the Highcray Division in the Department of Public orks The entire staff of the Department of City Planning must also be commended for its help e called for assistance from specialists in the ashinton DC office of the hational Psrk ervice United States Departent of the Interior and in the local operating division of the Park service 2ational Capital Pcrks Dr John Corbett Chief Archeolo gist of the National Parlc Service and all of his office extended much ass is Lance In the Branch of History we vere helped by Dr Chrles Porter Dr Rarold Peterson and piss Lillian Cash Librarisn Dr Stanley clure Iistorian at the Lincoln useuM Ford Theater stional Capital arks had already done much docimntar resesrch and generously let us use his notes clipping files and photoraphs rRaymond L Stevens Cief of the riort5est Section Horticulture and Iaintenanc e National Capital rks explained many probleas which he has met in tentyfive years of protecting and maintaining the CCC restoration at tort Stevens a r i I other capacities in i and encouraged us in many Those Aho helped Civil lar Centen of Alexandria Hurd Chairman the elude nor 7111iam of the Seminary Jr President ir feller Delcher Dial Comm ittee Fort IardConvales oner of the sr L P Sutton Aill Association USAF Finally e are especially and Col David tdiller Dent Home for to iYir icholas Starr RFS Starr and 1 to Dr and tSrs gretePu made the en and for having their kind hospitality their assistance in any mays tare project possible r site is one of rS08T its location and COsLANDING gORT PARD by after its of ALANDRIA and indeed giPORTANT of the defenses the of the forts constituting one of the largest reoonstruction es of its original formit typical defenses of ashingtonIn which it was built of the period in the most hasty constructions of our latest it is equally typical as codified and enlarged is deemed rthy On these accounts it methods of construction Report on Defenses description Barnard of more particular 1Ei71 PP 3837 A l h x a i k j I2iTRODIICTIOrI of the fort are referred this various features Throughout report and illustrates technical names Append id I explains to bytheir these Pro lect iistorY sates at the of tentyfive Fort lard Park has an aka nearly The of Alexandria first began purchasing time of this vrriting City ttr Ftitene Barnrell the Aoting in the fall of 1954 this prgperty excavation here Prom received expert advice eonoernin City Tanaer National Park Service B Bruce rellPoof the Dre John Corbett and in the niter they visited the site writer about the rork in Iebrury 1961ofingAprildthenCityeCouncil eras covered under an agree the ahich tusking investigation an nproved a eek in establishinn June 1961 After spent ment sined 8 on June 12 field operations bean office and other preliainaries the main on July 10 Refilling Exploratory dinging eras oorapleted trench and onuJulyc2re a uire3 tyro additional eekseofinorkcandsrasePinished Melvin Jr of laboring crew crate Gray The permanent members Joseph time rork was done by John Estey and David G iadison Part Lester Fraley of Inoxville David Rasussen and x oraski Several macines iere erry 7est Virginia lsryland and Harpers during tasks A number of tedious jobs rented to perform special often reQOnstruction sere done by Tiss JoaTnne m II Both fir illsiiclleillD Hershey Business Pron Frank Fishburne to do mere called on Ly and 1r Herbert bark Architect Jerian cork of their specialities tasks besides the already tieconstzning ir John E Littleton my ial thans for I must reserve my most spec much hard for lonS hours held responsi Field 4ssistant He worked bility and dcne hi A 1Rresasartofsthelrestorationeofeonelcrosssectionskasp under his direction 5 5 Site Descristion Other than Topographyl before cBraddock on this site cltheiCivil arcr excepttfcr disturbance the oourse laid out in 1753 wtlioh still followed approxitaately Aozd the fortwas the topof a The area occupied later by eud 1754 and while the ground hill SmAll ravines ran rn t Eiv ai gentle The altitude at the top of more gradually elsewhere sloped acrey 280 ft above sea level a little more than this hill was probably over bottom of the ravine cras two hundred yards the deepest lfithin foot in Toward an average Pall of one twenty 30 ft loner giving one foot the fall eras only about the 9 and on other gradual slopes in forty take ofthis The fort was built to advantage it Zt ran along the rIS crest facingnaturelThelearthld improve upon an the 10 ft above the natural surface walls crere raised about earth cover over the p maxium ofprotecartany p ofgthenfo rtngasoorobablyeabouti295rft2 The height sea was about 290 ft above fSost of the crest of the parapet fort hsd the altitude of the or i and the interior floor of the leginal Iortrerest Bastion cas about 282 ft The floor of the hill crest a the rest o the fort The ditch about 3 ft higher than that of belocr the original round surface round the fort extended about ft this 1 sources crere used in compilin The follocrine historical description Colonel Corps of gineers Bvt Ian General J G Barnard Defenses of as7inton United States 1 Reoort on the Printi Office 171 Eereafter 7ashington CDGovernent p 4 and plates 1 4 cited as Barns rd ReDOrt on Defenses1871 Historic Drarin 170138 taps and Plans national Archives and139 undated 185364 crere as follors The modern sources eon su sheets and finished A set of excellent topographic Bey and territory made in tour of Fort yard Park surrounding maps 0 Iclntosh of the by L A Brocrn and August Iovember 1960 reference City of Alexandria The Department of Public orks A 2 sheets and supplementar nuber of these sheets is LB582 of Rifle Trench July 1961 survey Ine Stereoscopic rain I also used a Fairchild 4erial Surveys and taen iiarch 20 1951 and of 2los 8849111517 Photographs No 1014146 taen Aero Service Corporation serial photograph fiarch 27 1960 a terreplein altitude 2 Barn3rd Re ort on Defenses 1671 gives 170136 a maximum altitude of 300 ft an 1 storic raaing gives the These trro figures of ft for the crests of bombproofs 314 an odern are 10 to 15 ft hi her can be correlated but from c a tp of features h ich have not nged appreciably measurements Civil ar elevations here durint the prently the measurement of eount was off by this p 7 had hen excavation started in 1961 the topography changed very 125 ft and 200 ft l of little Toro parallel NS roads averaging or 1930s when it the fort had been graded in the late 1920s early the site They made two steps in the