Explore a fort built to protect Washington, D.C.
Overlooking the Potomac River is a large stone fortress. The impressive stone Fort Washington still looms over the river it was built to protect from invasion, although it wasn’t very good at it.
Fort Washington was the first American fort downriver from Washington, D.C. The first Fort Washington was built back in 1808-1809. The first fort was small. It was intended for only 120 soldiers during war time, with back up provided by warships from the Washington Navy Yard upriver. You would think that a fort on the Potomac, one of America’s most important waterways, would be better protected. It really wasn’t. Maybe they assumed that ships would never make it up the Chesapeake Bay that far. Well, the British came with their superior navy. The British made it to DC and set it on fire. But what happened at Fort Washington? The garrison abandoned the fort and burnt it down so the British couldn’t use it and retreated. That plan didn’t go so well.
After being destroyed in 1814, Fort Washington was rebuilt soon after much larger and grander. There were a few bumps in the road, but the fort was finally finished ten years later in 1824. The fort may have been finished, but it wasn’t used until after another remodel in the 1840s to bring it up to code.
The fort still wasn’t used really. Only one soldier, a caretaker, was stationed here from 1853 to the start of the Civil War. Yes, a fort stayed basically empty for decades. The government wasting money on unused projects is not a new thing.
Public Domain Fort Washington during the Civil War.
Even during the Civil War, Washington never saw combat. Confederate troops never tried to raid Washington, D.C. from the Potomac or sail down the river. After the Civil War, military’s brass concluded that the United States coast was unprotected from the modern gunnery of the time. Many coastal forts were updated with new batteries and new, stronger guns. Fort Washington got its upgrade in the 1890s in order to protect Washington, D.C. from invasion. By the 1930s, the army gave up the basically useless fort to the Department of the Interior. However, Fort Washington was again pressed into service again in WWII for personnel training.
In 1946, Fort Washington once again returned to the Department of Interior and many of the modern buildings were removed. Fort Washington now sits in Fort Washington Park, in the DC suburb of Fort Washington, Maryland.
Alone, all alone, entering a creepy fortress. I usually like being alone when I visit places, but it was eerily quiet.
This reminds me of the gate to Fort Monroe.
The gatehouse has two rooms on each side. This was obviously the brig.
Not creepy at all.
At least they had a fireplace.
Weird bunk room.
Only a couple of buildings remain in the fort.
The gate is pretty cool looking from this side, too.
The 1840s battlements. Giant guns would have been placed up here.
A giant gun like this one. It even had a swivel feature.
Looking down the Potomac towards Washington, D.C.
A nice brick barracks and some cannons.
The battery had two stories for its guns. There were two of these lower areas.
I went down some sketchy stairs to this sketchy casemate door.
The casemates had random stuff in them. There would have been large cannons/artillery guns poking through the window in the back.
Down another set of sketchy stairs to a mysterious door.
Down a super steep sketchy slope to a dark hole. They put some wood skids(?) down to walk on. They were sketchier than the stone ramp.
Not sketchy at all. Eeek!
Now let’s leave the fort. Here’s the less sketchy visitor center, which used to be the commander’s house.
Sketchy lighthouse, the Fort Washington Light. This park really needs some work.
Just another sketchy, mysterious door.
At least this sketchy battery was fenced off. I couldn’t be tempted to go explore it.
The last sketchy underground structure. The brown sign warns people that this is a hazardous building. So creepy.
Fort Washington, honestly, is a bit sketchy, but that may have been because I didn’t see a soul until I was outside the fort. It was fun to explore though. The park could use some work, but it is an easy reach from the suburbs of D.C.
Check out my next update where I begin my explorations of the gorgeous Shenandoah National Park!
or
Check out more national parks and other public lands!
