Fort Ward’s plan included five bastions with positions for 36 guns, and the Northwest Bastion shows how the stronghold appeared in 1864. It is armed with six reproduction weapons based on Fort Ward’s original table of armament: three 4.5-inch Rodman rifled guns, two 24-pounder smoothbore howitzers, and one 6-pounder James rifle. These cannons worked together to sweep the field toward Little River Turnpike (Duke Street) to the south and Leesburg Turnpike (King Street) to the north. Artillery crews of 5 to 7 men were assigned to each gun position, and infantrymen were stationed along the ledge, or banquette, between the gun platforms. The City of Alexandria restored the Northwest Bastion from 1961 to 1964.
