Reporting for Duty

A secure, guarded entry known as a sally port stood where sloped hills formed an entryway and soldiers had cleared the land and piled up soil to build earthworks with walls about 20 feet thick. The passage bustled with activity as soldiers began and ended their shifts, horse-drawn carts hauled ammunition through it, and generals, Cabinet members, and President Lincoln used the path. Secretary of State William Henry Seward visited frequently, and his son, Brigadier General William Henry Seward, Jr., commanded the fort.

Fort Washington, Maryland · United States