Civil War Star Fort

This six-point, star-shaped earthen fort, with a 130-yard perimeter, was constructed on the highest point of land in the area, where it commanded the western and northwestern approaches to Vienna. During the Civil War, earthwork fortifications serving as picket posts to protect approaches to Washington, D.C., or to protect railroads, were built throughout northern Virginia. Some of these earthworks can be identified as Union or Confederate, but those in places such as Vienna, which was occupied at times by both armies, often cannot be. Researchers have thus far been unable to document this redoubt or identify its builder. Because of the complexity of its design and the time required to construct a star-shaped earthwork, it is a less common example of Civil War field fortifications. With outlying rifle trenches, it is thought to have been built between 1863 and 1865 to protect the Loudoun and Hampshire Railroad, which ran 100 yards to the northeast. The site also lies within 200 yards of Lawyers Road, then a prominent route to the northwest and to the City of Fairfax. The fortification stands on part of the 1745 Northern Neck land grant to John Jenkins, later sold to William Fairfax. During the Civil War the land was owned by the Gunnell family, and the Keith and McCandish families were subsequent owners.

Vienna, Virginia · United States