Fort Stevens

Fort Stevens was the focal point of a Confederate attack on Washington, D.C., on July 11-12, 1864, when Gen. Jubal Early brought a force of 15,000 soldiers against defenses held by a meager force of convalescents, quartermaster employees, and 100-day militia volunteers. The defenders held back Confederate skirmishers on July 11, and reinforcements from the Union 6th and 19th Corps on the second day checked and turned back the only Confederate threat against Washington during the war. Late on July 12, President Abraham Lincoln was exposed to Confederate fire while observing the battle, in which approximately 900 soldiers were killed, wounded, or missing. Nearby Battleground Cemetery, dedicated by President Lincoln soon after the battle, contains the graves of 40 Union soldiers who died in the defense of Fort Stevens.

Washington, District of Columbia · United States