Built to defend the river approach to Washington, DC, Fort Washington has stood as silent sentry for over 200 years. As technologies advanced so did Fort Washington, from the brick and stone of the 19th century to the concrete and steel of the 20th century. Joining the National Park Service in 1946, the park continues to protect the Potomac River.
Here you will see the remains of Bettery Decatur, a reinforced concrete emplacement completed in 1891. It mounted two 10-inch dissapearing guns. The lower rooms of the battery were for shot, shell, and powder storage with cranes and hoists that moved the heavy ammunition up to the gun platforms.
During the 1840s improvements were made to this wall, defensively the weakest part of the fort. The parapet was raised and an outer work, called the caponiere, was added.
Along the outer wall of the ditch is the counterscarp battery, named for its location on the "counterscarp," or outer wall, of the dry ditch. This structure sheltered troops who could direct musketry toward the river or into the ditch itself.
Minefields were an important part of the Endicott System of defense at the turn of the century. Groups of underwater mines anchored in the river downstream from the fort could be fired electronically from here when enemy ships passed nearby. The guns of Batteries White, Many, and Smith protected the minefield from enemy mine-sweepers and destroyers.
Remnants of former gun emplacements are the reminders of the three generations of armaments that occupied this V-shaped Water Battery. Each generation reflects the latest technologies and precision in the manufacture of armaments.
Fort Washington's solid masonry walls offered good protection against shot from smoothbore cannon of the early 19th century. When rifled artillery was introduced in the late 1850s and used during the Civil War, effectiveness of masonry structures decreased.
A reliable supply of drinking water for the garrison was a priority at Fort Washington. Three wells dug early in the fort's construction proved inadequate. By 1823, four cisterns were installed to store rainwater. Located underground at each end of the barracks and officers' quarters, these cisterns had a total capacity of 19,000 gallons.
Construction of the inverted V-shaped outerwork began in 1814. The traces of its shape are visible today. Surrounded by a dry ditch, the Water Battery mounted 24-pounder guns that provided an additional level of firepower to the fort.
Living where the land meets the water gives us everything we need: shelter in the woods, food to eat, and clean water to drink. Our climate promises a good life for the 15 million people and the more than 3,000 types of plants and animals that live in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Walking on this trail, you will see some of the plants and Animals that make their home in waterside woodlands.
