Trees were first victims in Civil War

by YankeeJim | April 11, 2011 at 03:27 am

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We are all hyped up in Washington DC about the Civil War these days. Since the budget skirmish has postponed the real budget battle or has transformed it into a more civil discussion, we can get back to our historical preoccupation with our turbid past. We were together as a nation mostly because we did not want to be under British rule, or anything like that. Yet, from the beginning of our nation, we could not seem to shake ourselves of the bad habit of mistreating certain people: African Americans, “other foreigners – immigrants,” and of course, women.

Anyway, in preparation of defending the nation’s capital, a string of forts were constructed and connected by “military roads” that are still used today as streets through the neighborhoods. Fort C. F. Smith is one of the lucky ones to have been preserved. One can visit and see the gun emplacements and perimeter of the fort and a local house that was occupied by the troops. (It looks much better today than it ever did back then.)

Most of the forts, such as Fort Strong are no more than a road sign marker as they have been paved and built over by streets and condos. I still enjoy these places and can understand their importance by the geography.

The first thing the troops did in constructing the forts was to take down trees from the entire area so they could aim their guns into clear fields of fire. The trees are back, but then it was devastating.

“Fort C. F. Smith was a small fort constructed by the Union Army as part of the defense of Washington, D.C. during the American Civil War.

The new post was constructed by Union troops in early 1863 and named for Charles Ferguson Smith. The fortification extended the line of Arlington forts to the Potomac River. Along with Forts Strong, Morton, and Woodbury, it functioned as part of the outer perimeter of defenses that protected the Aqueduct Bridge of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal.

The fort consisted of lunettes facing south and west and two bastions to the north to protect it from attack up the ravines from the Potomac. The fort was entered from the east by a road that crossed Spout Run and proceeded up the hill to Fort Strong. To provide clear lines of fire for Fort C.F. Smith and adjacent forts, all of the trees for miles around were cut down. Many of the trees were used in construction of the forts and support structures”