Fort C.F. Smith Park

Fort C.F. Smith was built in 1863 and extended the Arlington Line to the Potomac River. The perimeter was 368 yards. It had emplacements for 22 guns and 4 siege mortars. Along with Forts Strong, Woodbury and Martin it protected the Chesapeake and Ohio (C&O) Canal’s Aqueduct Bridge which was located near modern day Key Bridge that crosses from Georgetown to Rosslyn. The Aqueduct bridge was important because it connected the C&O Canal to the Alexandria Canal. This allowed canal boats to cross the river and get to the Port of Alexandria. The north face of the lunette is at the top of the figure below. A road ran from Spout Run through the fort to Fort Strong at the top of Arlington Heights. The fort had a headquarters, mess hall, kitchen, officers’ quarters and barracks that were all demolished when the fort was decommissioned in 1865. These ancillary buildings were located outside the eastern wall of the fort.

The Parking lot markers- 38.9014347, -77.0881127

Shown below are LiDAR images of the modern day fort on the left and a slope map on the right. I have recently begun experimenting with the 3D Elevation app on the USGS National Map. Clearly seen are the north wall, the north magazine and the bombproof. One can also see how the construction of 24th Street North affected the fort. Near the bottom is a circular depression perhaps related to the well and a linear depression that may be related to the south wall which angles north and then east perhaps near the location of the gate. I find it especially useful in areas with a lot of vegetation where the locations of part of a fort or rifle trenches are not visually obvious. LiDAR strips away vegetation and allows one to obtain accurate GPS coordinates for anything seen on the image such as where are the start, middle and end points of the bombproof etc.

The fort was named for General Charles Ferguson Smith

The image below could not be photographed well to show the line of forts in the area.

It is seen better from map below from an article that appeared published by the Arlington Historical Society, see sources at the end of this article for the reference. Both the Historical Society and the National Park Service C.F. Smith Facebook pages and websites are very helpful sources. The Historical Society also has online past issues of their annual magazine which are also very helpful.

Images I found of a walking tour brochure online are shown below.

Stop 1- The farm well used by the Jewell family dug after the Civil War. Thomas Jewell owned the land that the fort was on.

Stop 2- Garden Path- once part of a military road system that connected forts of the Arlington Line.

Stop 3- Northeast Meadow- farm buildings and an orchard once stood near here. It is typical of the way that the area looked at the time of the war.

Stop 4- Main House- Originally a four-room cottage it has undergone significant modifications after the war.

Stop 5- Peace Garden- A barracks and a barn were here during the Civil War.

Stop 6- Fort C.F. Smith Gate Area- an arched wooden structure sat here that was the only entrance into the interior of the fort.

Stop 7- Fort Well – The crater here is the only remains of a Civil War-era well that would have been inside the fort to provide water during a siege.

Stop 8- Bombproof- A long timber structure covered with earth provided emergency shelter during an attack.

Stop 9- Cottage and tractor barn- both post-war structures.

There is a small visitor center in the upper level of the tractor barn. It was closed on the day I visited.

Stop 10- North Magazine- the original fort had two magazines. Similar in construction to a bombproof they contained ammunition and supplies.

Stop 11- Cannon ramps and platforms- The fort had platforms for 22 artillery pieces and 4 siege mortars. Their guns had a range of 1-2 miles.

Stop 12- Farm shed and bank barn- These are the last remaining farm structures on the property.

Stop 13- Ditch and glacis- A deep ditch surrounded the fort that was filled with obstructions.

Stop 14- Field of fire- By 1863 the area around the fort was cleared of all trees for several miles.

Stop 15- Upland woodland forest- the forest has regrown post war.

Stop 16- Northeast slope- the path to the left above descends that area.

War time photographs from the fort are in the Library of Congress taken in August and September of 1865 by William Morris Smith. The fort was garrisoned by the 1st MA Heavy Artillery, the 16th Maine Infantry, the 2nd NY Heavy Artillery, the 164th OH National Guard, the 145th OH National Guard, the ME Light Artillery, the 10th NY Heavy Artillery, and the 3rd US Infantry.