A woman in a 19th-century dress stands along an earthwork fortification — A woman in period clothing takes in the modern day view from a spot near where Abraham Lincoln stood and watched the Battle of Fort Stevens unfold in July of 1864. NPS Photo / Buddy Secor

Civil War Defenses of Washington

Federal Recreation Area · District of Columbia · National Park Service

On forested hills surrounding the nation's capital are the remnants of a complex system of Civil War fortifications. These strategic buttresses transformed the young capital into one of the world's most fortified cities. By 1865, 68 forts and 93 batteries armed with over 800 cannons encircled Washington, DC. Today, you can visit 18 of the original sites now managed by the National Park Service.

Plan your visit

Trails & hiking

Biking · Mountain Biking · Hiking

Know before you go

Phone: 202-895-6000
Official site: www.nps.gov
Managed by: National Park Service

Getting there

Directions on Google Maps →

Things to do

Highlights: Burial, Cemetery and Gravesite · National Cemetery · Enslavement · Forts · Industry · Mills · Laborer and Worker · Military · Infantry and Militia · Artillery · Battlefields · Monuments and Memorials · Reconstruction · Social Movements · Civil Rights · Wars and Conflicts · Civil War · Animals · Birds · Trails

Activities & features: Arts and Culture · Theater · Road Biking · Food · Picnicking · Guided Tours · Self-Guided Tours - Walking · Self-Guided Tours - Auto · Living History · First Person Interpretation · Junior Ranger Program · Wildlife Watching · Park Film