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

Know before you go

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

Getting there

Directions on Google Maps →

What's here

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 · Biking · Mountain Biking · Road Biking · Food · Picnicking · Guided Tours · Self-Guided Tours - Walking · Self-Guided Tours - Auto · Hiking · Living History · First Person Interpretation · Junior Ranger Program · Wildlife Watching · Park Film

Photos

  • Park Ranger delivering a program to visitors.
    NPS/S.Phan
  • Historic image of Fort Totten on layered on modern image.
    NPS

Nearby parks

Parks of District of Columbia

African American Civil War MemorialWashington MonumentRock Creek ParkFranklin Delano Roosevelt MemorialWorld War I MemorialTheodore Roosevelt IslandGeorge Washington Memorial ParkwayPennsylvania AvenueCarter G. Woodson Home National Historic SiteKorean War Veterans MemorialThomas Jefferson MemorialThe White House and President's ParkCapitol Hill ParksMary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic SiteConstitution GardensFord's Theatre National Historic SiteFort Dupont ParkMartin Luther King, Jr. MemorialFrederick Douglass National Historic SiteKenilworth Park & Aquatic GardensBelmont-Paul Women's Equality National MonumentDwight D. Eisenhower MemorialLBJ Memorial Grove on the PotomacLincoln MemorialChesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical ParkVietnam Veterans MemorialPotomac Heritage National Scenic TrailWorld War II MemorialNational Mall and Memorial ParksAnacostia ParkNational Capital Parks-East

32 parks mapped in District of Columbia

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Sources: National Park Service · updated 2026-08-12