Fort C.F. Smith (Mr. Lincoln's Forts) - Arlington, Virginia - Civil War Discovery Trail Sites on Waymarking.com

Fort C.F. Smith was constructed in 1863 on farmland appropriated from William Jewell. The fort was named in honor of Gen. Charles F. Smith, who was instrumental in the Union victory at Fort Donelson, Tennessee, in 1862. Fort Smith extended the line of fortifications, designed to protect the capital, to the Potomac River and commanded a tributary ravine not covered by nearby Fort Strong. Along with Forts Strong, Morton, and Woodbury, Fort Smith functioned as part of the outer defensive perimeter that protected the Aqueduct Bridge of the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal. The fort was a lunette with two bastions on the north side to thwart any attack up the ravines from the river. Fort Smith contained twenty-two gun emplacements, eight of which are visible today. The access road crossed Spout Run near Mason's Mill and proceeded up the hill to Fort Strong. Military Road linked Fort Smith and Fort Ethan Allen to the north.
The support buildings in which the garrison ate and slept stood behind you. They included barracks, mess halls, cook houses, officers' quarters, a barn, and the headquarters building. Period photographs show Arlington's landscape denuded of trees to provide clear lines of fire from Fort C.F. Smith and the adjacent forts.

Type of site: Transportation Route or Facility Address: 2411 24th Street North Arlington, Virginia United States of America 22207 Admission Charged: No Charge Website: [Web Link] Phone Number: Not listed Driving Directions: Not listed

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