I have been interested in history ever since I was 9 years old and my mother would take me to all the historical locations in Philadelphia, from Independence Hall to Edgar Allen Poe’s house. My family would plan vacations around American historical cites. But here is the problem; around the nation, some historical sites are not created equal, even if they have big historical impacts. I discovered this when I was around 10 years old and visited my cousin who was studying at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. At this time, I was discovering the Civil War and wanted to visit Fort Stevens, where a battle took place. You have probably never heard of Fort Stevens. Well here is what happened; it’s July of 1864, a year after the Confederate Army’s major defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863. The South is getting desperate, as their railroad/waterway supplies get cut off and union soldiers start a march from Atlanta to the sea, completely destroying anything in their way.

The new leader of the Army of the Potomac, Ulysses S. Grant, has ordered Major General David Hunter to attack railroad lines that the Confederates used in the Shenandoah Valley (located in Virginia and West Virginia) in July of 1864. These series of battles were known as the Valley Campaigns of 1864. Robert E. Lee, the leader of the Army of Northern Virginia ordered General Jubal Early to attack the Union lines to get them out of the Shenandoah Valley and if possible attack Washington D.C in a last effort to advance north. Early was successful in driving out the Union from the Valley and attempted to take Washington D.C. Union agents on Baltimore-Ohio Railroad spotted Early’s forces heading to D.C and messaged Union General Lew Wallace (better known as the author of Ben-Hur) who was stationed outside of the capital to take action against the Confederates. Wallace took around 5,800 troops against Early’s 14,000’s troops and fought at the Battle of Monocacy in Fredrick County, Maryland. The Union lost the battle but its goal was just to hold off the Confederates march to Washington D.C which was accomplished. By giving the Union time, Grant was able to order more troops at to defend Washington D.C at multiple forts around the city but mainly at Fort Stevens. Now Fort Stevens was a part of the 68 fortifications, 807 mounted cannon, 93 mortars, 93 unarmed batteries, 401 field guns, 20 miles of rifle trenches and three blockhouses. Miles of military roads, a telegraphic communication system and supporting infrastructure making Washington D.C. the most heavily fortified city in the world at that point. Fort Stevens was built in 1861 at the start of the war, it was first called Fort Massachusetts, it was later named Stevens for Union general Isaac Stevens killed at the Battle of Chantilly in 1862.

The construction of the fort also has racial history. Before the area was seized by union troops, the land belonged to Elizabeth Protor Thomas’s family, who were a free African-American family. When union troops took the land to build the fort, they destroyed her house, barn and garden. Thomas was horrified at this and became homeless. She would tell her story for years, saying during the time of her mourning, "a tall, slender man dressed in black approached her and said, 'It is hard, but you shall reap a great reward.'" Most historians to this day think that that man was Abraham Lincoln. Thomas would have to fight for reparations from the U.S government until 1916, the year before she died, but was eventually rewarded with $1,835. This depicts the pure racism of the same government who were fighting against slavery.

Back to the battle, Jubal Early on July 11, 1864, and around 10,000 men marched to Fort Stevens, but the Confederates looted a nearby town that had a lot of whiskey, so they were kind of sluggish in the morning. This give the Union even more time to prepare. The battle picked up in the afternoon, when Confederate cavalry pushed through the advance Union line. A Union counterattack drove back the Confederate cavalry with brutal hand-to-hand combat. Artillery from the fort helped a lot in the battle for the Union, destroying multiple houses that protected Confederate sharpshooters. This battle is well known because Abraham Lincoln was at the fort, being the only sitting president ever to be at a battle. There is even a marker at the battle site commemorating Lincoln being at the battle. President Lincoln was inside the fort under enemy fire. During the heat of the battle a Union surgeon standing only inches away from the president was shot and wounded. There is even a Legend that famous future Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, who was a Captain in the Civil War, saw Lincoln stand up on the fort to get a better view of the battle and made himself a target, Holmes is said to have yelled to him “Get down, you damn fool!” The Confederates lost the battle, losing around 500 of their 10,000 men. Early's force withdrew that evening, headed back and crossed the Potomac River back into Virginia, bringing back supplies they got from Maryland. Early remarked to one of his officers after the battle, "Major, we didn't take Washington, but we scared Abe Lincoln like hell."

So, even though it was not as decisive as Gettysburg where the stakes were very high, this is still a very important battle. If Lincoln were to have been killed or captured at this battle, the Union could have lost the entire war. At this time, ex-Union General George McClellan was running against Lincoln as the Democratic nominee in the 1864 Presidential election with the promise of ending the Civil War and making peace with the south. If the Union were to lose this battle, that would have made Lincoln look bad for re-election, along with the newly appointed Ulysses S. Grant may have been pressured into resigning as the head commander of the Army of The Potomac. The Union could have lost their Capital. I don’t know about you, but I think that seems pretty important.

So when my family and I were visiting this fort, it looked horrible. There were two cannons, some barracks and a U.S flag with around 100 by 100 square feet of property. No National Park marker, no National parks service people taking care of the place, and the community did not seem to care about it. I later found out that after the war, most of the forts around Washington became abandoned (including Fort Stevens) in an attempt to erase the bloodshed that was spilled in the war between the states. Even though Fort Stevens is a National Park, the Civil War Trust said it was one of the most endangered battlefields of 2010, here is their report form 2010,

"THREAT: As the nation’s capital has grown, the forts that once stood at its fringes, ringing the city, have been absorbed into neighborhoods. Some have been destroyed, but those that remain, like Fort Stevens, face significant difficulties as urban historic sites. Beyond these endemic problems, Fort Stevens faces an immediate threat from one of its neighbors in the Brightwood community. Last year, Emory United Methodist Church applied for an exemption to build an immense community center complex, well in excess of what local zoning allows, immediately adjacent to the fort. With a five-story brick wall blocking the line of site from the fort, the new building would significantly degrade the experience of visitors. While the National Park Service and other preservationists recognized the church’s need for expansion, they objected to the scope of the project and sought to find a compromise – potentially one that could also incorporate a limited amount of visitor services, like restroom availability. Unfortunately, church officials proceeded with the full scope of their plans.”

The Trust in the end stated, “So today at the remaining defense sites, dog parks vie with picnic areas, overgrown earthworks and trash-littered parkland supplement wildlife and city life creatures. Biking and hiking trails plus urban streets afford access without much direction, and the only randomly interpreted forts all muster a full spectrum of challenges for stewards of the Civil War forts of Washington. In the end, we would do well to remember an American president was under fire and nearly lost his life at one of these sites, together with many of his boys in blue; a Medal of Honor was earned here; and the combined efforts of white and black, soldiers and civilians kept tenacious Confederate troops at bay. The forts and their modern green space are just as worthy of preservation as any battlefield. Because of them, Washington, D.C. — the symbol, sword and shield of one nation — emerged unscathed from the Civil War and stands today as the centerpiece of our heritage.”

After we left Fort Stevens, I was upset that the community forgot about this hidden gem and I told my mother, “When I start making money, I’m going to rebuild this place.” Ever since then, I have been invested in preserving historical sites that don’t get a lot of attention from their cities, states and the National Park Service. I was so happy to hear that on the 150th anniversary of the battle in 2014, they had a reenactment at the D.C fortifications, including Fort Stevens. There is a great Washington Post article about it. I hope that they try to keep marketing this place, because it is important and we cannot forget it. I, as a historian, will keep pushing to keep parks like this alive, because I am proud that we have protected parks granted by our government. You can’t learn everything from a book, you have to check it out for yourself and explore. That’s how you really develop a passion for history and learn from it, by looking at the past with your own eyes.