Fort Bayard
Photo Courtesy of www.picturehistory.com Fort Bayard was named for Brig. Gen. George D. Bayard of the 1st Pennsylvania Cavalry, who was mortally wounded at Fredericksburg on December 13, 1862. Fort Bayard was built to overlook River Road, a historically important route into the capital from the north. Connected by rifle-pits to Fort Simmons and Fort Reno, Fort Bayard mounted four 20-pounder Parrott rifles and two 12-pounder field howitzers. Today, located at the intersection of River Road NW and Western Avenue NW, the site retains no visible remains of the fort.
|
Did You Know?
As early as the 1820s, free African Americans settled in a community called Vinegar Hill, an area now known as Brightwood. During the Civil War, Fort Stevens was built within Vinegar Hill boundaries and repulsed the only Confederate attack on the District of Columbia.