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Battleground National Cemetery 
Battleground National Cemetery, located at 6625 Georgia Avenue, NW, was established shortly after the Battle of Fort Stevens in the summer of 1864. The battle, which lasted two days (July 11 through July 12, 1864) marked the defeat of General Jubal A. Early's Confederate campaign to launch an offensive action against the poorly defended Nation's Capital. The Battle of Fort Stevens was also to gain notoriety as being the only military action in which the Commander in Chief (President Abraham Lincoln) came under direct fire from an enemy force. With a combined total casualty figure of over 900 killed or wounded during the conflict, 41 of these (Union) soldiers who fought and died bravely in Fort Steven's defense were interred in a specially created cemetery dedicated by Abraham Lincoln. Battleground National Cemetery, located one-half mile north of Fort Stevens, is one acre in size and one of our Nation's smallest national cemeteries. The entrance to the Cemetery is flanked by two 6-pounder, smoothbore guns of Civil War vintage. Also near the entrance are monuments commemorating those units which fought at Fort Stevens:
Within the Cemetery grounds, a series of cast iron markers containing
the words of a poem entitled "The Bivouac of the Dead", written by
Theodore O'Hara in memory of those men who perished during the Mexican
War. This poem, as well as the bronze Gettysburg Address found on
the side of the caretaker's lodge, are reminiscent of many national
cemeteries. The center of the Cemetery is marked by a central flagpole
surrounded by 41 regulation marble headstones marking the remains
of the honored dead of Fort Stevens. Behind
these headstones and to the east stands a marble rostrum used to conduct
yearly Memorial Day services. The four granite pillars are in memory
of the four volunteer companies who fought at Fort Stevens. http://www.nps.gov/rocr/ftcircle/btcemet.htm last update: 4/19/03 |
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