Forts and Fortifications

Fort Decatur (2025)

NPS / Kelsey Graczyk

Fort Washington

The largest fortification on the grounds protected the Potomac River from any potential invaders from 1824 until the 1890s.

Battery Decatur

Part of the Endicott System of fortifications on the Potomac River built in the 1890s, the battery is named in honor of Commodore Stephen N. Decatur, a native of Maryland who served with distinction during the War with Tripoli and the War of 1812.

Fort Warburton

When the first fort system was authorized in 1794, General George Washington wrote Secretary of War Henry Knox "The president of the United States, who is well acquainted with the River Potomac, conceived that a certain bluff of land on the Maryland side near Mr. Digges; a point formed by an eastern branch of the Potomac, would be a proper situation for a fortification to be erected."

Coast Defense of the Potomac

Lieutenant Colonel Peter C. Haines, president of the Engineer Board planning the defense of Washington described the purpose of the works in a letter of June 26, 1891. "The defensive works at Fort Washington are designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching positions within bombarding distance of the Capitol and the Washington Navy Yard. It is scarcely within the range of possibilities that any other than a naval attack would be made on this position. The defenses are therefore designed to resist such attack only."

Torpedo Defense

In 1890 a Mine Board approved 147 mines for the Potomac and planned to place the minefield two miles down river and one mile up river from Digges Point. Underground mine control rooms called casemates were to be placed at Fort Washington and Fort Hunt.