Battleground National Cemetery 6625 Georgia Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20012 Battleground National Cemetery was established shortly after the Battle of Fort Stevens in the summer of 1864. Fort Stevens was the site of the only Civil War battle inside Washingtons city limits. In July 1864, a Confederate force under General Jubal Early, threatened Washington, D.C.. All available troops within Washington, including walking wounded, were brought up to the citys northern defenses. In a relatively small battle by Civil War standards, Union forces, reinforced by units rushed by Grant from Petersburg, repelled the Confederate host. Each side suffered several hundred casualties. More than 900 were killed or wounded on both sides in the battle of Fort Stevens. After the Confederates retreated on July 12th, Union troops set to work burying 40 of their comrades in a peach orchard owned by farmer James Malloy, whose land had been part of the battlefield. (When he returned to his land after the dust cleared from the battle, Malloy was upset that his land was taken and challenged the action. Through an act of Congress passed on February 22, 1867, the land was acquired and officially transferred to the government on July 23, 1868 with payment made to Malloy.) Lincoln attended this battle (and was shot at, the only time a US pres has been under enemy fire) ...and in the end he personally presided over the dedication of this burial site. On the evening of 12 July 1864, Lincoln dedicated the one-acre cemetery, one of the smallest national cemeteries in the country. ( It is located one-half mile north of Ft Stevens). The soldiers are buried in a circle, in an inner and outer ring. A superintendents lodge was built in 1871, using a basic stone design by General Montgomery Meigs that was a prototype for all national cemeteries. The lodge was built as a residence for the superintendent of the cemetery. The superintendents lodge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 4, 1980 The 41st burial took place in March 1936, when Maj. Edward R. Campbell, the last Union survivor of the battle and the only veteran who chose to be interred there, was laid to rest, at the age of 92. Four of the family members (the mother and three children) that lived in the caretakers house on the site are also buried at the cemetery. All of them died within ten years of each other. Through the early 20th century, aging Civil War veterans and government dignitaries regularly gathered at the cemetery for Memorial Day events. The entrance to the Cemetery is flanked by two 6-pounder, smoothbore guns. Over the years, veterans of the battle erected 4 memorial pillars in memory of some of the units that fought at Fort Stevens: New York Volunteer Cavalry, 122nd New York Volunteer Infantry, 150th Ohio National Guard, Company K, and 98th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. In 2005, the DC Preservation League listed the cemetery as one of the most endangered historic sites in Washington, D.C. The National Park Service has been allocated funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for restoration work at Battleground National Cemetery. The cemetery and accompanying lodge have been undergoing restoration work, which National Park Service program manager Alexa Viets says is 99 percent there. Visitors can see 41 graves, memorials to the volunteer units involved in the battle and a marble rostrum added in 1921.
Posted on: Thu, 23 Oct 2014 03:18:40 +0000