Fort Bayard was an earthwork fort constructed in 1861 northwest of Tenleytown in the District of Columbia as part of the defenses of Washington, D.C., during the American Civil War. It never faced major opposition during the conflict and was decommissioned following the surrender of Robert E. Lee's Army of Northern Virginia. Named after Brigadier General George Dashiell Bayard, who was killed at the Battle of Fredericksburg, the site of the fort is in Boundary Park, located at the intersection of River Road and Western Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and is maintained by the U.S. National Park Service. No trace of the fort remains, though a marker commemorating its existence has been erected by the Park Service.
Pre-war use
Prior to the outbreak of the Civil War, the District of Columbia was a predominantly rural area. Though the city of Washington is today synonymous with the District of Columbia, in 1861, Washington occupied only a portion of the District. The remaining portions of the District were considered part of Washington County, and it was in this region that most of the forts defending Washington, including Fort Bayard, were constructed. Washington County was characterized as "the rural part of the district ... occupied by farms of various sizes and the grand estates of the well-to-do."Washington at Home: An Illustrated History of Neighborhoods in the National Capital, Kathryn Schneider Smith, Editor (Northridge, CA: Windsor Publications, Inc., produced in cooperation with the Columbia Historical Society, 1988), p. 76
The site of Fort Bayard itself was owned by Philip J. Buckey, a farmer who made his home in the Fourth Ward of Washington County. During the construction process, he valued the land at approximately $5,000, and continued to live in a farmhouse near the fort with his wife, four children, and two servants throughout the course of the war.National Archives and Records Administration, Archives I, Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census, Microcopy 653, Eighth Census of the United States, 1860. Roll 103, 4th Ward, p. 1 In exchange for the use of his land for the site of Fort Bayard, Buckey received $50.00 per year in rent from the War Department.Helm, Judth Beck. Tenleytown, D.C., Country Village into City Neighborhood Washington, D.C. (Tennally Press, 1981), p. 168
Also nearby was the Shoemaker family, which owned substantial tracts of land in both the District and in Maryland. Three forts or portions of forts were built on their property: Fort Simmons, Fort Mansfield, and Battery Bailey. Despite the loss of much of their land, the Shoemaker family continued to operate a local general store and sold various sundry items to the garrison at Fort Bayard.National Archives and Records Administration, Archives I, Record Group 92, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General; Entry 225, Consolidated Correspondence File, "Defenses of Washington, DC," Box 484
Planning and construction
Following the secession of Virginia and that state joining the Confederacy, Federal troops marched from Washington into the Arlington region of northern Virginia. The move was intended to forestall any attempt by Virginia militia or Confederate States Army to seize the capital city of the United States. Over the next seven weeks, forts were constructed along the banks of the Potomac River and at the approaches to each of the three major bridges (Chain Bridge, Long Bridge, and Aqueduct Bridge) connecting Virginia to Washington and Georgetown.J.G. Barnard and W.F. Barry, "Report of the Engineer and Artillery Operations of the Army of the Potomac from Its Organization to the Close of the Peninsular Campaign," (New York: D. Van Nostrand, 1863), pp. 9-10.
While the Potomac River forts were being built, planning and surveying was ordered for an enormous new ring of forts to protect the city. Unlike the fortifications under construction, the new forts would defend the city in all directions, not just the most direct route through Arlington. In mid-July, this work was interrupted by the First Battle of Bull Run. As the Army of Northeastern Virginia marched south to Manassas, the soldiers previously assigned to construction duties marched instead to battle. In the days that followed the Union defeat at Bull Run, panicked efforts were made to defend Washington from what was perceived as an imminent Confederate attack.Margaret Leech, Reveille in Washington (New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1941), pp. 101-110. The makeshift trenches and earthworks that resulted were largely confined to Arlington and the direct approaches to Washington.
On July 26, 1861, five days after the battle, Maj. Gen. George B. McClellan was named commander of the military district of Washington and the subsequently renamed Army of the Potomac. Upon arriving in Washington, McClellan was appalled by the condition of the city's defenses. "In no quarter were the dispositions for defense such as to offer a vigorous resistance to a respectable body of the enemy, either in the position and numbers of the troops or the number and character of the defensive works... not a single defensive work had been commenced on the Maryland side. There was nothing to prevent the enemy shelling the city from heights within easy range, which could be occupied by a hostile column almost without resistance."U.S., War Department, The War of the Rebellion: A Compilation of the Official Records of the Union and Confederate Armies, 70 Volumes (Washington, DC: The Government Printing Office, 1880-1901) I, Volume 5, p. 11.
To remedy the situation, one of McClellan's first orders upon taking command was to greatly expand the defenses of Washington. At all points of the compass, forts and entrenchments would be constructed in sufficient strength to slow an attack and buy time for reinforcements to arrive and bolster the city's defenses. Brigadier General John G. Barnard, was named chief engineer of the Department of Washington, and would supervise the construction and maintenance of the forts before being named chief engineer of the armies in the field by Ulysses S. Grant in 1864.Official Records, Serial I, Chapter 36, Part 3 (serial 69), p. 600
Prior to the outbreak of war, the Great Falls Turnpike, also known as River Road, was an important traffic artery for trade entering the District of Columbia from western Maryland and beyond. It connected the village of Tenleytown with the city of Washington, and roughly paralleled the Potomac River before turning northward. Due to its strategic position along the river, which formed the border between the Confederate state of Virginia and the Union state of Maryland, it had great military value and was a likely route for an attacking army, as would be proved three years after the outbreak of war during the Battle of Fort Stevens.Frank E. Vandiver, Jubal's Raid: General Early's Civil War Attack on Washington in 1864 (New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1960)
To prevent a Confederate force from advancing on Washington along the Potomac, several forts were constructed on hills near the river. To guard River Road, which was the most direct route into the city, U.S. Army engineers built a small, round fort at the point where River Road crossed into the district of Columbia. With a perimeter of only 123 yards and mounting only six guns, it was located forward of Fort Reno, the largest fort protecting the Tenleytown area.List of Washington, D.C. Forts Accessed September 6, 2007. Details of the actual construction process are scarce, though a letter from a member of the Ninth New York Heavy Artillery regiment to the Democratic Press newspaper indicates that the fort was at least partially built with labor from that regiment.Letter to the Editor, Democratic Press. New York State, March 11, 1864. Accessed September 6, 2007.
In April 1863, the fort was named in honor of the recently deceased Brigadier General George Dashiell Bayard, who had been killed on December 13, 1862, at the Battle of Fredericksburg.Official Records, Serial I, Volume 25, Part 2. Chapter 37, p. 187. At the time of its dedication, the fort was roughly complete. Round in shape and surrounded by trenches and abati, the fort's guns faced north, overlooking River Road. A service road crossed the trenches in the southern half of the fort, connecting with River Road behind the fort. Rifle pits extended northeast to Fort Reno and southwest to Fort Simmons.National Park Service, Fort Bayard Park A small battery of guns, named Battery Bayard, was an outwork of the fort and covered a blind spot in the ravine to the northwest of the fort.
Wartime use
In accordance to a plan laid out in an October 1861 report by General John G. Barnard, "rear line" forts were to receive one man per yard of fort perimeter when fully garrisoned. Front-line forts were to receive two men per yard, when needed. However, most forts were not kept fully garrisoned at all times.Official Records, Series I, Volume 5 (Serial 14), p. 626 Due to its location north of the Potomac River, Fort Bayard was considered a rear-line fort. If the fort needed to be fully garrisoned due to an impending attack, the difference in the actual garrison and the plan would be made good from Washington's 25,000-man reserve force. As General Barnard would say in a December 24, 1862, report, "It is seldom necessary to keep these infantry supports attached to the works."Official Records, Series I, Volume 21 (Serial 23), p. 904
However, this plan only applied to men manning the walls of the fort, not the artillerymen who would be serving the fort's guns. To man the guns of Fort Greble and those of Washington's other forts, Barnard designated three crews for each gun. These crews would be permanently located at the fort, unlike the men assigned to the walls of the fort.Official Records, Series I, Volume 5 (Serial 14), p. 628
This plan was affected by the needs of the war. As the fighting dragged on and casualties mounted, the various commanders of the Army of the Potomac repeatedly raided the Washington garrison for trained artillerymen and infantry replacements. By 1864, Washington had been stripped to a total less than half that of Barnard's 1861 recommendation.U.S. National Park Service. History of Fort Stevens. Paragraph 2. Accessed September 6, 2007.
A May 1864 report by General Albion P. Howe, inspector of artillery for the Union Army, found Fort Bayard's garrison to consist of only a single company from the Seventh New York Heavy Artillery regiment. One hundred and thirty-seven men of various ranks manned two 12-pound field howitzers and four 20-pound Parrott rifles. In addition, Howe found the fort's single magazine to be "dry and in good order," and the ammunition supply as "full and servicible." As to the garrison of the fort, Howe was less complimentary. After examining the garrison company's drill in artillery and infantry tactics, he reported the artillery drill as "ordinary; needs improving," the infantry drill as "very indifferent; needs much improving," and discipline at the fort overall was "indifferent."Official Records Series I, Volume 26, Part 2 (Serial 68), pp. 883-97
Artillerymen and infantry from New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York were stationed at the fort at various times during the war.Official Records, Serial I, Volum 37, Part 1. Chapter 49, p. 445.Friends of Fort Bayard Park Website Accessed September 6, 2007. Following General Howe's unfavorable review of the Seventh New York, the garrison was replaced by a company of men from the 163rd Ohio Infantry.Official Records, Serial I, Volume 37, Part 1. Chapter 49, p. 466.
Battle of Fort Stevens