Fort Washington National Park
13551 Fort Washington RoadFort Washington, MD 20744
(301) 763-4600 Visit Website
-
Details
Fort Washington has stood as a silent sentry defending the Nation’s Capital, for over 180 years. As technologies advanced so did Fort Washington. Fort Washington is one of the few remaining Seacoast Forts in its original designs. The first Fort Washington was completed in 1809 and guarded the Nation’s Capital until it was destroyed by its own garrison in 1814. Twelve days later Major Pierre L’Enfant was sent to construct new defenses but worked on the Fort for only a brief period before Lieutenant Colonel Walker K. Armistead replaced him. The Fort was completed on October 2, 1824. Extensive remodeling was performed in the 1840s and the first guns were mounted in 1846. Except for a few guns at the Washington Arsenal, Fort Washington was the only defense for the Nation’s Capital until the Civil War when a circle of temporary forts was built around the city.