Fort Marcy: Cultural Landscape Inventory, George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), National Park Service

Garrison, Shannon

The Fort Marcy cultural landscape is located in northern Virginia, in the Arlington Heights. It is accessed via the northbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP). The fort is approximately 11 miles northwest of the United States Capitol and 9 miles north of Arlington, Virginia. Fort Marcy is a component landscape of the George Washington Memorial Parkway and the Civil War Defenses of Washington. The boundaries of Fort Marcy, as considered for this cultural landscape Inventory, are defined by Chain Bridge Road to the north, the Civil War‑era military road trace to the west, NPS’s ownership boundary, south of the parkway, to the south and the eastern most Civil War‑era rifle pits, running from Chain Bridge Road to Pimmit Run, to the east. Fort Marcy was one of 68 forts built as a defensive ring around Washington at the start of the Civil War. Located in the Arlington Heights, the fort was constructed in September of 1861. Unlike the majority of the defenses of Washington, Fort Marcy was not built to protect the city itself, but rather to control movement across the Leesburg Turnpike and Chain Bridge. The Chain Bridge was a key crossing over the Potomac River and one of the major approaches to Washington. D.C., and Fort Marcy, along with Fort Ethan Allen, was considered of vital importance in securing the Union Army’s continued presence in northern Virginia. Fort Marcy’s irregularly shaped parapet measured approximately 345 yards and enclosed an area of about 1.5 acres. The fort had emplacements for eighteen guns. Armament consisted of three 24‑pounders en barbette, two 12‑pounder howitzers, six 30‑pounder Parrott rifles, three 20‑pounder Parrott rifles, three 10‑pounder Parrot rifles, one ten‑inch mortar, and two or three 24‑pounder Coehorn mortars. In addition to the main earthworks, rifle trenches were dug in a nearly continuous line to the Potomac River, above and below the Chain Bridge and eight unarmed batteries were constructed at different points along the line to protect the valley of Pimmit Run and other areas unseen by Forts Marcy and Ethan Allen. Outworks extended north from Fort Marcy to anchor the fortification to the river. The line also ran south and west of the fort, across Pimmit Run to Fort Ethan Allen. An eight‑gun battery was located directly west of the main fort, and two one‑gun batteries south of Fort Marcy protected the Pimmit Run valley from either side of the creek. An extensive system of military roads constructed by the Union Army connected the main fort with surrounding batteries and Fort Ethan Allen. The fort reverted to civilian ownership at the end of the Civil War. The Vanderwerken family retained ownership of the fort and surrounding land for the next 88 years, leaving Fort Marcy untouched. In 1953 the fort was sold to Ann DeLashmutt. The combined threats of new ownership and new development, and road expansion in the 1950s led local activists to advocate for the Federal government to purchase the fort as part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway’s northern extension, and preserve the site as a public park. In 1959 the National Capital Planning Committee acquired the land and in 1963 it opened to the public. At least one Civil War‑era cannon was installed at the site as part of the celebrations surrounding the opening of the new park, and vegetation was cleared to provide areas for picnicking and aid in interpretation of the site.

Fort Marcy: Cultural Landscape Inventory, George Washington Memorial Parkway (GWMP), National Park Service

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